鈥檚 three biology classes (BSC1010) shared their group projects in the IST Commons November 18 and 19 in the first BIO (Biology Integrated Outlook) Expo.
Groups of between two to four students presented 30 posters that summarized their class projects on innovative concepts inspired by biology. The goal was for Dr. Horton鈥檚 students to apply biology to their individual STEM degree programs like . The team component was also a critical part of the learning experience.
鈥淭he process of putting the projects together was amazing,鈥� said Dr. Horton. 鈥淎t the beginning, they weren鈥檛 too happy 鈥� extra assignments, working with partners, agreeing on the concept 鈥� but now they are very excited to share their ideas.鈥�
The project may have been challenging at first, but several teams quickly realized that much of the technology we use today is similar to 鈥� or even directly copied from 鈥� processes found in nature.
Projects applied biological concepts 鈥� for example, cellular regeneration, human physiology and phytoplankton (diatoms) 鈥� to core STEM fields. Applications in nanotechnology included methods to employ nanofiber scaffolds to restore damaged amino acid chains, embedded nanowires in clothing to convert body heat into electricity and using nanoparticles to immobilize broken bones internally without the need for an external splint. Diatoms had far-ranging uses from delivering targeted medication to improving the efficiency of solar panels. Some groups used computer engineering to imitate a variety of biological functions including cyber security techniques modeled after cellular defense systems and employing sensors to provide biofeedback to prosthetic limbs.
Two teams were already awarded grant money through the IM体育官网 Polytechnic Sustainability Innovation Competition, sponsored by the Student Government Association and FIPR, to continue work on researching and refining their BIO Expo projects involving solar energy. The final projects are due on March 15, 2016, for evaluation and the winners will be announced on Earth Day, April 22.
鈥淚鈥檓 very impressed with the students and their ability to integrate biology with the core STEM concentrations they鈥檙e studying, to introduce the underlying biological concept in the projects they鈥檝e developed, to articulate their research and then clearly describe their conclusions,鈥� said University President Dr. Randy K. Avent. 鈥淚 think we have foundations for several very solid future research projects here today.鈥�
Students aren鈥檛 just working for top grades in biology class. The BIO Expo is also a competition with four awards up for grabs: the President鈥檚 Choice award presented by Dr. Avent, the FIPR Choice award presented by the IM体育官网 Industrial and Phosphate Research Institute, the Pearson鈥檚 Choice award presented by Pearson Education and the Student鈥檚 Choice award as voted on by IM体育官网 Poly students. Each award will include a certificate for members of the winning team, and the Pearson award will include a copy of Campbell Biology, 10th Edition, recognized as the preeminent text in the field.
All of the projects are the products of teamwork among the students and the event itself is a product of teamwork among IM体育官网 Poly faculty and staff.
鈥淭he whole University operates in a very integrated fashion. Each department involved in helping to coordinate and run the event from the Academic Success Center, Faculty, Student Affairs, Technology Services, Marketing and Communications, all worked so well together,鈥� said Dr. Horton. 鈥淎nd the students took that integration within the University to new levels by showing the integration and application of biology and core STEM. Like I tell my classes, 鈥極nly at Poly, where great minds intertwine.鈥欌��
List of Project titles, teams and faculty mentors:
SECTION 2
WEDNESDAY, NOV 18, 2015, 8:00 鈥� 9:15 A.M.
POSTER # 2
鈥淯se of Electrospinning in the Medical Field鈥�
Zachary Pisani, Samuel Fama, Kylee White
Mentor: Dr. Coughlin
POSTER # 5
鈥淥ctopus Defense Program鈥�
Francisco Silvestrini, Troy Joyce, Lawrence Fishman
Mentor: Dr. Foster
POSTER # 18
鈥淯sing Self-Assembling Peptide Nanofiber Scaffold to Reverse Parkinson鈥檚 Disease鈥�
James Nance, Michael Boullard, Jamie Blanco
Mentor: Dr. LeFrancois
POSTER # 29
鈥淣anoscopic Medical Particles鈥�
Pete Lozano, Caleb Riggs, Jacob Shuler
Mentor: Dr. Ucar
POSTER # 28
鈥泪诲别苍迟补蹿颈蝉丑鈥�
Dejai Hardin, Luke Rhon, Geoffrey Ruiz
Mentor: Dr. Sherif Said Rashad
POSTER # 24
鈥淭he Positive Shirt鈥�
Reid Hendrick, Alexander Thompson, Duniel Garcia
Mentor: Dr. Anas Salah Eddin
POSTER #6
鈥淐丑辞颈肠别蝉鈥�
Rafael Visani, Roberto Alfonso, Peter Lancaster
Mentor: Dr. Sherif Said Rashad
POSTER # 16
鈥淰igilante: Extra Immunovaccine鈥�
Alessandro Rivera, Tova Jones, Nicholas Fragoman, Austin Velez
Mentor: Dr. Matyi
POSTER #4
鈥淔acial Expression: As Systematic Pain Scale鈥�
Yassir Bello, Karina Tibbs, Caleb Brown
Mentor: Dr. Horton
SECTION 4
THURSDAY, NOV 19, 2015, 9:00 鈥� 10:15 A.M.
