Hays, K., Noonan, K. & Childress, M. (2022, January). Habitat use, territoriality, sociality, and foraging behaviors of two sympatric species of butterflyfishes in the Florida Keys. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Society
for Integrative and Comparative Biology, Phoenix, AZ.
*Crowfoot, E., *Garvey, R., *Sox, K., Noonan, K., & Childress, M. (2019, April). Evaluating the effects of artificial versus natural reef structures on fish communities in the Florida Keys. Poster presented at the Focus on the Creative Inquiry Poster Forum, Clemson, SC.
*McComb, M., & Childress, M. (2019, April). Using Acoustic Telemetry to Study Homing Behavior in Juvenile Caribbean Spiny Lobsters. Poster presented at 14th Annual Focus on Creative Inquiry Poster Forum, Clemson, SC.
*Crowfoot, E., *Garvey, R., *Sox, K., *Noonan, K., Childress, M. (2019, April). Evaluating the Effects of Artificial Versus Natural Reef Structures on Fish Communities in the Florida Keys. Poster presentation at Clemson University 14th Annual Focus on Creative Inquiry Forum, Clemson, SC.
Whitaker, S., *Hulsey, R., *Collins, M., *Way, E., Smith, K., & Childress, M. (2018, April). A tail of two territories: gender differences in the territories of stoplight parrotfish, Sparisoma viride. Poster Presentation at the Focus on Creative Inquiry Poster Forum, Clemson, SC.
*Jeanes, R., Miller, E., *Stroud, C., Smith, K., & Childress, M. (2018, April). Responses of transplanted and natural coral colonies to thermal stress events. Poster presentation at the 13th Annual Focus on Creative Inquiry Poster Forum, Clemson, SC.
Whitaker, S., *Hulsey, R., *Collins, M., *Way, E., Smith, K., & Childress, M. (2018, April). A tail of two territories: gender differences in the territories of stoplight parrotfish, Sparisoma viride. Poster presentation at the 13th Annual Focus on Creative Inquiry Poster Forum, Clemson, SC.
*Jeanes, R., Miller, E., *Stroud, C., Smith, K., & Childress, M. (2018, April). Responses of transplanted and natural coral colonies to thermal stress events. Poster Presentation at the 13th Annual Focus on Creative Inquiry Poster Forum, Clemson, SC.
*Gardner, M., *Ingrum, I., Noonan, K., Smith, K. & Childress, M. (2018 April 4-5) Effects of Hurricane Irma on reef community structure in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Poster Presentation at the Clemson University Student Research Forum, Clemson, SC.
*Whitaker, S., *Hulsey, R., Collins, M., *Way, E., Smith, K. & Childress, M. (2018 April) A tail of two territories: gender differences in the territories of stoplight parrotfish, Sparisoma viride. Poster Presentation at the 13th Annual Focus on Creative Inquiry Poster Forum, Clemson, SC.
*Jeanes, R., *Miller, E., *Stroud, C., Smith, K. & Childress, M. (2018, April) Responses of transplanted and natural coral colonies to thermal stress events. Poster Presentation at the 13th Annual Focus on Creative Inquiry Poster Forum, Clemson, SC.
*Gardner, M., *Ingrum, I., Noonan, K., Smith, K. & Childress, M. (2018 March 10) Effects of Hurricane Irma on reef community structure in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Poster Presentation at the Clemson University Biological Sciences Annual Student Symposium, Clemson, SC.
*Whitaker, S., *Hulsey, R., Collins, M., *Way, E., Smith, K. & Childress, M. (2018 March 10) A tail of two territories: gender differences in the territories of stoplight parrotfish, Sparisoma viride. Poster Presentation at the Clemson University Biological Sciences Annual Student Symposium, Clemson, SC.
*Jeanes, R., *Miller, E., *Stroud, C., Smith, K. & Childress, M. (2018 March 10) Responses of transplanted and natural coral colonies to thermal stress events. Poster Presentation at the Clemson University Biological Sciences Annual Student Symposium, Clemson, SC.
*Gardner, M., *Ingrum, I., Noonan, K., Smith, K. & Childress, M. (2018 March 1) Effects of Hurricane Irma on reef community structure in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Poster Presentation at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, Clemson, SC.
*Whitaker, S., *Hulsey, R., Collins, M., *Way, E., Smith, K. & Childress, M. (2018 March 1) A tail of two territories: gender differences in the territories of stoplight parrotfish, Sparisoma viride. Poster Presentation at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, Clemson, SC.
*Jeanes, R., *Miller, E., *Stroud, C., Smith, K. & Childress, M. (2018 March 1) Responses of transplanted and natural coral colonies to thermal stress events. Poster Presentation at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, Clemson, SC.
*Whitaker, S., *Rolfe, S., Smith, K. & Childress, M. (2017, September 29). Conservation of Marine Resources Summer Research blog. Presented at the Creative Inquiry Summer Research Showcase, Clemson University, Clemson, SC.
*Jeanes, R., *Miller, E., *Stroud, C., Smith, K. & Childress, M. (2017, September 22). Responses of transplanted and natural coral colonies to thermal stress events. Presented at the Annual College of Sciences Undergraduate Research Symposium, Clemson University, Clemson, SC.
*Guryan, T., *Sims, R., Smith, K. & Childress, M. (2017, February 25). Clean Freaks: Neon gobies facilitate reef herbivore diversity. February 25, 2017. Poster presented at the 9th Clemson Biological Sciences Annual Student Symposium, Clemson University, Clemson, SC.
*Dubnicka, I., *Krachman, H., *Ehlert, A. & Childress, M. (2017, April 12-16). Influence of reef characteristics on the abundance and social structure of two reef parrotfishes. Poster presentation at the 46th Annual meeting the Benthic Ecology Meeting, Myrtle Beach, SC.
*Ehlers, A., *Whitaker, S., *Fraser, L. & Smith, K. (2017 April 12-16). Influence of reef characteristics on the abundance and social structure of two reef parrotfishes. Oral presentation at the 46th Annual meeting the Benthic Ecology Meeting, Myrtle Beach, SC.
*Sims, R., *Towe, A., *Rolfe, S. & Smith, K. (2017, April 12-16). Influence of farmer and non-farmer damselfishes on coral transplant success. Oral presentation at the 46th Annual Benthic Ecology Meeting, Myrtle Beach, SC.
*Dubnicka, I., *Ehlers, A., *Ehlert, A., *Guryan, T., *Krachman, H., *Rolfe, S., *Sims, R., *Stroud, C., *Towe, A., *Whitaker, S., Smith, K. & Childress, M. (2017, April) Forecasting the Future of Coral Reef Communities. Digital poster presented at the 12th Annual Focus On Creative Inquiry Poster Forum, Clemson University, Clemson, SC.
*Guryan, T., *Sims, R., Smith, K. & Childress, M. (2017, February). Clean Freaks: Neon gobies facilitate reef herbivore diversity. Poster presented at the Annual Clemson University Biological Sciences Student Symposium, Clemson, SC.
*Dubnicka, I., *Ehlers, A., *Guryan, T., *Krachman, H., *Rolfe, S., *Sims, R., *Stroud, C., *Towe, A., *Whitaker, S., Smith, K. & Childress, M. (2017, April). Forecasting the Future of Coral Reef Communities. Digital poster presentation at the 12th Annual Focus On Creative Inquiry Poster Forum, Clemson University, Clemson, SC
Smith, K. & Childress, M. (2017, April 12-16). Testing trophic cascades: Top-down versus bottom-up regulation of corals in the Florida Keys. Oral presentation at the 46th Annual meeting the Benthic Ecology Meeting, Myrtle Beach, SC.
*Ehlert, A. & Childress, M. (2016 April 12-16). What Factors Influence Den Sharing in Juvenile Spiny Lobsters? Oral presentation at the 45th Annual meeting the Benthic Ecology Meeting, Myrtle Beach, SC.
Smith, K. & Childress, M. (2017, January 4-8). "Top-down versus bottom-up regulation of coral cover in the Florida Keys". Oral presentation for Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology meeting, New Orleans, LA.
*Sims, R., Smith, K. & Childress, M. (2017, January 4-8). "Defenders of the reef: Impacts of damselfish territoriality on coral reef community structure". Oral presentation for Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology meeting, New Orleans, LA.
*Fraser, L., Smith, K. & Childress, M. (2016, March 12). Stay off my lawn: Territoriality and social structure differences in two species of reef parrotfishes. Oral presentation presented at the Annual meeting of the Southeastern Ecology and Evolution Conference, Tallahassee, FL.
*Sims, R., *Towe, A., Smith, K. & Childress, M. (2016, March 12). Defenders of the reef: Impacts of damselfish territoriality on coral reef algal community structure. Oral presentation presented at the Annual meeting of the Southeastern Ecology and Evolution Conference, Tallahassee, FL.
Smith, K. & Childress, M. (2016, March 12). Top-down versus bottom-up regulation of corals in the Florida Keys. Oral presentation presented at the Annual meeting of the Southeastern Ecology and Evolution Conference, Tallahassee, FL.
*Guryan, T., *Ehlert, A., Smith, K. & Childress, M. (2016, March 12). Going my own way: Testing why spiny lobsters are becoming less social. Poster presented at the Annual meeting of the Southeastern Ecology and Evolution Conference, Tallahassee, FL.
*Guryan, T., *Ehlert, A., Smith, K. & Childress, M. (2016, April). Going my own way: Testing why spiny lobsters are becoming less social. Presented at the 11th Annual Focus on Creative Inquiry Poster Forum, Clemson University, Clemson, SC.
*Sims, R., *Towe, A., Smith, K. & Childress, M. (2016, February 20). Defenders of the reef: Impacts of damselfish territoriality on coral reef algal community structure. Poster presented at the Annual meeting of the Clemson Biological Sciences Annual Student Symposium, Clemson, SC.
*Fraser, L., Smith, K. & Childress, M. (2016, February 20). Stay off my lawn: Territoriality and social structure differences in two species of reef parrotfishes. Poster presented at the Annual meeting of the Clemson Biological Sciences Annual Student Symposium, Clemson University, Clemson, SC.
*Guryan, T., *Ehlert, A., Smith, K., and Childress, M. (2016, February 20). Going my own way: Testing why spiny lobsters are becoming less social. Poster presented at the Annual meeting of the Clemson Biological Sciences Annual Student Symposium, Clemson, SC.
Coster, D.*, Ehlers, A.*, Whitt, J., Smith, K., and Childress, M. 2016, February 20. Veggie Tails: Variable dietary selectivity of parrotfish in the Florida Keys. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Clemson Biological Sciences Annual Student Symposium, Clemson, SC.
*Burgess, M.T., *Sims, R.J., Smith, K.M. & Childress, M.J. (2015). Rescuing the Reef: Monitoring the impacts of macroalgal competition and grazing on coral transplants. Poster presented at the Annual meeting of the Southeastern Ecology and Evolution Conference, Athens, GA.
*Burgess, M., *Sims, R., Smith, K. & Childress, M. (2015, April). Monitoring the impact of macroalgal competition and grazing on coral transplants. Presented at the 10th Annual Focus on Creative Inquiry Poster Forum, Clemson University, Clemson, SC
*Ehlert, A., *Fraser, L., Smith, K. & Childress, M. (2015, April 6). Are lobsters from disease free habitats more social? Presented at the 10th Annual Focus on Creative Inquiry Poster Forum, Clemson University, Clemson, SC
*Whitt, J., *Drake-Lavelle, K., *Coster, D., Smith K. & Childress, M. (2015, April). Taking a bite out of the reef: factors influencing foraging patterns and dietary selectivity indices. Presented at the 10th Annual Focus on Creative Inquiry Poster Forum, Clemson University, Clemson, SC.
Childress, M., & Parmenter, K. (2012). Dying of Thirst: Impact of Reduced Freshwater Inflow on South Carolina Blue Crabs. Presented at the 2012 South Carolina Water Resources Conference, Clemson University, Clemson, SC.
Childress, M. (2010, October 15-16). Modeling The Impact of Drought on South Carolina Blue Crabs Using a Spatially-Explicit Individual-Based Population Model. South Carolina Water Resources Conference. Presented at the 2010 South Carolina Water Resources Conference, Clemson University, Clemson, SC.
*Hoffmann, S. L., *Quirk-Royal, B.E., Smith, K.M., Childress, M.J. (2014, March 20). Just keep grazing: parrotfish grazing and dietary selectivity in the Florida Keys. Oral presentation at the 43rd Annual Benthic Ecology Meeting, Jacksonville, FL.
*Hoffmann, S. L., *Quirk-Royal, B.E., Smith, K.M., Childress, M.J. (2014, March 20). It ain't easy being reef: impacts of competition and corallivory in Florida Keys. Oral presentation at the 43rd Benthic Ecology Meeting, Jacksonville, FL.
Holt, B., *McClellan, K., *Watts, R., *Witt, R., Parmenter, K. & Childress, M. (2012, March). Impact of Drought on Blue Crab Health. 2012 Benthic Ecology Meeting. Presented at the Benthic Ecology Meeting, Norfolk, VA
*Gurley, A., Parmenter, K., Childress, M. (2011, March). The influence of salinity variation on juvenile blue crab growth and survival. Benthic Ecology Meeting. Presented at the 2011 Benthic Ecology Meeting, Mobile, AL.
*Miller, S.D., Heldt, K.A. & Childress, M.J. (2013, March). Effects of ocean acidification on aggression and den sharing behavior of juvenile Caribbean spiny lobsters, Panulirus argus. Presented at the 2013 Benthic Ecology Meeting, Savannah, GA.
*Micklewright, J., Parmenter, K. & Childress, M. (2011, March). The influence of salinity variation on Hematodinium sp. infection of blue crabs in the ACE Basin. Presented at the 2011 Benthic Ecology Meeting, Mobile, AL.
*McClellan, K., *Quirk-Royal, B., Smith, K. & Childress, M. (2013, March). Who says intermediacy is a bad thing? Influences of community factors on coral diversity in the Florida Keys. Presented at the 2013 Benthic Ecology Meeting, Savannah, GA.
*Clarke, L., *Cunningham, K., Heldt, K. & Childress, M. (2013, April). Personality in lobsters: Do juvenile spiny lobsters show repeatability in their social and anti-social behaviors? Presented a the 8th Annual Focus on Creative Inquiry Poster Forum, Clemson University, Clemson, SC.
*Hoffmann, S. L., *O'Connor, E.K., *Burgess, M.T., Moody, K.N. & Childress, M.J. (2014, March 20). Modeling population structure and adaptation in a Hawaiian stream goby: Sicyopterus stimpsoni. Poster presented at the 2014 Benthic Ecology Meeting, Jacksonville, FL.
*Quirk-Royal, B., *Hoffmann, S., Childress, M. & Smith, K. (2014, April). Just keep grazing: Parrotfish grazing and dietary selectivity in the Florida Keys. Poster presented at the 9th Annual Focus on Creative Inquiry Poster Forum, Clemson University, Clemson, SC.
*Hoffmann, S. & Childress, M. (2014, April). It's not easy being a reef: Impacts of competition and corallivory in the Florida Keys. Poster presented at the 9th Annual Focus on Creative Inquiry Poster Forum, Clemson University, Clemson, SC.
*O'Connor, E., *Burgess, M., Moody, K. & Childress, M. (2014, April). Modeling population structure and adaptation in a Hawaiian stream goby: Sicyopterus stimpsoni. Poster presented at the 9th Annual Focus on Creative Inquiry Poster Forum, Clemson University, Clemson, SC.
*Ellis, J.R., *Cunningham, K.G., Heldt, K.A. & Childress, M.J. (2014, March 20). Do Spiny Lobsters Prefer to Associate with Familiar Individuals? Poster presented at the 2014 Benthic Ecology Meeting, Jacksonville, FL.
Smith, K.M., Childress, M.J. (2014, March 20). Historical vs. contemporary effects on coral cover in the Florida Keys. Presented at the 43rd Benthic Ecology Meeting, Jacksonville, FL.
*Cunningham, K., *Ellis, J. & Childress, M. (2014, April). Do spiny lobsters prefer to associate with familiar individuals? Poster presented at the 9th Annual Focus on Creative Inquiry Poster Forum, Clemson University, Clemson, SC.
