URMP Faculty Mentors Page

Power Engineering Lab

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Distributed energy resource aggregation, distribution system modeling, electric vehicle charging impacts on distribution systems, grid service dispatch using aggregated DER, volt/VAr control and conservation voltage regulation within distribution feeders.

Key skills needed: Scripting (python), RaspPi experience

Magneto-mechanical Energy Conversion and Control Lab

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Jonathan Bird

The Magnetomechanical Energy Conversion (MEC) laboratory focuses on investigating novel magnetomechanical devices for energy conversion applications. The current research focus is on: Designing magnetically geared electric machines for wind and ocean renewable power generation applications; Electrical machines for transportation applications; Computational electromagnetic modelling; Variable stiffness magnetic springs.

Key skills needed: Interest in magnetics. Project involves dynamic modelling of a variable stiffness test setup (for resonant ocean power generation). Experience with 3-D printing would be a plus. Willingness to learn and not give up.

Wireless Environmental Sensor Technology (WEST) Lab

Electrical and Computer Engineering

David Burnett

The WEST Lab undertakes research to design, develop, and deploy wireless sensor devices that can learn about the natural world and communicate those findings back to us. At the most cutting edge, this work involves chip design: the design of integrated circuits that pack billions of transistors on a single chip. The design of low-power timing systems and new methods of RF communication is particularly important. We also undertake the design of systems built using printed circuit boards and commercial sensors to get devices prototyped and collect data faster.

Key skills needed: The research in the WEST Lab can benefit from a wide array of electrical and computer engineering skills from analog and radio frequency integrated circuit design to creating new digital systems on FPGAs, to writing C code to run on microcontrollers. But the most important skills for URMP students are focus, follow-through, and communication. Make sure you commit to focusing on your project for a good amount of time each week, follow through with that commitment and communicate with the PI and others you're working with about your results and obstacles. If you exhibit those three skills, you can pick up the specific technical expertise in no time. See my website about undergraduate research for more details.

Microgravity, Energy and Turbulence Lab

Mechanical and Materials Engineering

Raul Cal

Droplet jump in microgravity environments. Handling of fluids in space can aid in the improvement of engineering applications. Access to microgravity is possible via the use of a drop tower. The particular problem will be defined through discussions based on interests of the student.

Key skills needed: Curious, hands-on and open to discussion/exchange/collaboration.

Sustainable Energy Systems Lab

Mechanical and Materials Engineering

Ilke Celik

Sustainability assessment studies will be conducted for solar technologies and students will be trained for emerging photovoltaic cells.

Key skills needed: Experience with excel spreadsheets, interest in renewable energy

Healthy Buildings Research Lab

Mechanical and Materials Engineering

Elliott Gall

The student will support a senior researcher in my laboratory to develop and evaluate methods for quantifying air cleaning effectiveness for volatile organic compounds present in wildfire smoke. Experiments will be conducted in a large environmental chamber in a laboratory. The proposed project includes theoretical model development, experimental measurements of volatile organic compounds, and method development, including curve fitting, parameter estimation, and general analysis/interpretation of scientific findings. The student will learn to operate a real-time mass spectrometer.

Key skills needed: The student should be proficient in excel and a programming environment, MATLAB preferred but not required. The student should be eager to learn about the fate and transport of environmental contaminants, in particular air pollution. The student should be able to work in a laboratory setting and be diligent in record keeping of experiments and findings. The student should be willing to pursue background reading and project tasks independently, under the day-to-day supervision of a GRA and overall supervision of the PI.

Portland State Aerospace Society (PSAS)

Electrical and Computer Engineering (but also looking for ME and CS students)

Andrew Greenberg

Interdisciplinary aerospace engineering projects focused on amateur rockets, liquid fuel rocket engines, and nanosatellites. In particular, I'm looking for ECE students for satellite communications and firmware development, ME students for thermal and fluids for rocket engines as well as for attitude control systems, and CS students for satellite communications and high-reliability software engineering.

Key skills needed: ECE: ECAD and/or C firmware development. ME: MCAD and thermal/fluids classes. CS: Python and embedded Linux.

