Undergraduate Research

Undergraduate Teaching and Research Awards (UTRAs)

Kareen Coulombe and Joy Aso
Joy Aso ’19 (biomedical engineering) presented a poster titled, “Engineering Collagen Microfibers for Cardiac Regeneration.” Assistant Professor Kareen Coulombe mentored Aso, who was supported with an Undergraduate Teaching and Research Award.

Karen T. Romer Undergraduate Teaching and Research Awards (UTRAs) support Brown students collaborating with Brown faculty on research and teaching projects during the summer or the academic year. Named for the dean who launched the program in the 1980s, UTRAs provide students with valuable academic experience that prepares them for graduate study and that contributes directly to course development at Brown. For more information on UTRAs, including application deadlines and answers to common questions please visit the UTRA site.

Students interested in the UTRA program are encouraged to reach out to faculty members to discuss potential projects and the applications process.

Project Title Faculty Advisor Term
Toward Clinical Translation of the Intelligent Spine Interface Project David Borton Summer 2022
Artifact Removal from Local Field Potential Recordings during Deep Brain Stimulation David Borton Summer 2019
Implementation of Radio-Based Positioning System for Quadcopter Drones Allan Bower Summer 2019
Testing Nanoparticle-Polymer Conjugates as Crystallization Agents for Multiple Protein Species Vicki Colvin Summer 2022
Engineering Bioelectric Sutures for Heart Repair Kareen Coulombe Summer 2021
Modulating the Mechanics and Structure of Wet-Spun Collagen Fiber Scaffolds for Engineering Cardiac Tissue Kareen Coulombe Summer 2022
Development of a Robotic Arm for Nano-Spacecraft Rick Fleeter Summer 2019
Rapid-Prototyping of Microfluidic Channels with Application to Taylor Dispersion Dan Harris Summer 2019
Inter-layer Adhesion Energies of 2D Nanomaterials Robert Hurt Summer 2019
Optical Engineering and Characterization of Novel Scintillating Deterctors for X-Ray Medical Imaging Angus Kingon Summer 2019
Test and Optimization of High-Throughput OCT Assessment of Cellular Viability Using Liver Tumor Spheroids Jonghwan Lee Summer 2018
Modeling the Brain and Studying Traumatic Brain Injury Arto Nurmikko Summer 2022
Innovations Based on Conductive Polymers: Design, Synthesis, Characterization, and Testing of a Semi-Interpenetrating Polymer Network Based Actuator Tayhas Palmore Summer 2019
Finding a Bound on the Information Transmitted through Newtonian Gravity Chris Rose Summer 2021
The Impact of Oxide Content on Cycle Life and Stress Evolution in Silicon-based Composite Electrodes Brian Sheldon Summer 2019
Visualizing Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) Biofilms using Scanning Electron Microscopy Anita Shukla Summer 2022
Characterizing Chromogenic Beta-Lactamase Substrates for Diagnostic Hydrogels Anita Shukla Summer 2018
Infared Laser Pointer and Applications for a True 3D Display Harvey Silverman Summer 2019
Improving Chemotherapeutic Efficacy: Hydrogels for pH Regulation of the Cancer Tumor Microenvironment Vikas Srivastava Summer 2022
An Automated Electronic Device With Single-Well Control For Multiplexed Electrical Dissociation of Tissues Anubhav Tripathi Summer 2022
Collective and Individual Invasion from Multicellular Spheroids in 3D Collagen Matrix Ian Wong Summer 2021
Synthesis of Graphene Oxide and Silk Fibroin Composite Aerogels with Programmable Oil/Water Adsorption Ian Wong Summer 2021
Champagne Problems: Investing Bubble Growth in Carbonated Fluids. Roberto Zenit Summer 2021