Current Projects
| ID | Project Info |
|---|---|
| 21 | Conservation of Marine Resources The Conservation of Marine Resources Creative Inquiry team participates in marine ecology research to benefit the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Current projects include studying (1) the impact of shelter loss on the survival of juvenile Caribbean spiny lobsters, (2) using acoustic telemetry technology to track the movement of Caribbean spiny lobsters, (3) estimating effects of structure on reef fish diversity and abundance, (4) studying the effects of coral disease on coral cover and reef fish communities, and (5) the impact of marine debris on reef communities in the Florida Keys. Team LeadersMichael Childress Biological SciencesKea Payton Biological Sciences |
| 23 | Courage and Positive Psychology Research What is courage? Can people become more courageous? How can people lead better lives? The Courage and Positive Psychology CI team conducts scientific investigations into courage and other virtues and human well-being. Team LeadersCynthia Pury Psychology |
| 26 | Insects of the Clemson Experimental Forest Because of their amazing diversity, there are multiple ways to study the fauna of insects and their relatives. Students will investigate insects in the Clemson University Experimental Forest. Explorations for particular groups may be according to their taxonomic relationships (e.g., ants, spiders, flies, etc.), habitats (e.g., soil, foliage, water, etc.), behavior (e.g., nocturnal or diurnal activity, attraction to different baits, phototropism, etc.), or other characteristics. Students in this Creative Inquiry will ask one or more questions about some aspect of the fauna of insects and their relatives, provide testable hypotheses to answer that/those question(s), and design one or more field and laboratory experiments to test the hypotheses. Students may explore their questions independently or in teams over one to four semesters for 1 or 2 credits each semester. Results and conclusions about them will be reported by the students in professional venues. Team LeadersJohn Morse Plant and Environmental SciencesMichael Caterino Plant and Environmental Sciences |
| 36 | Lifestyle Medicine This Creative Inquiry will explore the effects of lifestyle medicine in conjunction with traditional medicine practices on the patient population at the Joseph F. Sullivan Center. Lifestyle Medicine is an evidence-based approach shown to prevent and treat disease, using a whole food dietary lifestyle, regular physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, avoidance of risky substances and positive social connection as a primary therapeutic modality for treatment and reversal of chronic disease. Team LeadersCaitlin Moore Clinical Ed/Pract&Med Surv Pro |
| 62 | International Design Projects With Engineers Without Borders (EWB) In Central America Students participating in this Creative Inquiry will help to lead the design and development of sustainable systems to provide drinking water and associated water treatment for the community of El Serrano, Nicaragua, as part of an official project with the Clemson University Student Chapter of Engineers Without Borders. Team LeadersMark A. Schlautman Environmental Engineering and Earth SciencesJerry Wylie Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences |
| 69 | Cyber Bullying This project examines a variety of aversive interpersonal behaviors, most notably cyberbullying, hazing, and school shootings. People engage in a variety of aversive interpersonal behaviors. Some of these behaviors are more mundane, such as guilt-induction. Others, such as those that constitute the focus of this team, are more insidious in nature, and have potentially fatal consequences. One of the interesting things about these behaviors is that, as seemingly disparate as they appear, there is actually quite a bit of overlap between them. For example, our research suggests an overlap between bullying and hazing. Additionally, one of the key predictors of perpetrating a school shooting is a long-term history of rejection, manifested most often through a history of bullying. One focus of our team with all of these behaviors is not only understanding antecedents and consequences but also prevention and intervention strategies. Team LeadersRobin Kowalski Psychology |
| 78 | Testing Variables of Foods, Films, Antimicrobials and Surfaces Affecting Transfer and/or Survival of Bacteria This team studies the transfer and survival of bacteria on various surfaces related to food. This team has tested numerous food-related surfaces and activities such as the 5-second rule, double-dipping and beer pong in the past. In the future we will investigate new topics related to food and bacteria such as transfer of bacteria by wiping table tops with cleaning cloths, sanitation of bottles and cans and transfer of bacteria while sharing snacks. Team LeadersPaul Dawson Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences |
| 79 | Using Creative Inquiry to Investigate Food Advertising Claims This CI team evaluates various Food Advertising Claims including those claiming to taste "better", last longer and meet a certain specification. Last semester the team tested the Alkaline water claim, which included sampling different types of alkaline water and also temperature effects on the pH of the water. Team LeadersPaul Dawson Food, Nutrition, and Packaging SciencesRose Martinez-Dawson School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences |
| 80 | Changing Dynamics of China's Development This Creative Inquiry project systematically examines some of the most important issues facing the world – such as China’s economic development and its impact on international trade, the global supply chain, the US and ultimately the world. Team LeadersXiaobo Hu Political Science |
| 92 | Robotic Systems Research The team is to design and construct a robot which will compete in IEEE's Southeastcon conference hardware competition. Team LeadersIII,William J Reid Electrical and Computer EngineeringHassan Raza Electrical and Computer Engineering |
| 99 | Green Energy and Biodiesel Project From Fields to Fuel, team members will be researching all aspects of sustainable biofuels production and engineering while facilitating biodiesel and ethanol production to be utilized by University Facilities. Projects will focus on facility optimization through relief of production bottlenecks, and research increasing biodiesel feedstock acquisition through cultivation of energy crops and harvest of waste lipid streams. Team LeadersThomas Dodd Environmental Engineering and Earth SciencesTerry Walker Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences |
| 2237 | Intro to Python Programming with Applications to Engineering Research This project teaches the fundamentals of programming using Python as the starting language. It will introduce how python is being used in all modern research in artificial intelligence, data science, big data, and other engineering applications. The project also prepares students to learn other programming languages, especially C for hardware programming. Team LeadersAdam W Hoover Electrical and Computer EngineeringYongkai Wu Electrical and Computer Engineering Xiaolong Ma Electrical and Computer Engineering Lu Yu Electrical and Computer Engineering |
| 115 | Orthopaedic Retrieval Program (CU- REPRO) Medical implant devices have been used widely for more than 50 years, and it is estimated that 8 - 10 % of Americans (20-25 million people) currently have such a device. Orthopaedic implants are medical devices made of biomaterials used to treat musculoskeletal disorders inside the human body with an intended lifespan spanning years. Although implant devices have produced great benefits, it must be recognized that implants sometimes must be removed or replaced. Bioengineers contribute to their continual state of development to increase their performance and extend their useful lifespan. This cross-disciplinary project applies fundamental concepts in bioengineering, materials science, and biological sciences to investigate orthopaedic implants after they have functioned in patients. Long-term data on the behavior of implant devices and host response are essential inputs to the development process, yet there are few systematic programs for the retrieval and analysis of implants in the USA. Independent and international data banks do exist however. The contributions to implant design provided by retrieval and analysis will benefit patients through improvements in implant performance. We can consider implants to be defined as having a minimum lifespan of 3 months, as penetrating living tissue, as having a physiologic interaction and as being retrievable. A number of barriers exist to the establishment of an implant retrieval program. Major impediments are the costs associated with such a program and fear of litigation affecting manufacturers, hospitals, physicians, and investigators. The long term goal of this Creative Inquiry project is to establish and develop a viable Clemson University Implant Retrieval Program and pursue hypothesis-driven research related to orthopaedic implants. The aim of this program is to provide a working repository for retrieved orthopaedic implants, and to develop the tools and techniques for the systematic evaluation of implant designs, materials, surfaces and function. Team LeadersMelinda Harman Bioengineering |
| 118 | Microfluidics and Lab-on-a-Chip for Point of Care Technology In this Creative Inquiry project, we explore the use of electric, magnetic or flow field for the transport and control of biological and synthetic particles in engineered microchannels with lab-on-a-chip applications to chemistry and biomedicine for point of care technology. Team LeadersXiangchun Xuan Mechanical EngineeringMahmud Raihan Mechanical Engineering |
| 150 | Microbial Ecology and Bioinformatics We know that microbes are the most abundant organisms on the planet and are found pretty much everywhere. However, we know very little about which microbes are present in different environments and what microbes are actually doing. The emphasis in our lab is to use genomics and transcriptomics of microbial communities combined with measuring environmental parameters in order to understand the global and local importance of microbes. We focus on ecologically important concepts, such as functional redundancy. Team LeadersBarbara Campbell Biological SciencesMir Alvee Ahmed Biological Sciences Nichole Giani Biological Sciences Anna Seekatz Biological Sciences Sharon Bewick Biological Sciences |
| 163 | Interpreting Geologic Landforms Interpreting the landforms around us lies at the heart of geologic exploration. Through the use of low tech and high tech methods, we propose geologic processes that would explain the world around us. Team LeadersScott E Brame Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences |
| 187 | Exploring Microbial Communities in Students' Exercising Environment This CI project enumerates, isolates and characterizes antimicrobial resistant bacteria from student exercise environments. Team LeadersXiuping Jiang Food, Nutrition, and Packaging SciencesMarc Alvarado Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences |
| 189 | Nutraceutical and Functional Foods Research and Product Development In this CI project, students will learn to use state-of-the-art analytical instruments to analyze food components, such as vitamins, amino acids, flavors, food additives, nutraceuticals, etc, which are the major nutritional and functional chemicals in foods. At the end of the research project, students are expected to be able to have gained critical thinking skills, learned basic principles of experimental design, mastered one or more modern analytical instruments, learned how to perform basic statistical analyses and written a professional report. Team LeadersFeng Chen Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences |
| 199 | Meaningful Work in Medicine This Creative Inquiry team will examine meaningful work as a buffer against the effects of stressors on emergency physicians, as well as determine interventions that should enhance meaningful work and therefore reduce stress and burnout. Students will gain experience in all phases of the research process. Team LeadersThomas W. Britt Jr Psychology |
| 211 | Exploration of Weight Gain and Obesity in Adult Populations This CI will introduce students to the need for programs addressing overweight and obesity in adult populations and how to create and implement effective interventions. A review of existing programs for diverse populations will be included and the hypothesis(es) generated to plan an intervention for a local population reviewed. Students will be trained in anthropometrics and assessment measures such as blood pressure that often changes with weight gain. Students will plan/revise/implement an educational intervention and learn/practice physical assessments. The intervention component of the CI along with data collection and data analysis will occur. The project will culminate in a write up and presentation of the study results. Team LeadersVivian J Haley-Zitlin Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences |
| 212 | A Nutrition Education & Life-Style Intervention for Type 2 Diabetes This CI will introduce students to the incidence and prevalence of diabetes in SC, the US and worldwide as well as the resources available to individuals with diabetes locally. Existing programs addressing type 2 diabetes – prevention and treatment – will be researched and critiqued. An intervention specific for the population that we will work with will be created and implemented following a thorough literature review and hypothesis(es) generated which will facilitate development of an effective intervention for a local population. Students will be trained in anthropometrics and assessment measures such as finger sticks & glucometer use, physical assessments that are diabetes related such as skin changes, foot and eye changes. They will also learn how to assess HgA1C, breath and urine changes with uncontrolled diabetes in order to more effectively relate to and treat their clients. Blood pressure will also be monitored as cardiovascular changes occur with uncontrolled diabetes. Students will plan and develop an educational intervention and/or plan a media campaign and learn/practice assessments Fall semester along with conducting a pilot assessment. The intervention component of this CI will occur Spring semester 2020 along with data collection, analysis, and write up plus presentation of the study results. Team LeadersVivian J Haley-Zitlin Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences |
| 216 | Bundling Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences Undergraduate teams with academic experience in culinary science and nutrition science collaborate to create new products, recipes, services development and testing as well as evaluation with health considerations for children and adults in the Upstate of South Carolina. Project affiliated with Produce Rx at the Clemson Free Clinic and SNAP Ed. Team LeadersMargaret Condrasky Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences |
| 217 | Culinary Nutrition This team collaborates with providers of children programs and services in the Upstate of SC to define, create, and test programs with a culinary and nutrition emphasis for adolescent children. Examples of previous programs have been cooking camps, Clemson Free Clinic, healthy lifestyle competitions and recipe set development. Team LeadersMargaret Condrasky Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences |
| 235 | Nutrient Sensing in Protozoan Parasites The Morris lab is focused on resolving the mechanisms that protozoan parasites use to sense and metabolize the important sugar glucose during infection of their human host. Through these studies, parasite-specific components of the sugar sensing and uptake pathway have been identified and, in an on-going collaborative effort, small molecule inhibitors of the pathways with anti-parasitic activity have been developed. While the team has historically focused on the African trypanosome, more recent work on the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum and the brain eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri suggests that exploiting the sugar metabolism pathways of these single-celled invaders may also prove useful in the development of new therapeutics. Team LeadersJames Morris Genetics and Biochemistry |
| 244 | Healthcare Logistics and Patient Flow: Observation and Analysis Students involved in this Creative Inquiry project will be exposed to projects involving healthcare processes on the day of surgery or in emergency medicine. Students will get the opportunity to collect data at a hospital, analyze the data to provide meaningful results and recommendations, and present the project at conferences. Understanding how modeling tools are used to improve healthcare logistics will also be an underlying theme to this research. Team LeadersKevin Taaffe Industrial Engineering |
| 252 | Molecular Dissection of the Spider Silk Self-Assembly Process This Creative Inquiry group is studying the mechanism by which soluble spider silk proteins are assembled into a fiber. Understanding this process may provide insights that lead to the development of new biologically-inspired materials. Team LeadersWilliam R Marcotte Jr Genetics and Biochemistry |
| 263 | Projects for Sustainable Development in Recovering and Developing Communities Spring 2022 The Sustainable Designs CI project brings together students from a variety of majors in engineering and science to explore sustainable options for fueling our world and restoring our natural resources and ecosystems- options that are particularly suited for developing communities and those that are recovering from natural disasters. In past semesters, solar water heaters and solar water distillation systems have been explored. More recently, the team has focused on two projects: 1) the biological production of hydrogen gas (H2) for use as a biofuel from waste agricultural products; and 2) the restoration of oyster reefs for reducing sediment loss in wetlands and improving ecosystem function. The biological production of hydrogen gas using waste agricultural products is one way to produce biofuels in a sustainable manner. In this CI, students learned the lab-scale techniques (media preparation, inoculation and incubation) for the anaerobic bacterium Thermotoga neapolitana that is capable of converting sucrose, fructose and glucose contained in cull fruits to H2 gas, acetic acid, and CO2. The team will investigate options for optimizing the rate of H2 production.Globally, 85% of the world's oyster reefs have been destroyed or harvested. The CI team will investigate means to restore oyster reefs in the ACE basin in South Carolina, through the use of structures to provide suitable surface area for spat attachment. The team will collaborate with SC-DNR personnel to design and install structures near Fenwick Island, SC in the ACE Basin. Team LeadersCaye Drapcho Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences |
| 276 | Design and Synthesis of Advanced Nanomaterials to Address the Global Challenges of the 21st Century This Creative Inquiry is focused on the design and synthesis of nanomaterials for applications that are of significant interest towards addressing the grand challenges of the 21st century. Specifically, this CI research is addressing challenges associated with Catalysis and Drug Delivery. Catalysis is responsible for 90% of the chemicals and materials produced today. This equivocates to roughly 30% of the global GDP. We are looking to redefine the way nanomaterials are used for catalysis. Team LeadersChristopher Kitchens Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering |
| 287 | ClemsonLIFE: Nutrition and Healthy Cooking ClemsonLIFE Postsecondary program currently has 15 students with disabilities on the Clemson campus. The ClemsonLIFE Nutrition and Healthy Eating Creative Inquiry group will assist the program by providing instruction, support, and accountability in the areas of Nutrition and Healthy Eating. People with disabilities typically have a high occurrence of obesity and diabetes due to a sedentary lifestyle and poor food choices. This group will help the students explore healthy eating and cooking options along with educating them on nutrition principles to support them in achieving their ultimate goal of successful independent living. Team LeadersElliot Jesch Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences |
| 300 | PackExpo Exhibit Design, Build, Research One of the largest trade exhibitions in the country is PackExpo. Join us as we represent Clemson University in a large booth that involves human subjects research with eye tracking and facial coding. Students will participate in the experimental design, execution, and analysis of human subjects research while designing, building, and managing a large event. Team LeadersRupert Hurley Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences |
| 336 | Applications of Geographic and Soil Information Systems Soil is a critical component of land use planning. The objective of this project is to study and understand the properties of soils in relation to current and future use. Individual student projects focus on evaluating the soil resources using soil sampling and testing, Web Soil Survey databases, as well as GIS and statistical software in relation to current or future land use plans. Students are able to select an area of interest and perform a comprehensive assessment of soil resources in relation to potential real estate, agricultural, or forestry application. Team LeadersElena Mikhailova Forestry and Environmental ConservationChristopher Post Forestry and Environmental Conservation |
| 347 | Tackling Social Issues: Advanced Multidisciplinary Undergraduate Research in Applied Ethics And Ethical Debate Critical examination of ethical cases largely taken from up-to-date newspaper and magazine publications. Anticipation of critical questions that might be asked about the cases. Research and development of responses to these questions and the best ethical resolution of the cases. These responses are first developed in writing, and then are presented orally in a competitive debate-like format. Oral responses will be presented at the regional competition and, if chosen, at the national conference of the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics. Team LeadersKelly Smith Philosophy and ReligionTimothy Juvshik Philosophy and Religion |
| 351 | Ice Cream Innovation An exploration of new and novel techniques to advancing innovation in ice cream and frozen desserts. Growth of the Ice Cream and Frozen Dessert industry is dependent on innovation. This team of students is focused on conducting market research that explores consumer trends for the e-commerce market and food vendors on college campuses. Team LeadersJohn U. McGregor Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences |
| 356 | Geologic Properties The properties of geologic materials such as rocks, soil, and water highly influence the placement and design of human constructs such as roads, dams, and buildings. Understanding these properties help us design more sustainable structures with less environmental impact. Team LeadersScott E Brame Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences |
| 359 | Physical Activity Promotion and Research The goal of our CI project is to examine and promote healthy eating and physical activity practices among children and families participating in an afterschool program in a low-income, predominantly Hispanic community. This project is funded, in part, by a 21st Century community Learning Center grant awarded to the elementary school we serve in Greenville, SC. Team LeadersKaren A Kemper Public Health Sciences |
| 364 | Landscape Ecology and Conservation in the Appalachians Students in this CI are working to understand the influence of landscapes and land uses on snake movement ,ecology, and disease susceptibility. Team LeadersBryan Hudson Forestry and Environmental ConservationRussell Kyle Barrett Forestry and Environmental Conservation |
| 376 | Popular Science Journalism The overall goal of this project is to produce a science column in the student body newspaper, The Tiger. The name of the column is Tigra scientifica and is used to report on the hottest topics in scientific and academic research. Team LeadersLesly Temesvari Biological Sciences |
| 378 | Designing Medical Technology for the Developing World Developing countries face healthcare challenges every day, whether it is lack of supplies or a shortage of healthcare professionals. Medical devices and equipment that are considered standard in hospitals in the United States can be hard to find and very expensive in developing countries, such as Tanzania. Tanzania has recently made significant advances with the quality of their healthcare; however, there are still many hurdles that need to be overcome. The goal of this Creative Inquiry team is to design and develop medical instrumentation and monitors that are robust, user-friendly, and low-cost for developing countries. The students on this team will be expected to work on electronics and instrument design. These types of projects not only have the ability to improve the lives of young infants and families, but they can also impact the medical field in developing nations worldwide. In addition to doing design, students are expected to learn about Tanzania as a whole. Students will learn about Tanzanian culture, government and healthcare structure as well as some basic conversational Swahili. Team LeadersDelphine Dean BioengineeringWilliam Richardson Bioengineering Melissa McCullough Bioengineering John D DesJardins Bioengineering Melinda Harman Bioengineering |