Ecohydrology lab

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Samantha Hartzell

Ecohydrology is the study of the way in which water moves through ecosystems, both natural and urban. We are particularly interested in the impacts of vegetation on the movement of water, carbon, and energy between the land surface and atmosphere, and vice versa. We study the ways in which plants have altered their hydraulic and photosynthetic strategies to survive in water-limited ecosystems, and what this means for the future of natural and agroecosystems impacted by climate change. Some examples of our research are green roof vegetation and hydrology, plant hydraulic redistribution, and dynamical systems modeling of agroecosystems.

Key skills needed: Projects may be numerical or experimental in nature, depending on student background/interest. For numerical projects, programming skills such as MATLAB or Python are helpful but not required. For experimental projects, previous experience is not assumed. In either case, experience with Excel, careful attention to detail, and a willingness to work hard and problem solve is required.

Agile and Adaptive Robotics Lab (AARL)

Mechanical and Materials Engineering

Alexander Hunt

The Agile and Adaptive Robotics lab is interested in uncovering mechanisms of how animals achieve agile and adaptive control and applying these discoveries across a variety of fields. We develop biomimetic robots and use them to test theories of neural control of locomotion and balance.

Key skills needed: Any of the following: Solidworks/3D modeling; Programming (Matlab, Python); 3D printing; Machine assembly.

Portland State Computational Imaging Lab

Computer Science

Atul Ingle

The Computational Imaging Lab at Portland State University designs next generation cameras and vision algorithms for challenging conditions: imaging in extremely dark or extremely bright environments, imaging high resolution 3D structures from long distances, and imaging through poor visibility like smoke and fog. We envision a future where such cameras will improve everyone’s quality of life: computer vision systems for autonomous cars that make drivers and pedestrians safer, high-precision cameras for surgical robots, and image sensors that improve accuracy of medical diagnoses.

Key skills needed: We are looking for candidates who are not necessarily experts but are eager to learn more about computational imaging algorithms and camera sensors. Applicants should have some programming experience (e.g. Python, C++), strong verbal and written communication and time management skills. We especially encourage students belonging to historically under-served groups to apply. These groups include (but are not limited to) women, students with disabilities, socio-economically disadvantaged groups, and first-generation college students.

Nanomaterial and Nanodevice Fabrication and Testing Labs

Mechanical and Materials Engineering

Jun Jiao

URMP students joining the Jiao Lab will collaborate with graduate students to engage in research focused on nanomaterial synthesis and nanodevice fabrication. Participants will gain hands-on experience in utilizing advanced lab equipment such as the Raman Spectrometer, Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) system, Scanning Electron Microscope, and Probe Stations. These skills are integral to the ongoing research projects conducted at Jiao Labs.

Key skills needed: Required a robust hands-on capability, complemented by coursework in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or Chemistry.

Soil-structure Interaction Lab

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Arash Khostravifar

Lab work in geotechnical lab at PSU on soils samples gathered from the Pacific Northwest. Computer work on analysis and synthesis of data on cyclic shear tests on silt soils from the Pacific Northwest. Help with a geotechnical centrifuge test at UC Davis on seismic response of a wharf structure.

Key skills needed: Training will be provided.

Coffee And Telesensing Lab

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Joshua Mendez

Two projects are currently available in my lab: 1) Mars is a dry, dusty place. As humans plan for crewed missions to the red planet, we must understand the effects of dust--regolith--on the engineering systems that will keep crews alive and productive. As noted in NASA's Mars Science Goals, Objectives, Investigations, and Priorities, we need to quantify how dust influences the electrical properties of surfaces on which it accumulates (in particular circuit boards). Additionally, because regolith can itself be electrified through frictional interactions with surfaces ("static electricity"), we need to explore whether such charging could lead to electrostatic discharge (ESD) hazards in Mars' low pressure CO2 atmosphere. This project will use the Mars Atmospheric Simulator in the Environmental Testing Lab to quantify the electrification and discharge of Martian regolith simulants as they interacts with a variety of synthetic materials under simulated Martian conditions.

Key skills needed: Any of the following: General purpose programming (Python, C++), circuit board design, PCB manufacture, mechanical CAD, machining, barista experience.