POSTER #26
鈥淗颈产别补谤苍补迟别鈥�
Marc Burstein, Lloyd Stewart, Kenneth Williams
Mentor: Dr. Foster
POSTER # 9
鈥淓cho Security鈥�
Grant Gould, Adriana Medina, John Neger
Mentor: Dr. Wei Ding
POSTER # 12
鈥淐ell Defense鈥�
James Wienold, Jack Burk, Andrew Ryan
Mentor: Dr. Al-Nashif
POSTER #15
鈥淒igital Dissection鈥�
Levi Lambert, Peter Molitor
Mentor: Ms. Renee Michel
POSTER # 27
鈥淭he Biologically Adapted Rain Collection (B.A.R.C.) System鈥�
Devon Moreno, Brian Smith, Arjay Paredes
Dr. Dean Bushey
POSTER # 17
鈥淎daptation: The Game鈥�
Lee Oester, Haily Reinhardt, Gabriela Valdes
Mentor: Mr. Constantine Stefanakos
POSTER # 14
鈥淥ceanic-Adapted Cyber Security System鈥�
Megan Henson, Taylor Rodriguez, Nicholas Suppe
Mentor: Dr. Mohammad Samarah
POSTER #8
鈥淏谤补颈苍补辫辫鈥�
Emily Yates, Joel Dela Cruz
Mentors: Dr. Susan LeFrancois & Dr. Henry Chao
POSTER # 1
鈥淔unctionalizing Diatoms With TiO2 for Solar Cell Applications鈥�
Chris Dowdy, Dalton Reith, Samuel Trappen
Mentors: Dr. Christopher Coughlin & Dr. Sesha Srinivasan
POSTER # 21
鈥淯tilization of the Lily Pad Structure to Collect Photovoltaic and Thermal Energy From the Sun (Solar Lily)鈥�
Joshua Watkins
Mentor: Dr. Horton
SECTION 3
THURSDAY NOV 19, 2015, 3:00 鈥� 4:15 P.M.
POSTER # 23
鈥淐ell Wall Mechanical Properties鈥�
Nicholas Cottrell
Mentor: Dr. Coughlin
POSTER # 13
鈥淒iatoms: The Glass Menagerie of Drug Payloads鈥�
Christian O鈥橞rien, Holly Pafford
Mentor: Dr. Matyi
POSTER # 7
鈥淭echnology of Medical Cybernetics鈥�
Fernando Batista, William Francois, Fabio Volpato
Mentor: Dr. Bushey
POSTER # 10
鈥淐onsolidating Skin Cancer Data Around the USA With Strict Confidentiality鈥�
Oliver Bennett, Gabriel Bennett, Scott Shriver
Mentor: Dr. Staab
POSTER # 11
鈥淏io Scanner Unit (BSU)鈥�
Cynthia Osuji, Jonathon Gleason, Sean Kelly
Mentor: Dr. Horton
POSTER # 19
鈥淜oitus: Artificially Reproducing Koi Genomes鈥�
Michael Barone, Raphael Henrich, Skylar Coffey, James Groccia
Mentor: Dr. Yang
POSTER # 20
鈥淭he Mood House鈥�
Travis Hills, Devin Marks, Austin Rosenberger
Mentors; Dr. Rashad & Dr. Integlia
POSTER # 25
鈥淯se of Python in Converting RNA Codons into Their Amino Acid Counterparts and Vice Versa鈥�
Trevor Beckett, Steven Maldonado
Mentor: Mr. Henry Chao
POSTER # 22
鈥淐ellulosoft: An Anti-Malware Program Mimicking the Substance Regulating Properties of Cell Membranes鈥�
Matthew Ryan Chavers, Travis Collura, Clint Johnson
Mentor: Dr. Bushey
POSTER # 3
鈥淭he Natural Process鈥�
Jake Schiller, Brandon Aubele, Jonathan Cotton
Mentor: Dr. Samarah
POSTER # 30
鈥淥ptimization of Cork as Protection of Sensors and Equipment鈥�
Robert Helde, Cordero Brown, Cody Hersman, Logan Micher
Mentor: Dr. Coughlin