| 379 | Digital History and Introduction to Cyberinfrastructure in Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences In this current global digital age, this humanities project fosters students to research and independently design their own digital history projects. As an introduction to cyberinfrastructure, students learn the basics of digital history and humanities and participate in ongoing database and web projects. More advanced students can do statistical analysis as well as use the Social Media Lab to analyze media in a historical context. Team LeadersVernon Burton History and GeographyAlexander Bowen History and Geography Joshua Catalano History and Geography Megan Gaston History and Geography |
| 387 | Exploration of Material Mechanical and Wear Performance Industry, academic and national laboratories are all interested in understanding how to control the friction between sliding surfaces and avoid wear (loss of material). Work has shown that materials selection (surface materials chemistry and structure), surface topography (micro patterning), system parameters (velocity and force), etc. can all influence the wear rate. Since all these factors play a role (and their roles are not always completely understood), the direct measurement is often desired for novel alloy types including high entropy alloys. We will look at surface deformation mechanisms, sliding contact and common test techniques used in this field. For Spring 2022, the materials systems we will be focusing will include additively manufactured CoCr or high entropy alloys. Team LeadersMarian Kennedy Materials Science and Engineering |
| 397 | Computational Design Group The Clemson School of Architecture Computational Design Group engages in a critical exploration of emergent technologies and material science in architectural design. The aim of this group is to house several, more specific, research agendas concerning applications of computing methods in architecture under one, more general, classification of ‘computational design’. We are currently research 'Design-to-fabrication workflows with Extended Reality'. In 2021 our team is continuing a project initiated in 2020 with industry partner Autodesk where we are developing algorithms for accurate holographic-assisted physical component assembly. Team LeadersDavid Lee School of Architecture |
| 406 | Creative Inquiry in Marketing: Advertising Campaign Development and Execution The students work two semesters for a total of 3 hours elective credit on a national competition sponsored by the American Advertising Federation and a national sponsor for a Spring event called called the National Student Advertising Competition. This two-semester project involves the students operating as a simulated integrated marketing communications agency. Team LeadersBrian Connaughton Department of Graphic CommunicationsJames G Gaubert Department of Marketing |
| 416 | TAGA Journal This project offers students the opportunity to design, edit and produce a technical journal showcasing student research in Graphic Communications as well as compete with schools internationally for recognition for the quality of their work. The team attends the international Technical Association for the Graphic Arts (TAGA) Annual Technical Conference to present their journals for the competition and to meet and learn from top researchers in the Graphic Communications industry. Team LeadersCharles Weiss Department of Graphic CommunicationsLiam O'Hara Department of Graphic Communications |
| 424 | Synthesis and Modification of Metal and Metal Oxide Nanoparticles Students will focus on understanding the structure-property relationships of magnetic nanoparticles. Specifically the team will investigate how size and composition change the magnetic properties of these systems. Team LeadersOlin Mefford Materials Science and Engineering |
| 430 | Student Directors of the Annual Clemson Literary Festival The Clemson Literary Festival is a student run, student directed, annual event featuring three days of readings by national authors, literary panel discussions, book fairs, and open mic events that seeks to bring students, faculty, alumni, and the surrounding communities together through a mutual love and appreciation for the Arts and Humanities. Team LeadersJohn Pursley EnglishKeith L Morris English |
| 447 | Clemson ASCE Steel Bridge Team This CI project prepares students to compete in the annual Student Steel Bridge Competition organized by the American Institute of Steel Construction. The student will design and fabricate a scaled steel bridge (about 15-ft long) to be compete in the annual regional competition (Carolinas and Georgia). At the competition, the team will be judged for efficiency of assembling the bridge under timed construction. The bridge will then be load tested and weighted. The scale-bridge is about 20-ft long and is expected to carry at least 2,500 lbs. Top ranked teams in the regional competition will advance to the national competition. Team LeadersWeichiang Pang Civil Engineering |
| 479 | Comparative Vertebrate Musculoskeletal Biomechanics Research in my lab examines the patterns and processes of functional evolution in vertebrates. To understand the factors that have contributed to evolutionary transitions in function, we test the functional consequences of variation in biological design, primarily through experimental studies of vertebrate musculoskeletal biomechanics. We have extended these studies to include selection experiments on functional performance, allowing us to evaluate the impact of functional tradeoffs on structural diversification. Our three primary study systems have been examinations of (1) the load bearing capacity of vertebrate limb bones (and fish fins) during terrestrial and aquatic locomotion; (2) the functional performance of waterfall climbing gobiid fishes in a variety of behaviors, including climbing, predator escape, and feeding; and (3) the effects of differences in body structure on the swimming performance of turtles and tadpoles. These systems have allowed a diverse range of comparative studies that have provided insight into broader issues in the diversity and evolution of vertebrate functional design. Studies of these systems are complemented by investigations of other systems as new questions and opportunities emerge. Team LeadersRichard Blob Biological SciencesAmanda Palecek Biological Sciences |
| 489 | Exploring Peptoid Proteins: Making and Structurally Characterizing Peptidomimetic Structures Natural peptides and proteins are critically important in biology and medicine as well as increasingly in biotechnology and the chemical industry. Chemical structures mimicking the properties of natural peptides and proteins have been developed over the past three decades, with enormous potential for transformative impact in many fields. One handicap of these peptide-mimetic systems, however, is the lack of a broad scope of knowledge comparable to that available for natural proteins and peptides. Databases such as the Protein Data Bank contain structures for ~150,000 natural proteins, collected over the past ~50 years. These rich data sources enable whole fields of research, such as bioinformatics and protein engineering, that rely on having abundant data. Design of peptide mimics and hybrid peptide-peptidomimetic systems, therefore, relies on rational planning and design. This project involves both a structural component--synthesizing peptoids and other peptide mimics to study their structures and test predictions for novel secondary structures; as well as biomedical component--e.g., using the proven strategy of replacing proline residues in peptides with peptoid residues, as well as incorporating other peptidomimetic residues such as PEGylated amino acids into peptides of medical interest. Team LeadersModi Wetzler Chemistry |
| 498 | Democracy Building in Post-Conflict Societies: The Cases of Serbia, Kosovo, BiH, Montenegro and Croatia Students are engaged in research of the history and causes of the conflicts in former Yugoslavia working in 5 teams, one for each country to be visited during study abroad. They present their findings and draft research papers which are then finished during Summer Study Abroad using primary sources. Team LeadersVladimir Matic Political Science |
| 510 | Aquaponics: Maximizing use of a Biological System for Unique Production of an Aquatic and Plant Based Crop This project stimulates undergraduate students' understanding of aquatic (fish, shrimp) production in recirculating systems and works to expand the unit for establishment of a dual or polyculture unit. The project will investigate methods for aquaponics and refine specific deficiencies of the system which include passive heating techniques to reduce costs, system design (airlift technology) considerations for efficiency and power dependency, automation for system productivity and bacterial control for food safety considerations. Team LeadersLance Beecher Cooperative Extension Services |
| 516 | Heat Transfer Along the Human Arm in Electric Arch Phenomenon (Mathematical Modeling with Advanced Engineering Apps) Students enrolled in the CI will be utilizing what they learned in differential equations, calculus and numerical methods courses to model and explore the advanced engineering problems including the phenomena of an electric arc through the human arm and its effects. Team LeadersIrina Viktorova School of Mathematical and Statistical SciencesMuhammed Kose Mechanical Engineering Timothy Teitloff School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences Sofya Alekseeva School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences |
| 522 | Experiencing Woody Plant Genomics and Biotechnology The project aims to utilize genomics tools and advanced biotechnological approaches to improve plant health and enhance nutritional/medicinal values and production. The focus is on woody plants. Students are exposed to molecular techniques, bioinformatics, tissue culture, data recording and analysis, and greenhouse management. The project will cultivate students’ interests in plants and understanding of plants’ important roles plants in the food supply, the environment, and human well-being. Team LeadersHaiying Liang Genetics and Biochemistry |
| 526 | Soil Judging Project - Hands-On Experience in Soil Science Soil characteristics are key to land productivity and the objective of this project is to learn hands-on techniques to be able to interpret soils based on physical soil properties. Soil morphology and classification skills are critical to help understand the best and most productive uses of different land areas. These skills and knowledge are applied through a group project focused on real-life soils-based issues in the U.S and Internationally. Team LeadersElena Mikhailova Forestry and Environmental Conservation |
| 548 | China's Foreign Policy This Creative Inquiry project systematically examines some of the most important issues facing the world. Students will be involved in on-going discussions and debates as well as engaged in direct dialogues with diplomats and business leaders, both Chinese and American. Team LeadersXiaobo Hu Political Science |
| 550 | Organelle Biogenesis in African Trypanosomes African trypanosomes cause a number of human and livestock diseases. My laboratory is focused on resolving the mechanisms that regulate the biogenesis of essential organelles called glycosomes in these organisms. These organelles are parasite specific and essential making them excellent drug targets. Team LeadersMeredith Morris Genetics and Biochemistry |
| 556 | Biology of Lipids and Lipid Droplets in Trypanosomes We are investigating how the lethal blood parasite Trypanosoma brucei acquires and stores lipids from its host. Lipids can be used as a source of energy, key building blocks for cell membranes, anchors of cell surface proteins, and signaling molecules. In its hosts, T. brucei must use a combination of fatty acid uptake and synthesis to survive. We are interested in the following research questions: How does the parasite sense environmental sources? How does it take up fatty acids from its hosts? How does it "decide" where those fatty acids go int he cell? What role do these processes play in pathogenesis and immune evasion? We use a variety of genetic, molecular, biochemical, and cell biological approaches to address these questions in our lab. Team LeadersKimberly Paul Genetics and BiochemistryJoshua Saliutama Genetics and Biochemistry |
| 561 | Relationship Between Toxoplasma Infection and Immune Responses in Cancer Development Toxoplasmosis is a highly prevalent infectious disease among the human population with approximately one third of the people on the earth carry such infections. The causing agent Toxoplasma gondii widely spreads in the environment. The primary infections generally do not cause severe symptoms in healthy people owing to competent immunity; however, they can transit into latent infection and form cysts within the host’s brain by penetrating the blood-brain barrier or muscle tissue. When the host experiences compromised immunity, such as cancer development, the cyst can be reactivated to cause severe or even lethal situations. Moreover, a recent study has revealed that the infection of Toxoplasma can trigger a similar signaling pathway shared with cancer development. So far, many epidemiological studies have shown that the human population with cancer have a higher Toxoplasma infection percentage than the healthy control group. These findings suggest a positive correlation between Toxoplasma infection with cancer occurrence, and the cancer patients are more vulnerable to primary toxoplasmosis than healthy individuals. It is obvious that the immune system plays a critical role in the parasite infection and tumor development; however, the information about the immune regulation in Toxoplasma infection on tumor development is very limited. In this project, students will have the opportunity to investigate the relationship between Toxoplasma infection and the immune system on cancer development using in vitro assays. Team LeadersYanzhang Wei Biological Sciences |
| 563 | Investment Research Challenge The CFA Research Challenge, organized by the CFA Institute and its member Societies, involves the valuation of a publicly traded company. Just like a Wall Street analyst would do for a research report, the team of students must come up with a one-year target price for the stock along with a Buy/Hold/Sell recommendation. The students must research the company, its industry, competitors, customers, and market trends to make assumptions that are used in a financial model projecting future performance. In this project, students develop teamwork, analytical, written and oral communication skills to write their report and present to a panel of investment professionals. Team LeadersJack G. Wolf Department of Financial Management |
| 564 | Certified Financial Analyst Seminar The CFA charter is the most prestigious certification available in Finance and Investments. Although students can’t completely earn the charter while they are still in school, they can begin the process with the Level I exam. The CI group helps students prepare for the exam by having the students develop written study materials (which are uploaded to Canvas) and present these topics to the rest of the group. Team LeadersJack G. Wolf Department of Financial Management |
| 569 | Drones for Natural Resource Management Drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have become a critical tool for natural resource management. This CI will focus on teaching students the skills and laws associated with legal use of UAVs for natural resource management. Topics covered include: the various sensors and types of UAVs, data collection planning and methods, processing data and accuracy evaluation, safe operations of UAVs, and the legal framework for using UAVs for commercial and research purposes (under FAA Part 107 rules). Students will typically focus on one related research topic during the semester that leverages the high spatial and temporal resolution of UAV data to address a research topic in natural resources. Team LeadersChristopher Post Forestry and Environmental ConservationCarly Berrios School of Nursing |
| 574 | Implementation of Public Art for the Clemson University Campus Clemson University's Public Art Program features the works of nationally recognized artists. We are dedicated to exploring opportunities where public art becomes woven into the campus environment. All artwork selected for projects will be intellectually engaging while demonstrating qualities that elicit questions and prompt discourse. Artworks are site specific and are commissioned through a competitive process. Team LeadersJoey Manson Art |
| 575 | Veteran's History Project Collection and Digitization The Veterans History Project of the American Folklife Center collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans, as well as U.S. Citizens who were actively involved in supporting war efforts (war industry workers, USO medical personnel, flight instructors, etc.) so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war. In order to assist the Library of Congress with this arduous task, Clemson University students will conduct interviews and collect other materials accepted by the project then facilitate their digitization for Clemson University records before sending the original materials to the Library of Congress. Team LeadersVernon Burton History and GeographyMegan Gaston History and Geography Alexander Bowen History and Geography Lance Young CBBSUAC Joshua Catalano History and Geography |
| 578 | Green Building Materials: Magnesium Oxide Based Cements as a Sustainable Alternative This CI is focused on fundamental research associated with sustainable building products. Specifically, we are investigating the chemistry and material properties of magnesium oxide cement composites. Companies we have interacted with include Jet Products, LP Corp., MiTek Ind., and Shaw corp. The goal of this work is to develop new technology and materials for residential and commercial construction that benefits human health and the environment. Team LeadersChristopher Kitchens Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering |
| 580 | Geologic Indicators of Climate Change The goal of this project is quantify the difference between natural fluxes of carbon dioxide and anthropogenic sources. This is accomplished with a mobile eddy covariance tower and soil chambers. Understanding human contributions to the carbon cycle will enable us to devise more sustainable solutions for the future. Team LeadersScott E Brame Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences |
| 608 | Human Factors Safety Research This project is a continuing series of studies involving the assessment of factors impacting safety and performance in real world situations. Principles of perception, conspicuity, and hazard identification will be applied in experiments assessing, for example, trips, falls, and similar incidents in both real-world and laboratory environments. Team LeadersBenjamin R Stephens Psychology |
| 625 | Host-Microbe Interactions in the Gastrointestinal Tract This research project will focus on various aspects of interactions between the normal (non-pathogenic) bacterial members of the human gastrointestinal tract and their human hosts. The overarching focus is to identify conserved functions within particular groups of microbes that can be targeted with small organic molecules. The goal is to identify potential new therapeutics that could be used to modify the gastrointestinal microbiome in a targeted fashion. The current research is focused on investigating the possible involvement of Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron (and related species) in the development and/or exacerbation of diabetes, obesity, and colon cancer. Team LeadersKristi Whitehead Biological SciencesDaniel Whitehead Chemistry |
| 629 | Serious games to enable STEM research and education This CI group will contribute to the development, testing, and evaluation of serious games as a tool to enhance STEM education, understand factors influencing decision making, and assess efficacy of discipline-specific game-based learning. By integrating cyber-infrastructure, earth systems science, and social science with game play, modern serious games can become a particularly powerful tool for communicating interdisciplinary concepts, such as environmental sustainability. This CI group will research the breadth of game mechanics utilized in existing serious (e.g., River City) and non-serious (e.g., Farmville) games, test and evaluate what features of these games are attractive to players, and contribute to the development of new serious games that can be used at Clemson and beyond for STEM education and research. Team LeadersLindsay Shuller-Nickles Environmental Engineering and Earth SciencesF Catherine Mobley Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice Michael Dale Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences Emily Scribner Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences D. Matthew Boyer Educational and Organizational Leadership Development David Connick Physics and Astronomy |
| 635 | A Non-Viral Episomal Vector System for Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell (IPS) Production Embryonic stem cells hold great promise for the cures of a variety of human diseases, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's etc.. However, ES cell research has been hampered due to the ethical concerns of the use of human embryos. Recently, scientists have developed a novel way to convert somatic cells into ES-like cells through forced expression of four transcription factors key to the ES cell pluripotency maintenance. These cells are called induced pluripotent stem cells (IPS). The initial method used for IPS induction is based on retrovirus due to its high transfection efficiency. However, the potential dangers of retrovirus induced insertional mutagenesis and transformation pose great concerns for the applications of theses IPS cells in human. Therefore a great deal of research efforts have been put in the search of alternative delivery systems to create safer IPS cells, such as protein, mRNA, plasmid, and non-integrating viral system. My laboratory has been working with a non-viral episomal vector based on the sequence of mammalian scaffold/matrix attachment region (S/mar), which are sequences in the DNA of eukaryotic chromosomes where the nuclear matrix attaches. S/mar sequences function as architectural DNA components that organize the genome of eukaryotes into functional units within the cell nucleus. Plasmids incorporated with the S/mar sequence can be maintained as replicative episomal units within mammalian nuclei. We plan to clone the four transcription factors into this vector for IPS induction. This episomal vector system will not only reduce or eliminate the potentials of insertional mutagenesis, but also solve the problems of gradual loss from transfected cells encountered by regular plasmids due to the episomal replicative capacity of this plasmid. Team LeadersXianzhong Yu Biological Sciences |
| 643 | Aspire: Developing Peer Delivered Initiatives to Foster the Promotion of a Healthy Campus Aspire: Developing Peer Delivered Initiatives to Foster the Promotion of a Healthy Campus works with the Aspire to Be Well Program, which is a 90-minute peer-led health- and safety-focused dialogue and CU 1000 requirement. The dialogue covers key areas to maintaining a healthy and safe campus including overall wellness, alcohol and other drug misuse prevention, mental health and suicide prevention, and interpersonal violence prevention. Students will gain an understanding of campus resources and learn how to help others in need through risk-reduction strategies and bystander intervention. Students enrolled in this Creative Inquiry will explore topics related to Aspire, receive extensive training on delivering the content to new students and research trends related to health and wellness in higher education. Team LeadersChloe Dixon Student Health CenterKelsie Keel Jennifer Goree Student Health Center Danielle Romero |
| 645 | Bamboo Reinforced Concrete This project was initially started following the 2010 Haiti Earthquake. Many concrete and masonry buildings collapsed during the 2010 Haiti Earthquake resulting in serious devastation and many casualties. One of the major cause of widespread building collapses was the lack of reinforcement (steel bars) in the buildings. Steel rebars are very expensive in Haiti. This project seeks to use bamboo as a replacement for steel to reinforce concrete and masonry structures. Team LeadersWeichiang Pang Civil Engineering |
| 648 | Humanitarian Aid to Support Ethnic Reconciliation Students collect aid for young students (K 1-9) in Srebrenica and deliver it in May during the Study Abroad Balkans program. Their work during academic years starting in 2012 was always very successful. Team LeadersVladimir Matic Political Science |
| 649 | AIChE ChemE Car Team The ChemE Car team develops a car which runs on energy which is generated by the car itself. At competition, the car carries a payload a certain distance and must then stop; the car which is closest to the target distance wins. Team LeadersChristopher Kitchens Chemical and Biomolecular EngineeringChristopher W. Norfolk Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering |
| 672 | Finding Your Voice Camp This Creative Inquiry group will be responsible for planning, marketing, and evaluating an all-girls weekend camp at the Clemson University Outdoor Lab. The purpose of the camp is to introduce middle school girls to nontraditional physical activities as well as to offer educational sessions on topics such as self-esteem, body image, and college life. Research focused on the camp will address the following research questions:Does participation in a girls only camp impact middle school girls' body image? Does participation in outdoor recreation activities impact middle school girls' sense of physical self-efficacy? What are additional outcomes of participation in a girls only camp for middle school girls beyond potential impacts on body image and self-efficacy? Team LeadersDenise Anderson Dean of Health,Educ,HumanDev |
| 693 | Human Energy Metabolism This project studies a wide range of factors contributing to energy metabolism, such as body composition measurement via DXA scan, monitoring nutrient metabolism and resting energy expenditure via metabolic cart, and physical activity and sleep monitoring with a wearable activity monitor. Team LeadersElliot Jesch Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences |
| 703 | Assessment of College Student Health This research team is focused on assessing and evaluating college student health. Our primary focus is the analysis of the National College Health Assessment with both Clemson specific and National data. Student have the opportunity to learn key data analysis skills while exploring various topics that impact college student health. Student will also work on the projects to reduce high-risk activities, promote positive health practices, and foster healthy campus environments at Clemson University. Team LeadersJennifer Goree Student Health CenterKelley Metcalfe |
| 709 | The Development of Critical Thinking in Undergraduates We conduct a continuing series of experimental and non-experimental studies examining the assessment and development of critical thinking skills in undergraduates. Team members review relevant literature, design the studies, collect data, analyze the data, and present the results and conclusions at local, regional, and international research meetings. Team LeadersBenjamin R Stephens Psychology |
| 715 | Beaches and Deserts: The Microbial Cycling of Iron and Other Nutrients and Their Importance to Healthy Ecosystems. Microbes are responsible for numerous ecosystem functions and processes. These functions and processes include the reduction and oxidation of biogenic metals as well as changing the form of non-metallic nutrients such as nitrogen. We seek to understand microbes and their communities involved in these processes in arid and coastal ecosystems. Team LeadersHarry Kurtz Jr Biological Sciences |
| 716 | Novel Applications of Photovoltaics The goal of this project is to demonstrate that 100% of the electric and thermal power needs of Anderson Research Park can be provided by photovoltaics and batteries at a cost lower than what the university will be paying to utility. Team LeadersRajendra Singh Electrical and Computer Engineering |
| 719 | Hands on Tissue Engineering Electrospinning is an often utilized lab technique to create extracellular matrix-like nanofibers for tissue engineering. Our group works to utilize electrospun nanofibers containing therapeutic agents in surgical sutures for targeted drug delivery. Departments of this project include: modifying/improving/maintaining the coating device, running laboratory electrospinning trials under controlled conditions, and performing validation testing including imaging, mechanical testing, and drug-eluting testing. Team LeadersDelphine Dean BioengineeringJorge Rodriguez Dean of Engineering & Science |
| 729 | Geologic Field Trip Design and Implementation It has been said that the best geologist is the one who has seen the most rocks. The rocks in the southeast US contain only a small fraction of the overall geologic diversity and the wet climate encourages ample vegetation that obscures what is there. The goal of this project is to engage students by researching locations to observe geologic features of interest, plan a trip, and go there. Team LeadersScott E Brame Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences |
| 741 | Marine Conservation and Genetics Over-fishing, pollution, and habitat destruction are among the major issues affecting marine life and habitats. Marine ornamental crustaceans, i.e., wild caught species sought by aquarium hobbyists due to their aesthetic value (e.g., bright coloration) and/or ability to control/eliminate aquarium pests, are particularly impacted by over-fishing and habitat destruction and do require immediate attention. The ornamental fishery, a well-established multi-million dollar industry, often operates unnoticed due to their niche market, the frequency of product export, and the diminutive size of the target organisms. Little attention has been paid to them and they have been managed based on little to no life history information. The marine aquarium trade relies predominantly on wild caught species with > 90% taken from coral reefs and associated habitats. The industry has increased dramatically in recent years with a distinct focus on crustaceans (and other invertebrates) that provide “ecosystem services” for aquaria (control of aquarium pests). As these organisms are harvested for the services they can provide in an aquarium, those services are potentially lost from the ecosystem. Immediately after corals, crustaceans represent the most heavily traded ornamental marine invertebrate worldwide. Basic life history information critical to manage any fishery with the goal of sustainability is largely absent. Furthermore, the mislabeling of the species traded in the industry is rampant. The development of a genetic (COI and/or 16S) barcode for this economically and ecologically important group of shrimps is warranted for achieving the goal of fishery sustainability. This Creative Inquiry project aims at generating basic life history information about the most intensively traded species in the western Atlantic (e.g., shrimps from the genera Thor, Lysmata and Periclimenes, and crabs from the species complex Mithrax-Mithraculus). Furthermore, this project will setup the basis for the development of a genetic barcode for the most heavily harvested ornamental crustaceans. Team LeadersJuan Antonio Baeza Migueles Biological Sciences |
| 742 | Imaginative Ligands and Unique Metal Complexes: A Marriage of Organic and Inorganic Chemistry Organic chemists often are puzzled by metals, and inorganic chemists are often puzzled by organic chemistry, but there are great opportunities in uniting the ability of organic chemists to generate complex 3D molecules with the unique reactivities and properties of metals. This project combines the expertise of an organic chemist and an inorganic chemist to design, synthesize, and examine the metal-coordination properties of ligands for commonly studied metal ions such as iron and copper, as well as more exotic metal ions such as lanthanides uranium, and plutonium (note: undergraduate students will not be working with uranium and plutonium!). This project uses synthetically versatile new approaches in organic synthesis to generate ligands with applications in biological, catalytic, and nuclear applications. Once made, a variety of techniques are used to examine the metal coordination abilities of these ligands, including electrochemistry, stability constant determinations, and DNA damage and cellular assays. Team LeadersJulia Brumaghim ChemistryModi Wetzler Chemistry |
| 749 | Deep Eutectic Solvents based on Halogen Bonding for Energy Applications and as Tunable Reaction Media Deep Eutectic Solvents (DESs) are relatively new alternative reaction media consisting of mixtures of two or more components (Chem. Rev. 2014, 114, 11060−11082) They are related to Ionic Liquids, and while both have advantages over conventional solvents in having much lower vapor pressure tunable solvation properties DESs are generally less expensive to produce and have much lower toxicity than either Ionic Liquids or conventional solvents. Weak intermolecular attractions between the components of the DES mixture are important for their unique properties and in all currently available DESs these attractions are based on either ionic interactions, hydrogen bonding, or both. Our research is focused on an interaction similar to hydrogen bonding, called halogen bonding (Crystal Growth & Design 2001, 1, 165-175), and we have recently reported the first example of a halogen-bonding-based DES (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2021, 60, 22983 – 22989). This CI project will involve a survey of halogen bonded materials for DES properties and when found, testing and characterization of their structure (liquid and crystalline) and thermal properties. Current technology in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs) often relies on halogen bondined materials and our project will also explore whether our new DESs will lead to enhanced performance of DSSCs. Team LeadersColin McMillen ChemistryWilliam T Pennington Jr Chemistry |
| 756 | Biochemical Analysis of Homologous Recombination and DNA Repair Our laboratory studies the mechanism behind the repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). If not repaired, a DSB can result in genome instability and potentially, cancer. DSBs are caused by exposure to chemicals, radiation, oxidative reactive species generated during normal metabolism and damaged replication forks. The repair of DSBs often involves the homologous recombination (HR) DNA repair pathway. The heart of HR is the RAD51 and DMC1 recombinase. These enzymes catalyze the search for homology between the damaged DNA and the sister chromatid. The activity of the recombinases is modulated by a number of accessory proteins. We utilize a combination of molecular biological and biochemical techniques to determine the role these accessory proteins have in the modulation of RAD51 and DMC1 recombinase activity. The results of our studies will provide insight into the mechanistic underpinnings of HR and genome maintenance. Team LeadersMichael Sehorn Genetics and Biochemistry |
| 762 | Exploring New Materials for Advanced Lithium Ion Battery Applications New materials will be explored for longer life and greater capacity of the next generation batteries. Metal-organic framework (MOF) solids are known for its propensity in host-guest chemistry relevant to gas absorption, ion-exchange, catalysis and cathode applications, to just name a few. Participants of this Creative Inquiry project will learn fundamental electrochemical (e-chem) skills and, with my supervision, are encouraged to formulate their own work in the exploration of MOF solids. We will employ the water-soluble polyoxometalates along with organic amines to build new MOFs through e-chem synthesis at room temperature. The resulting solids will be subject to ion-exchange reactions and surface area analysis. We anticipate that new solids featuring open-framework structures suitable for electrode applications will result. Team LeadersShiou-jyh Hwu ChemistryKirkland Sheriff Chemistry |
| 763 | Exploring New Magnetic Solids for Quantum Computing and Information Storage Exploring new magnetic materials revealing quantum tunneling phenomenon for the next generation quantum computing. A new class of inorganic solids will be synthesized by high-temperature (<500 oC) solid state methods. A typical example can be seen in one of our recent publications (Chem. Mater. 2014, 26, 1502-1504) where the synthesis of magnetic nanostructures in condensed matter is shown feasible for the formation of desired quantum tunneling phenomenon. The resulting new solids will be subject to single crystal X-ray diffraction studies, UV-vis spectroscopic analysis, and magnetic susceptibility measurements. We anticipate temperature-independent magnetic relaxation, a signature phenomenon for quantum tunneling, will be observed in these new magnetic insulators. Team LeadersShiou-jyh Hwu ChemistryKirkland Sheriff Chemistry |
| 765 | Engineering the Intervertebral Disc Herniation and degeneration of the intervertebral discs (IVDs) in our spine can cause significant pain, disability and economic burden on a global scale. Current surgical strategies to repair and restore function to the IVDs have limitations. Regenerative medicine-based approaches for IVD repair and regeneration using stem cells and scaffolds hold significant promise; however, an ideal scaffold that mimics the complex micro-architecture, biochemistry and mechanical properties of the entire IVD has yet to be developed. Previously, our CI has created a composite scaffold derived from cow tail IVDs that have had all the cow cells removed. The scaffolds have demonstrated similar physio-chemical properties compared to human IVDs and they support stem cell viability in vitro. Thus, the continued focus of the CI is to develop approaches to efficiently repopulate the scaffold with stem cells and to assess tissue regeneration on the IVD scaffold. Team LeadersJeremy Mercuri Bioengineering |
| 772 | Brain Tips Students in this project learn more about the human brain and behavior. We find popular press and scientific articles that we think would be of interest to and help college and high school students and develop short, memorable tips to share using social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter). Students learn about the brain and how it works by developing ideas that others can find useful and apply in their lives. https://www.facebook.com/clemsonbraintips/; https://www.instagram.com/clemsonsss/ Team LeadersJune Pilcher Psychology |
| 778 | Mission Impossible? Teamwork and Team Composition in High Risk, High Stress Environments How do we turn teams of experts into expert teams, especially when they are teams working in stressful and demanding environments such as the military, healthcare, sports, or outer space? We are currently investigating this question in the DIGITAL (Deriving Innovative & riGorous scIence for Teaming And Leading) Research Lab, as teams today face new challenges which may require different interventions and strategies than what seems to work in traditional teams. This CI team will involve conducting lab and field research with military teams, spaceflight crews, sports teams, and healthcare professionals to answer this question and expand our current knowledge of teamwork and leadership in culturally diverse, physically distributed, dynamic, and adaptive work environments. Team LeadersMarissa Shuffler PsychologyAnnamaria Wolf Psychology Sydney Begerowski Psychology Riley Mccallus Psychology Katelyn Hedrick Psychology Phoebe Xoxakos Psychology Kyle Christenson Psychology Marlee Johnson Psychology Allison Traylor Psychology Jordan Smith Psychology |
| 786 | Engineering for Modern Healthcare and Addressing Pandemic Health Disparities One goal of this CI is to analyze community health data to determine how we can better provide COVID-19 testing and future services at Clemson University and its surrounding communities.Another goal of this CI is to develop a method to organize hospital stockrooms using a color-coding scheme that can be used universally throughout various hospitals and stockrooms. Team LeadersDelphine Dean BioengineeringAustin Smothers Bioengineering |
| 787 | Community Supported Art A Creative Inquiry Project by Ceramics Students in the Department of Art at Clemson UniversityClemson Community Supported Art is an initiative started by Clemson students and faculty to connect the community with local, emerging artists. Based on the Community Supported Agriculture model, our goal is to build relationships between local artists and art collectors, while creating a unique shopping experience. Our annual production of the CSArt share brings students from multiple majors together to research professional careers, entrepreneurship, and small business practices in Art. Team LeadersValerie Zimany ArtDaniel Bare Art |
| 789 | Generation and Characterization of Radiation for Biomedical Applications In recent years there has been a strong growth in the number of medical devices that use different types of radiation for treatment and imaging applications. There is also a growing interest in different fields ( e.g. medicine, biology, space research, electronics) to understand and utilize the effects of different forms of radiation. The effectiveness of radiation technology depends on the understanding of the interaction with the materials in question ranging from surfaces of solids to biological soft tissues. The present research project lies on the borderline of physics and biology. The elementary physical processes of the interaction are well known, but their expressions in biological samples depend on the complex response of the system and its environment. Students in this project will explore different techniques to generate, detect, and characterize electromagnetic radiation, their uses in specialized medical devices, and their applications in research. Team LeadersDelphine Dean BioengineeringEndre Takacs Physics and Astronomy |
| 791 | Lab-on-a-Chip and Microfluidics to Identify the Cause of Disease in Clinical Diagnostics We investigate the use of electric fields to identify and separate different strains of Candida cells. This is very important in the context of healthcare diagnostics since Candida is the causative pathogen of candidiasis, a medical condition affecting 46,000 patients yearly in the US with a mortality rate up to 44%. Identifying the strain causing this condition is crucial since front line antibiotics are not necessarily effective on all strains. For example, front line antibiotics commonly used for Candida albicans, the most likely cause of candidiasis, are not effective to eradicate C. glabrata, an emerging pathogen. The technology we are developing is a microfluidic chipset that utilizes a phenomenon known as Dielectrophoresis to selectively trap and detect different strains of Candida. This is uncharted territory and we are generating excellent results in several fronts. Go to www.multiscalemanufacturing.net to see more information Team LeadersRodrigo Martinez-Duarte Mechanical Engineering |
| 792 | Origami for Carbon-based Multifunctional Materials Carbonaceous materials such as glassy carbon and metal carbides are widely used as electrodes in many applications including sensors, batteries, and capacitors. The focus of this CI is to derive these materials from renewable resources and elucidate ways to control their structure at multiple length scales, from the nano to the centimeter scale, to tailor their mechanical and electrical performance. The aim is at deriving multifunctional architectures such as structural batteries, sensors and batteries. To this end, we emphasize the use of origami techniques to create complex architectures in pure or doped paper, which we then carbonize at very high temperatures without the presence of oxygen. In this way we can derive complex, porous, lightweight architectures of carbonaceous materials. This is a powerful concept since we can create 3D architectures of engineering value from flat paper films. More details can be found in www.multiscalemanufacturing.net Team LeadersRodrigo Martinez-Duarte Mechanical Engineering |
| 799 | The DEN (Design and Entrepreneurship Network) This CI allows student teams to be mentored by leaders in device design, development, marketing, patenting and small business development to forward student-led technology and ideas. Initially, this CI will focus on mentoring technologies that are being generated by other CI groups, as well as from other Capstone Design programs, but other “independent” teams and technical areas will be sought after the CI structure is established. Teams can include undergraduates and graduates, and preference is given to groups that have already formed around a topic or technology of interest. Mentors and guest speakers from industry, patent law, marketing and start-up businesses will work with student teams to take technology beyond the university development level. The format will be very student driven, with small student teams presenting each week on some aspect of their technology development and business plans. These presentations will be the focal point for discussions, mentoring and advice. Team LeadersJohn D DesJardins Bioengineering |
| 824 | Plant Biotechnology for use in Crop Genetic Improvement Abiotic stress, such as salinity, drought, heat, cold and nutritional stress, is the major factor significantly impacting crop production. Understanding molecular mechanisms underlying plant response to various stresses will facilitate development of molecular strategies in genetically engineering crop species with enhanced performance under adverse environmental conditions. In this proposed study, we use molecular genetics and genomics approaches to dissect molecular mechanisms determining plant salt stress response, and will develop molecular strategies using agricultural biotechnology approach to modify candidate genes in transgenic plants producing new cultivars with enhanced salt tolerance. This will lead to genetic improvement of important crop species with enhanced performance under adverse environmental conditions contributing to increasing agricultural productivity. Team LeadersHong Luo Genetics and BiochemistryXiaotong Chen Genetics and Biochemistry |
| 827 | Sustainable Landscape Demonstration Garden Design, installation, and maintenance are essential to creating a sustainable landscape that is a display or model for education. Sustainability is defined according to the Brundtland report (1987) as the integrated use of social, environmental, and economic approaches to effect positive developmental change. Sustainable Sites Initiative (2009) is a working model for the creation of sustainable landscapes. Sustainable Landscape Demonstration Garden is a project that intends to alter the physical environment and enhance the landscape using environmental and psychological measures through the design and installation of a native plant garden. Visit Sustainable Landscape Demonstration Web site: http://www.clemson.edu/cafls/demo/ and select "Meet the Team" to view past student experiences. Team LeadersEllen Vincent Plant and Environmental Sciences |
| 831 | Clemson University Soil Judging Competition Team "The Muddy Tigers", Clemson University's Soils Team, "digs"deep into how South Carolina, regional and national soils play an important role in food, fiber, fun, and our future! The Muddy Tigers learn how to characterize soils, and evaluate the landscape in order to make sound decisions on what soil can be used for. Team LeadersDara Park Plant and Environmental SciencesPayton Davis Plant and Environmental Sciences |
| 840 | Insect Viruses and Physiology Insects provide excellent opportunities to perform basic and applied biological experiments at the molecular, physiological and organismal scales. They serve as model organisms for developmental and cellular biology, and are important vectors for human and agricultural pathogens. As a result, working with insects can expose students to numerous hard and soft skills useful in a range of life-sciences fields, from medical to agricultural biology, evolutionary and ecological to developmental and immunological. In this project, students will develop and work on projects examining the evolutionary physiology of an insect virus by looking at host-specific patterns, mechanistic basis of pathology, and molecular evolution, of different members of a virus gene family. To do this, students may participate in DNA barcoding of host insects, isolation of novel gene family members, and use of recombinant viruses and transgenic Drosophila melanogaster in organismal and cell culture bioassays. Techniques commonly used include fluorescent microscopy, immunological approaches, PCR and sequencing, and more. Students are required to participate in communicating data in weekly group meetings, as well as on-campus, state, regional, and national meetings. Team LeadersMatthew Turnbull Biological SciencesPeng Zhang Biological Sciences Daniel Howard Biological Sciences |
| 848 | Creative Play Creative Play studies formalistic models for visual computation applied to creative disciplines, science engineering, humanities and art. This CI project will introduce the LEGO brick system as a catalyst for creativity in design and as an introduction to formal systems for visual computation. Topics include design creativity, formal composition, engineering problem solving, exploratory research, manufacturing and game theory. Team LeadersCarlos Barrios School of Architecture |
| 849 | Design Morphology Design Morphology studies form and structure of natural structures and processes to find applications in the build environment. The initial focus will be for structural applications using pre-cast concrete. Subjects of study include Geometry, Topology, Computational Design, Origami, Deployable Structures and Kinetic Design. Team LeadersCarlos Barrios School of ArchitectureBrandon Ross Civil Engineering Grace Fulmer School of Architecture |
| 850 | Cities, Memories and Models Cities, Memories and Models aims to create a collection of scale models to serve as visual catalog of significant architecture and urban environments in the most prominent cities in the US. Team LeadersCarlos Barrios School of ArchitectureUfuk Ersoy School of Architecture Brandon Ross Civil Engineering |
| 862 | The use of Medical-Grade Compression Clothing in Children with Autism On this team, students will explore the effect of medical-grade compression vests on the behavioral responses of children with autism. The use of compression clothing, widely employed in sensory integration therapy and marketed to parents of children with autism, is not supported (nor refuted) as a viable therapy option in any known published manuscripts. In this study, the effectiveness of this therapy technique will be scientifically established. Student researchers will video record the children with and without compression vests. The video data will later be reviewed to determine the vests’ effectiveness. Team LeadersJennifer Bisson Psychology |