Geotech Research Lab

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Diane Moug

Microbially induced desaturation (MID) is an emerging ground treatment approach to prevent earthquake soil liquefaction. MID treatment involves nutrient injection into the subsurface to stimulate native microbes. The microbes perform a denitrification reaction to produce nitrogen gas and desaturate the soil. This gas inhibits liquefaction when the soil is shaken in an earthquake. The URMP project will involve field MID treatment at a research site in northeast Portland. The project will test whether MID re-treatment is feasible and can reduce soil saturation.

Key skills needed: Problem solving. Thorough note taking and record keeping. Enter data and perform calculations in Excel. Able to lift up to 50 lbs. Able to work outdoors in a range of weather conditions.

Database & Internet Privacy (DIPr) Lab

Computer Science

Primal Pappachan

DIPr Lab studies problems on the intersection of data management and privacy, aiming to enhance user control and data privacy. Specifically, I work on policy-aware data processing to create data management systems that are fast, scalable, transparent, secure, and privacy-preserving. You can explore the ongoing projects on the lab website. As an undergraduate researcher, you'll collaborate with the PI to identify and tackle meaningful problems in computer science. You'll gain hands-on experience in reading research papers, building software prototypes, conducting experiments, writing research papers, and presenting your findings to diverse audiences. For more details on lab expectations and policies, visit the lab wiki.

Key skills needed: Basic knowledge of databases, comfortable with programming, curiosity for research

Theoretical Computer Science

Computer Science

Shravas Rao

UMRP students will work on a project related to computational complexity theory. Possibilities for the specific subfield include query complexity, which studies the number of queries to bits of the input needed to solve a computational problem, coding theory, which studies the amount of redundancy needed to add to a message to send it through a noisy channel, or matrix rigidity, which studies how many entries of a matrix need to be changed to make it low in rank. Any choice will involve research based on mathematical proofs.

Key skills needed: Linear algebra, comfort with mathematical proofs

Non-Destructive Evaluation of Civil Infrastructure Lab

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Thomas Schumacher

Our diverse team develops tools to examine the condition of existing structures such as buildings and bridges-similar to a medical doctor assessing and monitoring a person's health. We do this non-destructively using techniques such as vibration-monitoring, ultrasonic testing, and radar testing. We also put sensors on structures to measure changes over time. Our goal is to use the information these techniques provide to help prolong the life of a structure as much as possible while maintaining safety. The ultimate goal is to avoid replacement of an existing structure if possible to save resources and minimize emissions.

Key skills needed: Enthusiasm about sustainable civil engineering; curiosity and willingness to learn; willingness to work in a laboratory or real world setting to collect data; some coding experience (MATLAB or Python) are a plus.

teuscher:Lab

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Christof Teuscher

Our goal is twofold: (1) develop disruptive new computing paradigms and machines that will allow for lasting breakthroughs and open new application domains in the next 5-20 years; and (2) use computational modeling to solve societal problems.

Key skills needed: Good programming skills are a plus.

Computational 3D Materials Research Lab

Mechanical and Materials Engineering

Yi Xia

Our lab is focused on the development and implementation of first-principles-based methods and machine learning approaches to simulate dynamics of phonons and electrons, and application of such to solve materials problems. Research topics include heat/charge transport phenomena, anharmonic lattice dynamics, electron-phonon interactions, and structural phase transition in thermal management, energy storage and converting materials, covering high-entropy alloys, thermoelectrics, and lithium-ion batteries.

Key skills needed: Python programming, basic statistical analysis, basic physics

Infrastructure Risk and Resilience Lab

Civil and Environmental Engineering

David Yang

Our research lab aims to improve the sustainability and resilience of civil infrastructure systems. To fulfill this goal, key research areas include (a) infrastructure risk and resilience quantification under extreme events, (b) AI-assisted life-cycle asset management, and (c) risk-informed infrastructure adaptation to climate change.

Key skills needed: Coding experience (preferably Python); basic knowledge about probability and statistics; GIS experience (optional); Data processing and analysis (optional).

Urban Environment Lab

Mechanical and Materials Engineering

Xiaowei "Luke" Zhu

Our lab uses high-fidelity numerical simulation to tackle challenges posed by modern urban environments. We are especially interested in fluid dynamics, heat transfer, and pollution within cities. The ultimate goal is to advance the fundamental understanding of human-environment interactions and to promote the design of more sustainable cities.

Key skills needed: Fluid Mechanics, Heat Transfer 3

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