| 879 | Fire ecology and invasive plants This project will help student gain knowledge about wildfire in forests, and how fire acts as an agent of natural selection affecting the ecology and evolution of plants, especially woody plants and trees. Team LeadersGaofeng Wang Forestry and Environmental ConservationBridget Blood Forestry and Environmental Conservation Trisha Markus Forestry and Environmental Conservation |
| 880 | Microbes All Around Us Microbes are all around us. They are in the air we breathe, the water we drink, the soil we walk on, the food we eat; they are even in and on us. Although this fact is generally acknowledged, we don’t always have a great appreciation for the roles these microbes play in our health. Antimicrobial resistance for pathogens is clearly becoming a bigger and bigger problem, but there is also the potential for some classically non-pathogenic organisms to cause issues. This Creative Inquiry project will focus on investigating a variety of bacteria with various impacts on humans. We will use hypotheses generated by the student investigators’ natural curiosity or recent news stories as the driving force behind our experiments. This CI has investigated topics such as microbial contamination of lab coats during General Microbiology teaching labs and the potential for magazines in physician's waiting rooms to serve as sources of infection. We have also investigated the antimicrobial activity of various novel compounds with collaborators in the Department of Chemistry. The current focus of the project involves investigating the interactions between probiotic organisms (found in yogurts and other fermented foods) and their human hosts. Team LeadersKristi Whitehead Biological SciencesKrista R Rudolph Biological Sciences |
| 883 | Single Molecule Biophysics In this project, students get the opportunity to explore and learn about single molecule biophysics, what it takes to do studies at the single molecular level and the methodologies need to prepare the samples, all while working at the interface of all basic sciences. Students select among various molecular systems that we currently work with in the lab, and learn how to prepare the samples, how to measure them and how to interpret the results. Team LeadersHugo Sanabria Physics and Astronomy |
| 886 | Future Manufacturing: Nano 3D printing using bacteria Imagine using bacteria as tiny 3D printers to weave a material from the bottom-up. We know that many bacteria can synthesize useful materials. In this project we use 1) a bacteria that transforms sugar in its environment to high purity cellulose nanofibers with excellent mechanical properties, and 2) electric fields to manipulate the bacteria in time and space. The project focuses on the study of the effects of electric field on the synthesis of bacterial cellulose, and the development of optoelectronic tweezers to manipulate single bacterial cells in designed trajectories. Go to www.multiscalemanufacturing.net to see videos Team LeadersRodrigo Martinez-Duarte Mechanical Engineering |
| 899 | Establishing a Clemson University-K-12 Research Collaboration/CU Investors This Creative Inquiry group works with teachers from local middle schools, with an emphasis on under-resourced communities, to design and implement experiments that reinforce scientific theories and processes they learn in the classroom. Team LeadersMeredith Morris Genetics and BiochemistryJillian Milanes Genetics and Biochemistry |
| 906 | Research and Development for the National Dairy Council's Annual New Product Competition Small teams of undergraduates create a new dairy product to enter into the annual National Dairy Council new product competition. Emphasis being placed on conducting sensory panels and understanding ingredient functions as is relates to dairy foods. Team LeadersSara Cothran Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences |
| 908 | Experimental Cardiovascular System In this project students will design and prototype a benchtop flow system which mimics realistic human cardiovascular physiology and anatomy. Such a system can be used for direct medical device testing and clinical training. The current phase of the project is designing a pressure-generating device for producing realistic blood pressure waveforms in an experimental system. Team LeadersEthan Kung Mechanical EngineeringRay Kean Mechanical Engineering |
| 918 | Future Engineers and Scientists The Future Engineers CI is a service/outreach program that takes STEAM activities to Clemson and Six Mile Elementary schools one afternoon per week (one on Wednesday and one on Thursday) for 6 weeks. Approximately 20 4th and 5th graders from each school are selected to participate each semester and the students are different each semester. Team LeadersMelissa Smith Electrical and Computer Engineering |
| 2232 | Robotic Medication Dispenser We will develop a reliable and robust medication dispenser to help mitigate complications and deaths associated with improper medication use. A number of robotic elements will be implemented to dispense the proper amount of medication to users at the appropriate interval with active reminders to take the medication. Team LeadersLucas Schmidt Bioengineering |
| 2229 | Converging Education and Research in Materials Discovery and Development From the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, and to today’s Silicon Age, fundamental discovery and development in materials shape major advances in human civilization, so much so that every historical era has been named after the material that led the technology at the time. The ability to connect fundamental knowledge of materials chemistry to real-world applications and to realize available STEM career opportunities is vital for undergraduate and middle school students. However, K-12 and undergraduate students, especially underserved minorities, or the public may have limited access to scientific literature and relevant resources. In addition, even though some literature resources are open access, science communication in forms of journal articles and talks cannot be easily understood by broader audiences. To address this, this CI project will focus on designing and creating inquiry-based storyboard and animation as a simple and flexible pathway to convey complex scientific concepts in an accessible and compelling manner. The goals of this CI project are to facilitate science literacy, to assist educators in teaching concepts in materials chemistry, functionalities, the meaning and practice of science for K-12 classroom, and to excite K-12 and undergraduate students about transdisciplinary STEM fields. Through this multi-semester CI project, our team will generate e-learning materials, produce lesson plans and resources for teachers, and implement these activities in local and regional schools and summer camps in partnership with the College of Science Outreach Center. Team LeadersThao Tran Chemistry |
| 2221 | Physics-informed Deep Learning in Computer Vision This Creative Inquiry project will provide an overview of the state of the art in deep learning and computer vision. Major topics include image processing, object detection and recognition, geometry-based and physics-based vision and video analysis, and physical and computational models in 3D reconstruction. Students will learn fundamental and advanced knowledge about deep learning, basic concepts of computer vision, computational photography, and hands on experience to solve real-life vision problems. Team LeadersNianyi Li School of Computing |
| 2217 | Robotics - The Future is Now! This project shall focus on the integration of robotics, art, additive manufacturing, and the design of feedback control algorithms to showcase an artistic application. Exploration of both technical and social science disciplines shall be utilized to deliver a "value-added" solution and one that encourages younger students to study STEAM areas. Team LeadersHubert Riley Mechanical Engineering |
| 2216 | Human Environments Interaction Interactive Environments for Human HabitationStudents will participate in part of an ongoing focus area in research on interactive architectures and objects with multiple sub-projects focused on digitally enhancing and augmenting human environments. This is a multidisciplinary team of researchers from Architecture, Computer Science, Engineering, Biology, and Psychology. Projects vary but include tangible user interfaces, augmented reality and mixed reality visualization, mapping and simulations, modeling, fabrication, clinical studies, prototyping, and interactive architectures. Team LeadersWinifred Newman School of ArchitectureTimothy Sutherland School of Architecture Brygg Ullmer School of Computing Sida Dai School of Computing Kaileigh Byrne Psychology Miriam Konkel Genetics and Biochemistry |
| 2212 | Environmental Genetics & Genomics In this CI project, we use environmental DNA (eDNA), which is DNA released by organisms into their environment, to push the boundaries of how we detect, monitor, and conserve biodiversity. Genetics and genomics-based methods using eDNA are increasingly used to assess biodiversity in both terrestrial and aquatic environments. This CI project is centered on the idea that environmental nucleic acids and DNA barcoding approaches have great potential for noninvasive monitoring of biological taxa of conservation, health, or agricultural importance. In this CI project, we explore hypotheses related to local biodiversity using environmental DNA data. Methods used include primer selection and optimization for DNA barcoding, eDNA or eRNA collection, preservation and extraction, quality control and amplification, DNA sequence data collection and analysis, and phylogenetic analysis of species’ relationships. Our overall goal is to understand and improve how taxa- or species-level presence can be inferred and monitored using real-world environmental genetic or genomic data. It is anticipated that findings from this project will contribute to our understanding of how eDNA persists in the environment and its relevance and applications to new sequencing technologies and conservation genetic surveys. We will communicate our findings broadly to increase civic scientific literacy and appreciation for the use of environmental DNA in conservation. Team LeadersKimberly Kanapeckas Metris Genetics and Biochemistry |
| 2211 | Organic Chemistry Outreach Program - Bonds that holds everything together Through this educational outreach program, we aim to promote STEM education for local K-12 students. We plan to focus on relaying the importance of organic chemistry in our lives. Specific topics of interest include, but not limited to, strong/weak chemical bonds, building molecules, and catalysis. In collaboration with graduate students in the Kim Group, Clemson undergraduate students will focus on developing fun, engaging hands-on activities for the K-12 students. Team LeadersByoungmoo Kim ChemistryGiovani Gutierrez Chemistry |
| 2210 | Electronic Design Automation for Chip and Circuit Board Design Modern chips and circuit boards are designed by using software called EDA (electronic design automation) toolkit. This Creative Inquiry course is designed to familiarize students with the Cadence EDA (Electronic Design Automation) toolkit. There are various system design and verification tools that will be explored according to the student’s interests and design needs. Team LeadersTehseen Raza Electrical and Computer EngineeringHassan Raza Electrical and Computer Engineering |
| 2209 | Characterization of commensal Clostridia in the gastrointestinal tract The indigenous microbes that associate with all multicellular hosts, or microbiota, provide necessary functions that benefit host health. This is particularly true for the gastrointestinal tract, which hosts a particularly diverse bacterial community. While newer sequencing methods have uncovered much of the taxonomic depth of the microbiota in the gut, many commensal microbes remain undercharacterized. This is particularly true for the anaerobic, gram-positive Clostridia, a class of bacteria commonly associated with beneficial functions provided by the human gut microbiota. This project aims to characterize individual Clostridial strains previously isolated from fecal material. Students will characterize phenotypic (morphology, growth conditions, spore formation) and genomic (phylogenomic, metabolic, potential virulence) attributes of different Clostridial species. This information can be used to formulate independent research questions focused on microbial interactions or function. Techniques used include anaerobic cultivation, in vitro bacterial growth assays, molecular assays such as PCR, cell culture assays to detect toxin activity, and bioinformatic analyses such as genome assembly and phylogenomic comparison. Students are expected to participate in weekly group meetings to discuss study results and relevant literature related to the project. We expect to present results at a local, regional, or national meeting at the conclusion of the student’s CI project. These results are expected to expand knowledge of commensal Clostridia in the gut, increasing our ability to develop methods to manipulate the microbiota for host benefit. Team LeadersAnna Seekatz Biological Sciences |
| 2208 | Underwater ROV and AUV Instrument Project Underwater Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) are emerging robotics applications. The objective of this project is to design, implement, and test an underwater ROV and/or an AUV. For both the underwater ROV and AUV, students will use and develop various instrumentation and software algorithms to perform different functions in aquatic environment, including but not limited to navigation, scouting, ranging, exploration, etc. Final objective is to compete in a challenge like the MATE ROV competition (https://materovcompetition.org/). Team LeadersHassan Raza Electrical and Computer EngineeringIII,William J Reid Electrical and Computer Engineering |
| 2207 | SAR Rover Challenge Search And Rescue (SAR) rovers belong to an interesting class of robots that have found applications ranging from terrestrial to space environments. The objective of this CI is to provide students with opportunities to design, implement and test an SAR rover, and its associated instrumentation. Team LeadersHassan Raza Electrical and Computer EngineeringIII,William J Reid Electrical and Computer Engineering |
| 2206 | Cultural Competency Inquiry (CCI) This Creative Inquiry project, Cultural Competency Inquiry (CCI) program, explores and identifies ways to help students develop cultural competence to study and work effectively as future healthcare professionals. This project will be instrumental in developing and increasing a new Clemson Comprehensive of Clemson University students. The CCI will provide resources and opportunities, such as the Intercultural Development Inventory, online cultural competency modules, cultural activities, and reflection as a group and individually, and help students to grow into well-rounded candidates for the health professions. This CI project aims to study literature around competency and skills needed for healthcare professionals, and evaluate these resources, tools, and contents that will maximize CCI participants' learning and cultural competency. Team LeadersYuki Kihara Education and Organization Leadership DevelopmentHarolynn Williams College of Science-Deans Offic |
| 2203 | Every Campus a Refuge at Clemson This CI will investigate the relationship between refugee migration and community building. Building on the work of an earlier CI project on "Stories of Refuge, Detention, and Hospitality," this new project will concentrate on the practical and conceptual meanings of refuge and residence in our highly local context of the city and campus of Clemson. The CI will learn about the structure of refugee resettlement in US cities, explore how peer colleges and universities are responding to the challenges of resettlement, and develop new community engagement projects that could improve the quality of refugee resettlement and help build more inclusive communities. Team LeadersAngela Naimou EnglishJoseph Mai Languages |
| 2200 | Echoes from the Past: Race and Reconciliation in South Carolina What is the significance of the Echo Theater? The story of the Klansman and the African American pastor who reached out to change his life from one of hatred to racial reconciliation became the subject of a book by Courtney Hargrove titled: A Preacher, A Klansman, and a True Story of Redemption in the Modern South, published in 2018. The book was the basis for a motion picture by Andrew Heckler, Burden, (starring Forrest Whitaker as Rev. Kennedy) released in 2020. As the title of Hargrove’s books declares, it is a story of redemption in the modern American South: the redemption of a building from its racist past to a place for racial healing. It also represents an opportunity for a community to come together and begin to address and take steps toward healing its troubled past. The Echo Theater reflects the transformation of the South, from a strictly segregated movie theater, to an overtly racist hub of hatred occupied by Klansmen and American Nazis, to a center for diversity and reconciliation. Rev. Kennedy and Councilman McDaniel would lead a grassroots protest movement against hatred that eventually led to the closing of the Redneck Shop. What is also significant is the successful execution of a grassroots movement against overt racism in a rural upstate county with African Americans composing less than a quarter of the population. The Echo Theatre represents the transition from segregation and racism to redemption and towards racial reconciliation. This project will collect oral histories and engage in relation to those interviews. Team LeadersVernon Burton History and Geography |
| 2199 | Bioinformatic analysis of the sequencing data The fast pace of the advance of the sequencing technology have enabled rapid sequencing of a variety of samples for many application needs. Examples of such sequencing needs are the sequencing of the transcriptome to identify gene regulation, the sequencing to identify organisms that possibly causing infection, the sequencing to track the variant of concerns. As such, we generated large database that requires trained bioinformatician to analyze the data. This project is designed to train the students with a background in coding to demystify the sequencing data base and extract the useful biological relevant information. The students will gain experience using Palmetto server, linux, R, and python under Conda environment. Team LeadersCongyue Peng BioengineeringDelphine Dean Bioengineering |
| 2197 | Improving Inclusion with Diversity Training Over the past two years, the demand for diversity training in organizations has skyrocketed. However, many of these efforts fall short at improving workplace inclusion climate. This CI team will use experimental and field-based research to explore new approaches to diversity training to better understand what makes diversity training work. Students will have the opportunity to gain experience designing and implementing research studies, developing surveys using Qualtrics, and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data. Team LeadersAllison Traylor Psychology |
| 2195 | Design and Evaluation of a Novel Cable-Driven Ankle Exoskeleton In this project, we will focus on developing and evaluating a novel cable-driven ankle exoskeleton. The exoskeleton is actuated via soft Bowden cables to provide ankle extension torque for assisting human locomotion. The entire exoskeleton system will be self-contained, where actuators, power units, control units, as well as necessary sensors will be integrated on a backpack to allow various type of locomotor tasks. Team LeadersGe Lv Mechanical EngineeringSIQI ZHENG Mechanical Engineering Miao Yu Mechanical Engineering |
| 2193 | Wetland community ecology: what happens when fish arrive? Wetlands provide valuable services to humans by filtering water and offering flood control. They are also critical to maintaining biodiversity - especially for amphibians, fish, and many invertebrates. While wetlands closest to streams often are easily colonized by fish, those further from streams provide habitat for amphibians and invertebrates. Changes in climate are likely to alter patterns of rainfall and flooding. This could lead to wetlands that are either more easily colonized by fish (in cases of increased rainfall) or less likely to be colonized by fish (in cases of decreased rainfall). Our CI will establish experimental wetlands within the Clemson Experimental Forest. We will stock these wetlands with different species of fish to understand how fish presence and fish species influence the other members of the aquatic community. Team LeadersJoshua Holbrook Forestry and Environmental ConservationRussell Kyle Barrett Forestry and Environmental Conservation |
| 2192 | Backyard box turtles: wildlife habitat use in developed areas When land use patterns change, the number and kinds of wildlife in the area change as well. Some species retreat to undeveloped areas, while other species are able to persist under certain conditions. Box turtles are often seen in yards and parks within otherwise developed areas. We intend to characterize the habitat and movement patterns of box turtles in developed areas and compare that to the same measures in the Clemson Experimental Forest. Team LeadersRussell Kyle Barrett Forestry and Environmental ConservationEmma Rogers Forestry & Environmental Conservation |
| 2189 | Sales Innovation Program Sales Competition Team This CI incorporates advanced selling skills via sales competitions and advanced role play practices. The competition team travels to two in person competitions per year and also partakes in virtual sales competitions. Team LeadersLisa Beeler Department of Marketing |
| 2188 | Mobile Eye Tracking Systems and Wayfinding The computational power and specialized hardware required for eye tracking technology is becoming increasingly mobile, and hence shows promise in helping provide support in wayfinding situations. Similarly, Fiducial markers, QR-like codes to be read by computer vision like that used in eye tracking, are also becoming more widespread, and can be paired with eye tracking to provide situated environmental support for those technologically equipped to read them. These emerging technologies have untapped application potential to assist those living with some sort of disability or otherwise reduced ability. This assistance is especially needed for those such individuals who find themselves navigating unfamiliar places. This Creative Inquiry project is designed to support students' ability to participate actively in reviewing the literature and forming hypotheses, exploring the areas of Human Factors (the user) and Computer Science (the technology) to solve application issues that arise when using mobile eye tracking to provide environmental support to those individuals that need it when navigating and wayfinding indoors. Team LeadersDustin Souders PsychologyAndrew T Duchowski School of Computing |
| 2187 | From Trash to Treasure: The Chemical Recycling of Plastics to Valuable Materials Plastics have become a ubiquitous item in almost every industry and household due in part to their durability and low cost. However, this combination has resulted in an explosion of plastic waste that can be found in almost every ecosystem on earth. Traditional recycling methods have only been successful at converting around 10% of plastic waste into usable material. This creative inquiry course will explore a new class of recycling techniques (known as chemical recycling or upcylcing) that aims to convert plastic waste to usable chemicals and materials in a circular lifecycle. Chemical recycling has the potential to turn trash into treasure by valorizing waste, therefore creating incentive for its capture and reuse. However, the conversion of plastic waste to usable chemicals comes with the challenges of high energy expenditures, additional chemical usage and difficult feedstocks composed of mixed and contaminated plastics. This course will examine established techniques and those on the cutting edge in terms of lifecycle, technoeconomic analysis and feasibility. Team LeadersJames Sternberg Campbell Grad Engr Program |
| 2186 | Leveraging Diverse Energy Sources for CO2 Mitigation Reactions towards an Equitable Carbon-Neutral Future The catalytic conversion of CO2 into energy-rich commodities is an effective approach of combating global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions while enabling the sustainable energy future. While the overall feasibility the technological routes can be estimated by thermodynamics, the uncertainties of operational efficiency and cost heavily rely on the choices of catalytic technologies. To ensure our transition to a clean-energy future can be truly equitable without leaving anyone behind, the catalysts for targeted reactions must be affordable and adaptable to energy infrastructure of diverse communities. Two of the major hurdles against this vision are 1) the high cost of catalytic materials due to the undue use of expensive catalytic metals, and 2) the limited options of reaction energy input from established industry process to provide tailored reaction engineering solutions. Therefore the goal of the proposed project is to prove the concept of designing CO2 conversion technologies with minimal catalytic materials and optimal energy input for those catalytic materials. The two main objectives are:1) Designing catalytic metal atoms with both 100 % material efficiency and high intrinsic activity as alternative to nanoparticles.2) Identifying optimal reaction energy input sources as thermo, magnetic, or electro to maximize the reaction activity and selectivity of the catalysts developed in Objective#1.We welcome students with diverse educational background to join the team to work on nanocatalytic materials development, reactor design, and technological economical analyses. Recruited students will have opportunities to present research work at various conferences and publish research articles on top journals. Team LeadersMing Yang Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering |
| 2183 | Marketing Plan Development for an Institutional QEP Create a marketing plan with real-world, immediate impact to Clemson! Deliverables will include photo and video production, SWAG design, social media campaign creation, and development of general branding assets to support Clemson's current accreditation reaffirmation. Team LeadersAbigail Baker Institutional ResearchZachary Flathmann Institutional Research |
| 2181 | Predicting Protein Levels from mRNA Levels The central dogma of molecular biology gives rise to the expectation that as mRNA levels rise and fall, protein levels will follow suit. However, it is now appreciated that this is an exception rather than the norm. For which human genes does such quantitative central dogma thinking hold? How well can we predict protein levels given measurement of mRNA levels? Are there classes of gene function that are enriched for adherence or non-adherence to the central dogma? This project uses analysis of large publicly available datasets to answer these fundamental biological questions. It is ongoing in the lab and is at the stage where it is likely to lead to publication. Team LeadersMarc Birtwistle Chemical and Biomolecular EngineeringArnab Mutsuddy Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering |
| 2180 | Identification of Novel Feedback Loops Driving the Mammalian Cell Cycle The molecular machinery that controls progression of the eukaryotic cell cycle has long been thought to be well understood for decades. Series of cyclin dependent kinases are turned on one after the other, after being initiated by external "growth factors". However, recent data from our lab has indicated potentially new feedback loops that superimpose onto this core known structure. This project will try to validate and characterize the nature of these feedback loops and understand their role in cell cycle regulation as well as how universal they are. Team LeadersMarc Birtwistle Chemical and Biomolecular EngineeringCemal Erdem Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering |
| 2179 | Purifying Monoclonal Antibody Therapeutics with Phase Separation Biologic drugs, particularly monoclonal antibodies, are rapidly increasing in their use and new FDA approvals. A recent example was the Regeneron treatment for COVID available well before the vaccines. A costly step in their production uses Protein A chromatography to purify the monoclonal antibodies after cells produce them. This projects seeks to develop an alternative to Protein A chromatography that could revolutionize this industry. Team LeadersMarc Birtwistle Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering |
| 2169 | Representations of Greek Life This multi-semester Creative Inquiry project seeks to explore the experiences of Greek life and its representation in popular culture using feminist and sociological methods. This CI project will conduct surveys and/or interviews with students in Greek life to better understand students’ perceptions of and experiences with these enduring institutions. The CI project will consider how youth make sense of meaning, belonging, and their experiences within the context of Greek life and the current media landscape. What it means to be a member of Greek life in the twenty-first century and how this ties to the university experience and community broadly are of increasing significance and will be considered. Team LeadersBriana Pocratsky Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice |
| 2168 | Colorimetric Nanosensors Modern scientific instrumentation and sensors are often bulky, expensive, and/or cumbersome to operate. Colorimetric sensors on the other hand offer a promising solution to these problems, as they can be analyzed with high spatiotemporal resolution by digital cameras or the naked eye. However, the performance of colorimetric sensors is typically inferior to the bulky/expensive alternatives as it can be difficult to convert small input stimulus variations into a large color response. This research effort seeks to address and overcome these problems and to open the door to new types of high-performance colorimetric sensors and biosensors, which are competitive with and/or offer greater functionality than the bulky/expensive alternatives. Team LeadersJudson Ryckman Electrical and Computer Engineering |
| 2167 | Best Is the Standard: Football Display Design Join the newest creative team to help Clemson Football design interactive photo shoot displays for their recruiting weekend. Work alongside the Clemson Football Recruiting Office and creative team to brainstorm, design and build exciting and interactive backdrops and displays for recruiting events. Team LeadersHaley Appleby Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences |
| 2166 | Personality Development & Applications The aims of the research group are to study contributors to personality development and identify real-life implications of personality research findings. In particular, the group is interested in understanding how personality findings can be applied within legal settings. For instance, research suggests that personality impacts the performance of children as eyewitnesses during forensic interviews, as well as the perceptions of jurors when determining witness credibility. Team LeadersBen Cotterill Psychology |
| 2164 | Trustworthy Artificial intelligence AI has been applied in the real world and has become an essential part of our daily life. However, many undesired issues have been reported in current AI systems, e.g., bias against underrepresented groups, privacy leakage, the vulnerability to attacks. This Creative Inquiry aims to equip students with various AI skills and engage students in trustworthy AI research. Students will gain hands-on experience with AI model design and development by working on real-world challenges. Team LeadersYongkai Wu Electrical and Computer Engineering |
| 2162 | Multi-catalysis: Accelerated synthesis of valuable chiral molecules Access of valuable� chiral molecules such as� various� therapeutic drugs, materials, and synthetic building blocks has been achieved through multiple-step chemical transformations. � However, there is a need to improve the synthetic efficiency of� these multiple-step processes since they often require isolation after each step and overall time to produce the final target is lengthy.� � To address these challenges, this project aims to develop a new multi-catalytic method that will enable the rapid synthesis of chiral molecules from simple building blocks.� Through this work, one will learn how to make organic molecules and design catalysts. Team LeadersByoungmoo Kim Chemistry |
| 2159 | Machine Learning for Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity In this project, we will analyze and visualize the SWaT dataset published by the iTrust Lab and study how to use machine learning techniques to detect cyberattacks on a water distribution system. Team LeadersDan Li Industrial Engineering |
| 2152 | Artificial Intelligence and Marketing: Customer Experience, Ethics, and Social Impact As Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies mature, a variety of AI-powered products and services have been commonly used in routine from smart cars to robot vacuums and from digital assistants to health monitoring applications. While AI-enabled products and services provide tremendous benefits, they also bring various challenges for consumers, businesses, and society. This project investigates customer experience and interactions with AI, and social issues related to AI (e.g., privacy and algorithmic bias), with a focus on Generation Z (born 1997-2012) and Generation Alpha (born after 2010) consumers. Team LeadersXianyong Wang Department of Marketing |
| 2141 | Mapping the Gay Guides In this creative inquiry project students will work on Mapping the Gay Guides, a digital history project that seeks to digitize LGBTQ guidebooks from the 1960s through the 1990s. While on his frequent business trips around the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Bob Damron wanted to find bars and other locales to meet other men like him. A gay man, Damron sought friends, companions, and safety at friendly businesses in the various cities he visited. He began jotting down the names of the spots he frequented, sometimes loaning out his notebooks to fellow gay friends to take with them on their own journeys. His prolific lists became the basis of gay travel guide he began publishing in 1964. In this CI Project, students focus on digitizing and mapping locations included within these historical documents. Team LeadersAmanda Regan History and Geography |
| 2129 | Development of sensors for detection of pollutants in natural resources from developing countries Students will participate in interdisciplinary teams to work on various aspects of developing a grassroots environmental surveillance program for and with vulnerable communities. Students will be introduced to a water pollution problem a specific community faces and will have the opportunity to engage with scholars and community members to develop contextual proficiency and empathy for underserved communities. Projects can involve different research approaches depending on the disciplinary makeup of the team. For example, this CI may entail STEM components, such as developing electrochemical sensors for monitoring pesticide residues in water, using data analytics to process sensors’ output, risk modeling, and developing mobile apps and other user interfaces to communicate water quality results. Projects can also have an education and social focus, including creating educational material for the use of sensors for water quality monitoring, workshops, interviews, and surveys to identify critical user needs and assets, etc. Team LeadersDavid Bahamon Pinzon Environmental Engineering and Earth SciencesDiana Vanegas Gamboa Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences Kelli McCourt Environmental Engineering & Earth Sciences |
| 2127 | THINKER Collaborative Project Technology INtegrated Knowledge, Education & Research (THINKER) is a multi-disciplinary collaborative research program, sponsored by an NSF grant, that engages students from across the University (undergraduate and graduate levels) with technical college students in real world industry projects focused on robotics, augmented reality, and automotive-based manufacturing processes. Students design and test solutions for a variety of industry challenges, presenting these possible solutions to industry and academic representatives for possible implementation in real manufacturing sites. Team LeadersCarol Beckham Campbell Grad Engr Program |
| 2125 | Women's Basketball Recruitment and Design We have partnered with the Clemson Women's Basketball Recruiting Office to help design a mailer to send to potential Clemson Women's Basketball recruits. This multidisciplinary team will meet to brainstorm, design and prototype a personalized 3D mailer that the recruiting office can send to high school basketball players in the recruiting process. The mailer is intended to promote Clemson Women's Basketball and get the student excited about the possibility of being on the team. This is an incredible opportunity for students to have a direct impact on Clemson Women's Basketball and potential incoming players. Team LeadersHanna Gibson Department of Graphic Communications |
| 2123 | Improving Hospital Safety Reporting Using Machine Learning Approaches Incident reporting systems are used in multiple industries to collect valuable data about safety, risk and adaptive performance. These data come in various forms including free text descriptions of experiences by frontline workers. While the free text format offers the advantage of providing contextual details, the analysis of such data is time-consuming and effortful. The goal of the project is to leverage machine learning algorithms to analyze the data for meaningful themes and patterns that could provide insights about adaptive performance in everyday clinical work. For example reports related to anesthesia airway management could be analyzed to identify frequent risk factors as well as strategies used by anesthesiologists to improve the safety of patients. Part of the challenge would be to identify appropriate classifiers and labels, and the choice of ML technique for the analysis. The project will provide students with experience in Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques.In addition to developing the algorithm, the project could potentially lead to insights on the design of self-reporting forms so as to make them better suited to data analytic and ML methods. Such work would be highly valuable in the area of organizational learning to improve healthcare quality and safety. Team LeadersSudeep Hegde Industrial EngineeringCarl Ehrett Watt Family Innovation Center |
| 2118 | Trogossitidae (Bark-gnawing Beetles) of South Carolina Members of the beetle family Trogossitidae (Bark-gnawing Beetles) are generally predacious on wood-boring beetles, including economically important bark beetles (Scolytinae). One invasive species, the Cadelle (Tenebroides mauritanicus) is an economically important pest of stored grain. Members of the family are poorly known in South Carolina. About 20 species are known or suspected to be in the state, but a firm species list, how to tell them apart, and where and when they are found throughout the state are all unknown. The presence of undescribed species or new invasive species is also unknown. Working with historical specimens (some nearly 100 years old) and newly collected specimens from a recent state-wide bark beetle survey, team members will curate and identify all South Carolina trogossitids in the Clemson University Arthropod Museum, approximately 1000 specimens. An illustrated key to identification will be made. For each species a state-wide specimen-level map will be produced and habitus photographs using high-resolution focus-stacking equipment will be taken. The final product would represent the most comprehensive view of trogossitids in eastern North America. Team LeadersMichael Ferro Plant and Environmental SciencesMichael Caterino Plant and Environmental Sciences |
| 2117 | The YORKTOWN Project: Civic Engagement through Creative Inquiry This civic engagement project will address a "local" problem involving the Charleston-based Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum, which is one of the state's most popular tourist attractions, the centerpiece of which is the USS YORKTOWN.Commissioned on April 15, 1943, the USS YORKTOWN was the tenth aircraft carrier to serve in the United States Navy. The historic ship saw action in WWII, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The YORKTOWN was decommissioned in 1970 is now part of the museum. One of the museum's goals is to educate current and future generations about America's history, and one of the ways it does this is through oral history interviews. These interviews have become especially important to the ship's story since many of the war-time sailors have since passed away. Currently, the videos can range from 30 minutes to 75 minutes in duration, which is problematic according to research that suggests long duration videos rarely get much attention. The Patriot Point Museum's leadership wants to reduce the duration of these videos, thereby making them more accessible and engaging. However, there is a problem: the museum lacks the capacity to undertake this project efficiently. We believe that a Creative Inquiry project can solve this problem and thereby serve the museum and honor the history of the YORKTOWN and its sailors. Furthermore, students in this project will also benefit from this project rooted in civic participation, which is important for personal growth and identity formation1 as they engage in a purpose beyond the pursuit of individual gain.Depending on the interest and protocol of the Patriot's Point Museum, we may extend this two-semester project by one or two additional semesters. During this time, we would explore how to promote the museum via social media and possibly create standards-based online activities. Team LeadersRyan Visser Education and Human DevelopmentMelinda Spearman Teaching and Learning |
| 2114 | Fundamental Role of Temperature, Including Entropic Effects, in the Modeling of Dislocation-Mediated Plastic Deformation Permanent deformation (plasticity) is mainly accommodated in metallic systems by the movement of linear defects denoted as dislocations. Such dislocations are elastic singularities that interact with local stress fields coming from internal sources (such as other dislocations or defects) and external solicitations. Therefore, predicting dislocation evolution relates to the knowledge of the materials deformation pathways. As such, state-of-the-art plasticity models at the mesoscale solve for the evolution of a dislocation ensemble responding upon external loading. These models, termed as dislocation dynamics (DD) methods, have been very successful reproducing physical trends and computing parameters for larger scale models at large strain rates, where the deformation is mechanically overdriven. However, these models are not actually dynamical, just drive the system to the closest elastic energy minimum, and hence, they cannot reproduce thermally activated processes dominating a large range of strain rates. Moreover, systems evolve in a free energy landscape, with energetic and entropic components, although current DD models systematically neglect entropic contributions.This proposal intends to overcome these critical limitations adding missing thermal effects in current mesoscale DD models, including also entropic contributions in the description of the free energy landscape. These developments will significantly impact the field of dislocation-mediated plasticity, potentially modifying the predicted deformation pathways (to better match experimental observations), hardening and embrittlement processes in diverse applications. Team LeadersEnrique Martinez Saez Mechanical Engineering |
| 2112 | Modeling the Fentanyl Supply Chain for Effective Interdiction The objective of this creative inquiry is to model the supply chain and business dynamics of fentanyl, especially as it intersects with other illegal drug supply chains (e.g., heroin, counterfeit opioids, etc.). It will focus on understanding the factors that go into the appearance of fentanyl in other illegal drugs by applying basic economic and industrial engineering principles. By building an appropriate model of the fentanyl supply chain, the project will seek to understand the effectiveness of supply-side interventions (e.g., disrupting the flow of fentanyl into an area) and demand-side interventions (e.g., decreasing demand for illegal drugs). Data will be collected about fentanyl and opioid use during the pandemic and our models will be validated by understanding the impact of the pandemic on the fentanyl supply chain. Team LeadersThomas Sharkey Industrial Engineering |
| 2110 | Design, Development, and Validation of Molecular Techniques for Infectious Disease Diagnostic Testing Sensitive detection and identification of pathogens is critical for effective patient treatment and pandemic prevention. Early identification requires quick testing for a pathogen of interest in a multitude of potential high-risk sites. This project will focus on the development of panels that will be suited for clinical diagnostics of common viruses. Panel screening of common circulating viruses with similar symptom onsets can be rapidly adopted for surveillance purposes. In addition, we will further develop point of care diagnostics for the viruses to address the issues on health care disparity and inequalities. This will benefit rural places where health care and lab facilities are unavailable. With the ready to implement and easy to apply test kit and devices, we will ensure the underprivileged areas are covered for pathogen surveillance and ultimately to prevent future outbreak. Team LeadersKylie King BioengineeringDelphine Dean Bioengineering Rachel Ham Congyue Peng Bioengineering |
| 2107 | Decision-Support Platforms for Robotic-Assisted Surgery Clinical training is essential to enhancing access to robotic-assisted surgery. The purpose of this study is to use artificial intelligence techniques to comprehend, quantify, and develop a decision-support platform for improving training efficacy. This goal will be accomplished in three stages: (a) integrating multiple wearable sensors to track learning outcomes; (b) developing machine-learning-based recommendation systems for training tasks; (c) analyzing performance improvement. Students will collaborate with human-factor engineers, data scientists, and clinicians to develop a platform to support surgical outcomes in South Carolina. Team LeadersQi Luo Industrial EngineeringJackie Cha Industrial Engineering |
| 2102 | Immune responses profiling through antibody detection and immunosequencing Exogenous pathogens or nucleic acids that codes for a functional molecule can elicit innate and adaptive immune responses. The adaptive immune response is specific to each stimulus and usually starts after 6-8 days after infection or administration. The adaptive immune response involves two types of white blood cells: T cells and B cells. This project explores the feasibility of profiling immune response through measuring total antibody, neutralizing antibody, and T-cell receptor profiling. Direct measurement of total antibody and neutralizing antibody reflects the overall antibody mediated defense mechanism. T-cell receptor profiling will provide a snapshot of the T-cell immune repertoire. For a given pathogen and new medical intervention, immune response profiling will provide critical information on how the body immune system reacts to foreign pathogens or therapeutic methods. This will allow rapid design of the antibody therapy and cell therapy in response to extant and emerging pathogens. Team LeadersCongyue Peng BioengineeringDelphine Dean Bioengineering |
| 2098 | Immediate Responses of Bats to Prescribed Fire This project is focused on determining whether bats are attracted to sites they have received a prescribed fire or whether they avoid them. If they are attracted or avoid these sites, is it because of a change in their insect prey base or a change in the forest structure? To answer these questions, the students will work with a graduate student to place bat detectors in areas before and after they are burned and in control sites. They will also place insect traps in these same sites and measure the vegetation structure. Students will have an opportunity to learn about prescribed fire, bat behavior, identify bats from their echolocation calls, count insects, measure vegetation, and analyze the data. Data collection will occur on the Clemson Experimental Forest and the Sumter National Forest near Mountain Rest, SC. Team LeadersShari Rodriguez Forestry and Environmental ConservationSusan C Loeb Forestry and Environmental Conservation |
| 2097 | FLORECE: Future Leaders Obtaining Research and Extension Experiences This project aims to prepare undergraduate students to become globally engaged professionals with world-class research and extension skills that allow them to identify critical factors that impact the sustainability of agricultural systems. Students perform field and lab research and will interact with researchers, extension specialists, stakeholders, and other students. Through this project, we expect these students will (i) increase their knowledge of global agricultural challenges, (ii) realize the value of extension programs and stakeholder-driven research, (iii) gain experience in problem identification, (iv) acquire technical, professional and leadership skills, and use them in their future careers, and (v) improve their perception of careers in food and agricultural sciences Team LeadersJuan Carlos Melgar Jimenez Plant and Environmental SciencesKsenija Gasic Plant and Environmental Sciences Vidya Suseela Plant and Environmental Sciences Sruthi Kutty Plant and Environmental Sciences Guido Schnabel Plant and Environmental Sciences Dara Park Plant and Environmental Sciences Sarah White Plant and Environmental Sciences |
| 2096 | Evaluating the Impact of Green Infrastructures on Storm Runoff and Flooding Implementation of green infrastructure (GI) is an effective measure for mitigating the effects of stormwater runoff. This proposed research project aims to create a joint modeling and optimization framework to model the stormwater quantity and to determine optimal types and location of GI practices. We investigate (i) how to estimate runoff reduction effectiveness as a function of location, type, and size of GI practices; (ii) how to create a stochastic optimization framework that adaptively integrates the estimated runoff reduction to help decision-making to reduce flooding impacts; and (iii) validate and test the proposed framework and solutions. Team LeadersHamed Rahimian Industrial Engineering |
| 2093 | Exploring Users' Experiences with VR In this CI project, students will get the opportunity to explore virtual reality (VR), including social virtual reality as well as take part in understanding and designing their ideal VR applications. Team LeadersCatherine Barwulor School of ComputingAndrew Robb School of Computing |
| 2092 | Start With One: Designing and Prototyping Technologies for Persons with Disabilities Google's "Start with One, Invent for Many" process is one where a small team of designers is joined by a person with a disability or older adult (referred to as a co-designer) to design an impactful technology intended to make a meaningful difference on the life of this disabled or elderly co-designer. In this creative inquiry, students will learn about accessibility and will use Google's "Start with One" process to explore the design of technologies to support the needs of persons with disabilities and older adults. Students will design technologies that may focus on personal mobility, health, wellness, or other topics using a user-centered design framework intended to guide the research process. Team LeadersJulian Brinkley School of ComputingAaron Gluck School of Computing |
| 2078 | Viruses in peach pollen: A sticky situation Peaches and other fruit trees can be infected by damaging viruses. In the Southeast, the major viruses of peach are Prunus necrotic ringspot virus and prune dwarf virus. They are both transmitted from tree to tree through infected pollen. The goal of this project is to understand various aspects of this pathosystem. For example, how do bees and other pollinators affect transmission of these viruses? How are wild stone fruit trees (like wild cherry or cherry laurel) involved- do they serve as sources of virus inoculum near peach orchards? This research may involve field and greenhouse work, as well as molecular lab research. Team LeadersElizabeth Cieniewicz Plant and Environmental Sciences |
| 2076 | Population and Community Ecology of Herpetological (Amphibian and Reptile) Systems Herpetological systems are ideal for studying population and community ecology. This is because of the highly varied life-histories of reptiles and amphibians. Because reptiles and amphibians have such diverse biology and ecology, we can use them to ask a lot of questions about how populations and communities are structured. This is true both of herpetological communities themselves, and of the microbial communities that call amphibians and reptiles home. In this CI you will study a range of different population and community ecology questions in salamanders and also in whiptail lizards. These are two diverse, model systems where both the animals themselves, and the 'microbiomes' that they harbor can tell us a lot about the ways in which biological populations and communities are organized. Team LeadersSharon Bewick Biological SciencesBenjamin Camper Biological Sciences Drew Kanes Forestry & Environmental Conservation Daniel Malagon Biological Sciences |
| 2074 | Spaceflight mission planning and rocket experiment development Students will have a hands-on experience going through the steps of space flight design that will eventually involve launching a small rocket. Students will also gain experience developing scientific instruments and other hardware that will fly on a NASA sounding rocket. Team LeadersStephen Kaeppler Physics and AstronomyGerald Lehmacher Physics and Astronomy Alvaro Guerra Physics and Astronomy |
| 2073 | Floral thermoregulation in early spring wildflowers We all know that animals can regulate their body temperature, but plants can regulate their flower temperature too. Maintaining an optimal floral temperature can improve pollen viability and help to attract more pollinators. This project is a combination of research and outreach at the South Carolina Botanical Garden. CI students will conduct research on flower temperature and pollination in early spring wildflowers at the botanical gardens, work with Junior Naturalists, and communicate their science to the public at the gardens. Team LeadersMatthew H Koski Biological SciencesJacob Heiling Biological Sciences |
| 2071 | Plant Reproductive Dynamics The amount of pollen brought to flowers by pollinators often determines the reproductive output of plants. However, many plants have systems of self-incompatibility, whereby not all pollen grains will effectively fertilize the plant. We are examining pollen-pistil dynamics in a plant with a genetic self-incompatibility mechanism in populations from the Southern Colorado Rocky Mountains. CI students will assess how factors like population genetic structure, land use, and pollinator visitation influence pollen deposition, and pollen tube growth scored via fluorescence microscopy. Team LeadersMatthew H Koski Biological SciencesAnita Cisternas Fuentes Biological Sciences |
| 2069 | Data-Driven Infectious Disease Modeling and Control: Covid-19 Retrospective evidence suggests that current trajectory predictions of emerging infectious diseases are inadequate and may lead to poor policy decisions with potentially severe negative consequences. This proposed research project aims to create an adaptive learning and optimization framework to model the evolution of an infectious disease and determine optimal mitigation strategies to contain it. Specifically, focusing on COVID-19, we investigate (i) how to estimate the number of infected and susceptible individuals as a function of mitigation strategies; (ii) how to create a stochastic optimization framework that adaptively integrates the estimated infected and susceptible individuals to help decision-making to control the infectious disease; and (iii) validate and test the proposed framework and solutions. Team LeadersHamed Rahimian Industrial Engineering |
| 2068 | Clemson Advocacy in Nursing: Investigating the Role of the Nurse Advocate in Addressing Implicit Bias Clemson Advocacy in Nursing (CAN) is a research team of undergraduate nursing students dedicated to creating awareness around diversity and inclusiveness excellence issues that support patient advocacy. The purpose of this CI will be to:assess how undergraduate nursing students evaluate themselves and their attitudes to determine if implicit bias is present in their daily interactionsexamine how personal biases may impact patient care outcomesshare tools and resources to help eliminate /reduce implicit bias in clinical practice. Team LeadersJanice Lanham School of NursingKaryn Jones School of Nursing Margaret Wetsel School of Nursing |
| 2066 | Real-time building energy and comfort parameter data collection using mobile indoor robots The overall goal of this project is to create the scientific foundations that will enable effective collaborations among a team of multi-sensor fused mobile robots to achieve high-granularity monitoring of indoor environmental quality for benchmarking and control of large built environments. Team LeadersDa Li Civil Engineering |
| 2065 | Computer Fabrication and User Interfaces This Creative Inquiry centers on the use of computer control fabrication and computer graphics in manufacturing for apparel. Specifically, stitching (e.g. embroidery) to precisely control the stiffness properties of stretch fabrics. The result is a textile capable of changing strength/stretch in magnitude/direction across its surface. The current research has seen proof of concept in algorithms to produce stitch plans from simple designs, but needs improvement in design control and calibrating mechanical properties of the output. The next steps include: 1) sketch based design input that translates user design to fabrication designs through image understanding; and 2) developing prototypes of the given technology along with mechanical stiffness testing to measure effect from stitch plans to physical artifacts. The goal in both of these thrusts is to develop more advanced, and user-driven (real-world) prototypes. Team LeadersVictor Zordan School of Computing |
| 2059 | Exploration of opportunities to improve efficiency at Tupperware's manufacturing plant Tupperware currently has multiple manufacturing plants throughout the world and use a strategy where they invest in a limited number of high-cost durable injection molds that are shared across production locations around the world. The Hemingway, SC facility does injection molding and order fulfillment operations. It is expected that multiple project teams will be formed to investigate dedicated project explorations focused on improving efficiency in different operations within the Hemingway plant. Team LeadersMark Krystofik Watt Family Innovation Center |
| 2058 | Precision Supplementation in Ruminants Agriculture systems including ruminant animal production are being discussed as contributors to climate change. The EPA estimates that 11% of greenhouse gas emissions are contributed by agriculture. Ruminant animals can convert feedstuffs that are not edible by humans into high quality protein products (i.e. meat) for human consumption. There are inefficiencies in the process of this conversion which result in losses in efficiency and methane production. Precision supplementation of ruminants can help to synchronize nutrient availability and lower methane production. Our research evaluates how precision supplementation alters animal growth, feed efficiency and meat quality. @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}@font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-469750017 -1073732485 9 0 511 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} Team LeadersSusan Duckett Animal and Veterinary Sciences |
| 2056 | Driving simulation & eye tracking for human performance research Access to transportation is a major contributing factor to adults’ ability to stay engaged in their work, family, and personal life. Current developments in driving automation can make transportation safer, more comfortable, and more accessible to all adults, including those that have greater needs. Often instrument design is aimed towards the typical individual, or a range of typical individuals, rather than those who may have barriers to overcome in using a particular tool. Our focus as a lab is to conduct research that improves human interactions with transportation through simulation, automation, and human-vehicle interaction studies; especially with older adults. This research project is to develop and test a Traffic Jam Assist feature using one or more driving simulator platforms. This will include both younger & older adults in the design process, and look at measures of trust, stress, and attention. As a CI student, you will help to conduct quantitative and qualitative research, including: interviews, virtual interface refinement, and exploration of analysis tools for traffic simulation. We will collect geographic data on high traffic-accident and fatality areas in the US. High risk cities and roadways will serve as a basis for further analysis and the design of virtual roadmaps and traffic scenarios. As a lab assistant, you will be taught some set of data gathering techniques, roadmap modelling, simulation design, and interview methods. Here is a link to our lab website which goes further into detail about our lab equipment and capabilities :) https://sites.google.com/g.clemson.edu/staar-labs-clemson/home Team LeadersDustin Souders PsychologyAlan Mintz Psychology Kathryn Baringer Psychology Shubham Agrawal Psychology |
| 2055 | Reasoning and decision-making regarding COVID-19 Current polls suggest that about 20% of Americans strongly resist taking a COVID-19 vaccine, while an additional 10 to 15% are hesitant or unsure about this vaccine. We are investigating how to educate or persuade people in order to reduce vaccine hesitancy and resistance. Team LeadersLeo J Gugerty PsychologyNathan Dumessa Psychology |
| 2052 | Preparing for and applying to your first research experience Research is the development of knowledge that is not just new to you, but new to your discipline. This course will help you understand what research is, is not and how to participate. It is open to all students who have not conducted research previously and would like some guidance prior to applying for an experience through a Creative Inquiry team or a National Science Foundation Experience for Undergraduates. This will be a 1 credit course where students prepare for applying to a research group and gain the skills needed to conduct research. The course will be split into the following topics:· What is research? · Undergraduate research opportunities and how to apply to them · Skills and Best Practices for Conducting Research · STEM Degrees and Graduate Team LeadersMarian Kennedy Materials Science and EngineeringCora Allard Watt Family Innovation Center |
| 2050 | Sex-Specific Computational Disease Modeling Computational disease models that can conduct drug screens, aid in diagnosis, and make treatment recommendations are the future of precision medicine. Unfortunately, these algorithm-driven models are biased based on the data that feed them. Female data are often underrepresented in the literature, so there is a concern that the accuracy of these models for women will reflect that. There are a multitude of diseases in which the presentation and prognosis of a disease can vary greatly due to sex, including cardiovascular, pulmonary, endocrine, gastrointestinal, and autoimmune diseases, as well as several types of cancer. Our lab has already made strides to include sex-specific modeling into a signaling network model of cardiac fibroblasts. The goal of this creative inquiry is to conduct a literature review which (1) catalogs existing sex-specific computational disease models, (2) identifies areas where there is a need for more sex-specific disease models, (3) for areas where there is a need, determine if existing publicly available sex disaggregated data sets could be leveraged to create new models. Findings from this literature review will then be used by the team to create their own sex-specific disease models. Team LeadersWilliam Richardson Bioengineering |
| 2044 | The Nanomaterials Studio Nearly all structural and functional materials are polycrystalline systems. They are comprised of crystalline grains that are connected internally at interfaces. As the crystal (or grain) size is reduced into the nanoscale, my new phenomena emerge that are driven by interface physics. Owing to their small crystal size, nanocrystalline metals exhibit unique combinations of properties that would enable many real-life applications, including miniaturized electronics, light-weight structures, and energy devices. The goal of this CI project is to provide students with an opportunity to conduct research on nanometals; the physics and science of metals at the nanoscale. We aim to explore size effects in metallic systems and identify design rules that optimize a specific materials property. The research work is computational in nature and employs a wide range of simulation tools. Students are expected to have some knowledge in programming in any language (e.g., Python, Matlab, C, C++). Team LeadersFadi Abdeljawad Mechanical Engineering |
| 2042 | Multiplexing using Spectral Imaging and Combinatorics (MuSIC) for Genetic and Genetic Interaction Screens A genetic screen is the process by which every gene in an organism is disrupted to determine what role it plays in a particular phenotype. A genetic interaction screen is similar, except it asks that question for every possible two-way combination of genes. Genetic screens on human cells at genome scale, around 30,000 genes, is routine now with CRISPR technologies. However, this is only on a cell population level, looking at bulk effects in millions of cells, not on a single cell level, which is the fundamental unit of most phenotypes. Genetic interaction screens are severely limited due to the sheer number of combinations possible. This project explores the use our recently developed MuSIC technology to enable single-cell genetic screens at high-throughput, and genetic interaction screens on scales far greater than currently possible. Team LeadersMarc Birtwistle Chemical and Biomolecular EngineeringXiaoming Lu Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering |
| 2039 | ClemsonX Humanity appears to be on the verge of a dramatic new era of exploration and development in outer space. Driven by multiple innovative agile companies operating on a remarkable design timeline; technologies to explore and develop a sustainable human presence in space are rapidly emerging. In December 2019, Elon Musk unveiled Starship Mark I, and less than 18 months later after several successful prototype flights, an orbital vehicle may be flown as soon as August 2021. Companies such as Blue Origin, Sierra Nevada Corporation, RocketLab, Relativity Space, and others are driving innovations in the space industry at an unprecedented rate of development. Increasingly, what was once a science fiction dream of expanding humanity throughout the solar system appears to be within the realm of scientific fact. This creative inquiry seeks to imbue a similar level of enthusiastic agile innovation amongst its participants. Formulated along the lines of the 1975 summer NASA workshop with Gerald O'Neill that led to designs for space colonies, this creative inquiry will form student teams to propose design solutions for future space exploration initiatives. The selection of exploration and development initiatives will be determined by the participating students, but once selected, design teams will be expected to develop practical engineering solutions to their projects. Want to design a space elevator for the moon? An Earth-Mars cycler spacecraft? The first colony on Mars? An exploration probe to Triton? The first space colony? The first asteroid mining mission? All of these are possible projects for teams within the creative inquiry. As part of the creative inquiry, students will be engaged in the current developments of the aerospace industry and will be expected to develop a YouTube channel which will include a mixture of commentary on current events in space exploration and discussions of future visions, including those developed by the students themselves. The purpose of this platform is to engage a broader community of interest in space exploration, to promote scientific education about space exploration to the general public, and to promote the ideas of the students in the CI, as well as the CI and Clemson University. The CI design projects will emulate the rapid, agile progress using approaches demonstrated by SpaceX and other innovative space company startups. Team LeadersCameron Turner Mechanical Engineering |
| 2033 | Mitochondrial Genomics In this CI, will learn about mitochondrial genomes. Mitochondria are organelles of utmost importance in 99.999% of uni-cellular and multi-cellular organisms. Students will be exposed to the scientific method and will learn to think critically. We will be using various mitochondrial genomes as examples to improve critical thinking skills and information literacy skills. Team LeadersJuan Antonio Baeza Migueles Biological SciencesTimothy Cronin Biological Sciences |
| 2032 | AI in Biomedicine: Machine Learning Models for Prediction and Annotation of Novel Disease Genes In the human genome, most genes actually do not encode proteins; they are noncoding RNA genes. The largest class of noncoding genes is known as long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), which are transcripts greater in length than 200 nucleotides, but with no protein-coding capacity. While some lncRNAs have been demonstrated to be key regulators of gene expression and 3D genome organization, most lncRNAs are still uncharacterized. Thus, we have been developing new machine learning and data mining approaches for the functional annotation of human lncRNAs, as well as circular RNAs (circRNAs), by leveraging the vast amount of genetic and genomic data ("biological big data"). Our recent studies demonstrate that genomic data mining can give insights into RNA functions and provide valuable information for experimental studies of candidate lncRNAs. This CI project will focus on the identification and functional analysis of novel candidate lncRNAs (or circRNAs) associated with human diseases, including autism, intellectual disability and cancer. Team LeadersLiangjiang Wang Genetics and Biochemistry |
| 2028 | Sustainable Small-scale Wood Processing Solutions Small-scale timber harvesting and processing has seen an increase in popularity in the past few years. In this Creative Inquiry project, we will utilize the Clemson University Tiger Timbers (CUTT) sawmill and associated drying kilns to explore ways to sustainably produce lumber and other wood products. As part of this project we will evaluate the mechanics and feasibility of producing wood pellets from sawmill by-products such as sawdust. We will further investigate the use of a gasifier to burn wood pellets for energy generation and test the feasibility of using a gasifier to run wood shop equipment. We currently own a pellet maker and a gasifier, both of which will need electrical and mechanical updating and testing. We will also explore, design, and implement the use of solar power to operate our drying kilns. Students will also learn how to operate a small-scale sawmill and produce the lumber needed to build support structures for the use of solar panels. As part of this project, students will also learn about data collection techniques to assess time consumption, productivity, and cost of small-scale sawmilling and wood drying operations. The long-term goal of this project is to create a self-sufficient and sustainable small-scale sawmilling and wood processing operation that can operate in an off-grid setting. Students will be given the opportunity to present the results from their Creative Inquiry project at different meetings and conference. Efforts will be made to secure funding to allow students to travel to out-of-state meetings to present their findings. Students will also be able to write and publish detailed reports about their project in various outlets ranging from scientific journals to extension magazines. Team LeadersPatrick Hiesl Forestry and Environmental Conservation |
| 2024 | Fish ecology and morphometrics Water flow influences many aspects of fishes’ ecology from timing of reproduction to evolution of body shape. One successful avenue for quantifying the ecological response to instream flows is larval fish research. Fish species often require specific flow conditions to spawn. By quantifying the timing and magnitude of spawning intensity (larval fish abundance) we can determine the flow conditions necessary for fish reproduction. Yet, no research on the relationship between flow and fish reproduction has been done in South Carolina. Ecomorphology is another excellent avenue of research for studying flow influence on fishes’ ecology and evolution. Body shape is an excellent surrogate for the ecology of fish species and is known to be strongly influenced by water velocity. However, studies of intra-specific body shape divergence among habitat types have focused geographic separated habitats such as lakes and rivers. Only one study has been done looking at body shape differences between lotic and lentic habitats within a stream. By examining the variation in body shape, it may be possible to understand how some individuals are able to take advantage of different flow regimes and habitats. The objective of this study is to test for intra-specific body shape differences between high and low flow micro-habitats within streams. In this study we address three hypotheses: 1) individual fish occupying high water velocity habitats will have significantly different body shape from fishes in low water velocity habitats. 2) individual fish occupying high water velocity habitats will have more fusiform body shapes and deeper caudal peduncles fishes in low water velocity habitats. 3) All fish species will show similar responses to water velocity. 4) identifying the timing, duration, and magnitude of stream flow driving spawning intensity. Team LeadersLuke Bower Forestry and Environmental Conservation |
| 2000 | Combating Misinformation through Education and Scientific Experiential Exposure in South Carolina (CoME and SEE SC) Program The COVID-19 pandemic has made apparent the lack of trust that citizens of South Carolina have for scientific research, causing them to make ill-informed or uninformed decisions regarding science policy. To this end, this team will develop a program to foster civic scientific literacy, a component of scientific literacy that encourages understanding of the scientific process and the impact of innovation on society.This team of students will focus on (1) developing their scientific literacy and (2) establishing a module as a part of the Combating Misinformation through Education and Scientific Experiential Exposure in South Carolina (CoME and SEE SC) Program to help high school teachers improve their independent civic scientific literacy. Their module will be advertised by the SC EPSCoR office (see letter), with the long-term goal of providing access to all interested high school science teachers across the state. Team LeadersJessica Larsen Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering |
| 1999 | Materials Exploration in Orthotics and Prosthetics Foot orthotics and prosthetic socket liners use various combinations of materials and geometries to help reduce pressure hot spots across the orthotic/socket. The goal of the project is to determine a patient's ability to feel pressure differences when standing on various combinations of materials. Students will identify appropriate materials and characterize them based on measures such as hardness or stiffness. They will then develop a human subjects trial that will explore the relationship between the subjects level of comfort and the pressure generated due to various material combinations. Team LeadersKyle Walker BioengineeringJohn D DesJardins Bioengineering |
| 1996 | ROER: Robotics Open Educational Resources The ROER: Robotics Open Educational Resources project will engage students as researchers and developers of learner-centered, open-access learning resources in Robotics for undergraduates at two- and four-year institutions. Students from any major interested in robotics, engineering education, learning design, or other related areas are welcome to join. Team LeadersLeah Wiitablake University LibrariesD. Matthew Boyer Educational and Organizational Leadership Development Yang Wu University Libraries Yue Wang Mechanical Engineering |
| 1995 | Cancer Biology and Development This Creative Inquiry project investigates the cellular events that occur in breast cancer and the common events in mammary gland development. Specifically, we are focused on what directs a healthy cell to become a cancer cell. Research suggests the early developmental pathways in the mammary gland are reactivated in some types of breast cancers. In order to understand these developmental signals, we are evaluating mammary gland gene expression in human breast cancers and using the pre-pubertal swine as the non-tumorigenic model.Global collaborative collections of human tumor samples with matched normals are available in databases for research analysis, however this approach requires tools capable of analyzing extremely large data sets. We will utilize a bioinformatics approach to investigate our research-based questions. The field of bioinformatics is the intersection of biology, statistics, and computer science. We will build networks to indicate similar gene expression patterns comparing our swine samples to the human database. In addition to breast cancer, we will investigate other diseases including but not limited to colon, pancreas, prostate, and uterine cancer. We will use open source software for the analysis of genes and intersecting networks. Visual graphics will be created in order to illustrate gene expression patterns between the human cancers and swine mammary models. In addition, we will utilize laser microdissection techniques to collect specified areas of interest for RNA extraction and analyses, and conduct immunohistochemical procedures for artificial intelligence studies. Team LeadersHeather Dunn Bioengineering |
| 1993 | Bridging Materials Gaps to Combat Climate Change We propose a fundamental research plan to dramatically reduce and/or ultimately eliminate the use of supply-deficit platinum group metals (PGMs) as strategic resources in critical catalytic materials for purifying transportation emissions as well as enabling negative CO2 emissions, which can ultimately reverse the climate change caused by pollution emissions. Our atoms-to-emissions approach aims to design and synthesize novel supported metal catalysts with atomic precision that can simultaneously achieve ~100% material efficiency and high intrinsic catalytic performance, thereby enhancing the status of the US energy security and sustainability. Students in various engineering and science majors will be recruited to participate and lead the project in research fronts of materials development, energy device construction, reaction tests, and advanced characterizations. We envision rich opportunities for students to engage conversations with relevant industry. Through the cutting-edge research training, the program aims to prepare Clemson students with diversified skill sets and embracive mind sets to capitalize on the state-of-the-art industry infrastructure as well as to create new opportunities in an era of fast-changing energy landscape to tackle some of the most exciting global challenges. Team LeadersMing Yang Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering |
| 1991 | Making Sense of Gait: Integrating Biomechanical Feedback into a Lower Limb Prosthesis This project will focus on developing several sensor prototypes that can detect critical events during walking with the long-term goal of using them to control a lower-limb prosthesis in development in the Bioengineering department. Students will learn about gait biomechanics relating to anatomy and physiology of the lower limb and the compensatory mechanisms that occur with lower limb prostheses through literature and collaboration with clinicians (and Certified Prosthetists and Orthotists) at Prisma Health. They will have the opportunity to learn about types of sensors that can track biomechanical metrics as well as work hands-on with several types of sensors and biomechanical testing equipment used for movement science. With graduate students and clinical collaborators, students will incorporate chosen sensors into a clinical setting through testing and development of chosen sensors on able-bodied individuals and lower limb amputees. Team LeadersJohn D DesJardins BioengineeringTherese Parr Bioengineering |
| 1987 | CI LAUNCH: Basic Wet-Lab Etiquette This project will serve as an introduction to the skills, techniques and procedures needed to work independently in an experimental (i.e. wet) laboratory. Satisfactory completion of this project will result in the student being competent in directly setting-up well controlled experiments individually and independently conducting these experiments without any extra assistance from other laboratory personnel. This CI will provide the foundational knowledge and skillsets for undergraduate students to work on more advanced CI projects by allowing them to later thrive in various bench science research environments. Team LeadersAlexis Stamatikos Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences |
| 1983 | Circuit Cellar In this CI, students will have the opportunity to learn hands-on activities related to circuits and electronics based on integrated circuits (ICs) and discrete components. We will discuss various practical techniques complemented by simulations. Students may take this course sequence over multiple semesters to work on various aspects of hands-on skillset. Within the scope of this project-based learning, a student may work on a semester long project or on a project that spans over multiple semesters. Skillsets learned here include but are not limited to circuit analysis, electronics design techniques, PCB design and manufacturing, EDA tools, etc. We will conclude the semester by designing and implementing an electronic project based on the student’s personal interest. Team LeadersHassan Raza Electrical and Computer EngineeringIII,William J Reid Electrical and Computer Engineering |
| 1980 | What makes a book worth sharing? A Review of Children's Literature This Creative Inquiry project brings together education majors to answer the question, "What makes a book worth sharing?" First, we will read scholarly work that informs ways we can identify quality children's literature. Then, project members will select several books to analyze and evaluate. Finally, each member will write up a brief review of at least one book to share in a children's literature review column for Literacy Matters, the state journal of the Palmetto State Literacy Association. Reviews will inform PK-6 teachers and other literacy professionals in South Carolina and surrounding states. Team LeadersKoti Hubbard Teaching and LearningKirsten Abel Teaching and Learning |
| 1979 | Trust in Technology Technology is ingrained into our society at so many levels. From physical technologies such as smartphones, automated vehicles, or even robots to more abstract forms such as virtual assistants, spaces, or threats. This research team investigates the impact of the trust we place on such technologies. Placing too much trust or overreliance on systems that can (and do) fail can have serious consequences, yet not trusting a helpful resource can lead to similar adverse outcomes. Team LeadersWilliam Volante Psychology |
| 1977 | Confronting extremism and defending democracy This project explores the origins and consequences of political extremism. Students will conduct independent investigations of specific factors they believe cause or could help reduce political extremism. Student researchers will formulate hypotheses, construct literature reviews, develop research plans, and collect data, including social media content analysis and in-person qualitative interviews. Team LeadersMatthew Rhodes-Purdy Political Science |
| 1976 | Hunting for novel antibiotics from the soil – an introductory biology research opportunity The arms race between antibiotics and resistant bacteria existed long before the widespread use of antibiotics. Antibiotics were once considered as the “magic bullets” for treating infectious diseases, but the balance of victory has shifted in favor of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (commonly known as “superbugs”) due to the over-reliance on antibiotics by human beings in the past decades. Antibiotic resistance is a problem described by the World Health Organization as "one of the biggest threats to global health, food security and development today." Novel antibiotics are in need! As a partner of the Small World Initiative (SWI) – crowdsourcing antibiotic discovery, we invite everyone interested in tackling the challenge to join this creative inquiry team. During the semesters, students will collect soil samples, search for antibiotic-producing bacteria, characterize the antimicrobial activities, and contribute the findings to a database shared by a network of student researchers from over 300 other institutions worldwide. This research opportunity will provide students with a hands-on learning experience and is open to students from all backgrounds and disciplines. Students will also have the chance to develop their own creative projects to raise awareness about the antibiotic crisis and participate in the annual Do Something About Antibiotics Challenge™ in November. Team LeadersMin Cao Biological Sciences |
| 1975 | Detection and Treatment of Cancers and Other Genetic-Based Diseases This project explores the feasibility of novel biomarkers for early disease diagnosis, specifically in cancer diagnosis. The presence of small RNA molecules such as long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) and microRNAs can be characteristic of disease development. Additionally, students will explore different treatments for genetic-based diseases, such as radiotherapy techniques for cancer or mRNA transcript delivery for treatment of spinal muscular atrophy. The collective efforts in these projects will advance molecular diagnostics and save lives. Students will have an opportunity to learn hands-on skills such as RT-qPCR, cell culture, and mRNA transcript design. Students will also develop analytical thinking skills while solving problems in the experimental process. Team LeadersCongyue Peng BioengineeringAustin Smothers Bioengineering Kylie King Bioengineering Delphine Dean Bioengineering |
| 1974 | The Gig Work and Occupational Health Psychology (GW-OHP) Project The goal of this CI team is to conduct research addressing issues in the field of occupational health psychology (OHP). Our lab will focus on OHP areas such as nonstandard work arrangements (e.g., gig work), economic stress (e.g., job insecurity, underemployment), and substance use (primarily opioid use). This CI team will be working on at least two projects studying gig workers to follow up and extend our lab’s previously published paper (Watson, Kistler, Graham, & Sinclair, 2021). One project will focus on capturing gig workers’ job demands (e.g., underemployment, emotional labor) and job resources (e.g., autonomy, support). As suggested by Watson et al. (2021), we expect that gig workers are not a homogenous group as they have diverse work experiences reflected in their job demands and job resources. Our CI team will empirically test these propositions using survey data representing the different gig worker profiles and consider other job demands and resources not included in our original propositions. The second project will extend our previous research by collecting mixed methods data to examine mechanisms gig workers engage in to improve their work experiences (e.g., job crafting) and outcomes of gig work. We will also explore OHP outcomes such as worker health and well-being, stress, burnout, engagement, and substance use. Our team will give particular attention to opioid use given the heavily documented opioid crisis and its expected overlap with economic stress and gig work. The mixed methods data collection will promote a deeper understanding of gig work including potential moderating factors of these outcomes (e.g., volition, economic dependency) so that we can better inform the how, when, and why of gig workers’ experiences. Team LeadersRobert Sinclair PsychologyGwendolyn Watson Psychology |
| 1969 | The Dangers of Online Inauthentic Media This project will explore the relationships between susceptibility for various forms of inauthentic media (e.g., phishing, misinformation). Explicitly, we will investigate if there are any psychological factors that predict multiple forms of inauthentic online media. Team LeadersDawn Sarno Psychology |
| 1968 | Zero Waste Event Planning for Sonoco Fresh Summit Students will learn about the stages of a Zero Waste Event. Hands-on student experience with planning, implementing, and assessing the Zero-Waste event associated with the Sonoco Fresh Food, Packaging & Sustainability Summit March 2-4, 2022. Be part of the Game Day Recycling Experience behind the scenes of what happens to the waste generated at a game day event with our award winning recycling program. Team LeadersDavid Vandeventer Univ Fac:Custodial-Recycle SvsDeborah Falta Public Health Sciences |
| 1967 | Multiscale modeling analysis of the Lithium metal/electrolyte interface properties in solid-state batteries The goal of this project is to develop a multiscale modeling methodology to understand the interface properties between electrode and electrolyte in solid-state batteries. Solid-state batteries are promising energy storage devices with superior energy density and safer features compared to traditional Li-ion batteries. Li metal is the main candidate for the anode and we will focus on oxide materials as potential electrolytes. We will analyze the atomic structure of the solid-solid heterophase interface to fundamentally understand the role of misfit dislocations, generating due to the lattice mismatch between the different materials, on the nucleation and growth of voids and dendrites, which eventually lead to the failure of the component. Such fundamental understanding will help design principles to improve materials properties and broadly deploy solid-state batteries for the benefit of the entire society. Molecular dynamics simulations will be used to predict the structure of the interface and the thermodynamic and kinetic properties of carriers and defects. This knowledge will inform Monte Carlo methods to compute transport properties and nucleation rates for voids and Li dendrites. Using artificial intelligence methods (mainly machine learning) we will correlate these outputs to the oxide electrolyte properties to select the oxide material that optimize the battery response. Team LeadersEnrique Martinez Saez Mechanical Engineering |
| 1965 | The Martha’s Vineyard Sign Language Project This CI is designed to conduct research and development on the signed language community outreach project that aims to serve various constituents ranging from residents to business owners on Martha’s Vineyard. Through the research and collaboration with the community partners from the island (e.g., Martha’s Vineyard’s Signs Then & Now – a project under a public access MVTV station, town libraries, and the Chamber of Commerce), the researchers and the partners will lead in a variety of projects. The purpose of this research is to educate the community partners, business owners, and residents about signed language and help them experience the practical solutions signed language can bring to its community and everyone. The goal of this research and development is to learn more about how collaboration works and to make it a model for creating society a signed language-friendly environment. Team LeadersJody Cripps Languages |
| 1964 | 3D Printing Jointed Customizable Splints Many traditional medical devices are often designed with a “one size fits all” approach to allow them to be mass produced at as low a cost as possible, but because of the variation in the patient population often results in “one size fits none” devices. With the advent of low-cost 3D-printing, this paradigm has started to change towards patient centered design, where devices are customized to the anatomy of the specific patient they will used to treat. The goal of this CI is to explore these concepts of patient centered design and create a platform for the rapid design and production of customized jointed splints used in the treatment and rehabilitation of finger and hand injuries. Team LeadersTyler Harvey Bioengineering |
| 1962 | C.C.A.R.E Special Research Group: College Students, Our Lived Experiences, and the Research to Help Us Thrive The purpose of the C.I. is to aid the Coach, Connect, Appreciate, Retain, Evolve (C.C.A.R.E.) initiative. The C.C.A.R.E. initiative began as a program to coach college freshman on how to embrace their new college lifestyle and truly thrive during their years in college. C.C.A.R.E. connects students with one another to share their lived experiences in a place that is intended to be safe and open for vulnerable conversations. This creative inquiry team will research topics related to the lived experiences of college students, including social media and self-perception, and work overload and procrastination. This interactive lab will feature related discussions and content production on college students and the college lifestyle. Our lab will also integrate related interpersonal activities, mindfulness, and play. Team LeadersSherece Smith Honors Programs |
| 1960 | Research and Education in Disease Diagnosis and Intervention (REDDI) Creative Inquiry The COVID-19 pandemic sparked a particular interest in the global health profession, as well as a demand for experienced front-line healthcare workers. As a result, the REDDI Lab, Clemson's first CLIA certified laboratory, is now ready to facilitate education and exposure of clinically-based diagnostic techniques as well as professional development for students interested in pursuing careers as health professionals. Students will learn about and be exposed to a variety of diagnostic testing methods, data analysis techniques, and professional practices within a clinical lab setting. Finally, students will participate in outreach opportunities to help educate the community about disease diagnostics. Team LeadersAustin Smothers BioengineeringCongyue Peng Bioengineering Delphine Dean Bioengineering Kylie King Bioengineering |
| 1953 | The Coffee Can Radar In this project, students will plan, build and test a "Coffee Can Radar" using coffee cans as transmit and receive antennas, basic RF components and a laptop for digital radar data analysis. The students will learn basic radar principles and operation, to include the radar range equation, basic radar waveforms, and basic signal processing techniques. The students will create a project plan, to include a schedule, a bill of materials, and a test plan. They will build a working radar using an open-source design and test both analog and digital operation. Once the radar is operating correctly, the students will execute their test plan, measuring detected object range, velocity and a synthetic aperture radar imaging mode. The students will document their experience in a presentation to peers and faculty. Team LeadersJoseph Chapa General Engineering |
| 1951 | Woodland Cemetery Preservation and Memorial Project Students will conduct research and participate in community engagement activities to assist with the development of the preservation plan and memorial for Woodland Cemetery. In February of 2020, two Clemson students visited the Fort Hill Slave and Convict Cemetery and found it in a state of disrepair. They worked with faculty and staff to clean up the site and install a memorial. Further research led to the team to learn that there was a larger African American burial site on the west side of Woodland Cemetery. Using ground penetrating radar, 667 unmarked graves, believed to be those of African American enslaved persons, sharecroppers, convicted laborers, and wage workers, were recovered in the cemetery. Clemson Trustees established a trustee task force and Legacy Council in late summer 2020 to develop a preservation and memorialization plan for the burial ground, including a memorial. Students will complete genealogy research, conduct archival research, conduct and create historical tours, create social media posts, assist with developing memorial design, participate in dramatic performances, record oral history, proctor surveys, and write biographical narratives. Team LeadersSara Collini History and GeographyRhondda Thomas English |
| 1950 | AI Security and Privacy Recent breakthroughs in Artificial Intelligence (AI) are powering various technology fields including autonomous driving, Internet-of-things (IoT), graphics and gaming, robotics, AR/VR, economics, smart grids, cyber-physical systems, and even structural biology. As technologies become more intertwined with our daily lives, it is important to understand the implications of AI on system’s security and privacy, and investigate vulnerabilities and countermeasures. Being aware of these potential risks and the known solutions to defend, or mitigate, such attacks is a critical skill for future AI developers. This CI project is designed to introduce students to the field of modern artificial intelligence from the security and privacy perspectives, and prepare students for careers as AI or security professionals. The CI team will identify vulnerabilities and propose new protection methods to ensure the trustworthiness of AI techniques. Team LeadersYingjie Lao Electrical and Computer EngineeringJoseph Clements Electrical and Computer Engineering |
| 1944 | PLM Processes and CAD/CAE Tools with Application to Vehicle Component Design The growth in product lifecycle management (PLM) strategies and computer software has enabled businesses to standardize their design and manufacturing processes, optimize data management, improve field and enterprise support activities, and streamline supply chains. For engineers and scientists, these tools encompass computer-aided-design (CAD), computer-aided-engineering (CAE), and additive manufacturing. They also allow for virtual work environments to digitize innovation. In this creative inquiry course, multidisciplinary students will work with the PLM Center at Clemson University to gain insight into digital processes and tools. For application, system components will be designed, analyzed, and integrated into a Digital Twin representation of an electric ground vehicle to accommodate individual personal mobility needs. Team LeadersJohn R Wagner Mechanical EngineeringGregory Mocko Mechanical Engineering |
| 1943 | Queer Issues in STEM: Researching the Impact of LGBTQIA+ topics in STEM Environments This creative inquiry project aims to explore issues at the intersection of being Queer and in STEM environments. There is emerging research understanding the experiences of Queer STEM students as well as professional societies and student organizations (e.g., oSTEM) that are uniquely designed for LGBTQIA+ students who have an interest in STEM fields. This project involves an initial sequence that provides an overview of Queer Theory, research on Queer issues in STEM, and a focus on designing Queer informed STEM experiences. In the second semester, the project will implement a teaching experiment or research project that examines the impact of Queer informed STEM experiences for undergraduate students. The project is designed for both STEM and Non-STEM students and students who identify with being LGBTQIA+ and Allies. Students will have an opportunity to analyze and present data in scholarly presentations and publications. Team LeadersMatthew Voigt Engineering and Science EducationSarah Otterbeck Engineering & Science Education Eliza Gallagher Engineering and Science Education |
| 1935 | Pet minds -- how people coordinate with and buy for animals People spend a lot of time thinking about what their pets think. This is especially true if they compete with their pet (i.e., dog owners that do agility or hunting trials, horse owners that jump or barrel race) and, more commonly, when they buy things like food, toys, or medical care for their pet. In this project, we will examine how attributing humanlike minds to pets affects how owners coordinate their behavior with their pet's and how they spend for their pet. The aim of this CI is to collect and analyze data, submit one or more conference proposals, and submit one or more academic journal articles. Team LeadersLura Forcum Department of Marketing |
| 1931 | Turning Teams of Experts into Expert Teams: From Farms to Space and Everywhere in Between Whether it's your local farm offering apple picking, scientists researching space travel to Mars, or even healthcare workers rounding on patients, teamwork is at the center of it all. But how do we turn teams of experts into expert teams? This CI team will involve conducting research to answer this question and expand our current knowledge of teamwork and leadership in various settings. Team LeadersSydney Begerowski PsychologyMarlee Johnson Psychology Ally Wentworth Psychology Lori Dickes Political Science Marissa Shuffler Psychology |
| 1928 | Human Factors in Healthcare As technology evolves, changes and challenges among the interactions with humans and machines emerge, especially in the healthcare domain. The theme of this project is to leverage sensing technology, such as those measuring physiological signals, to understand and augment human performance. Team LeadersJackie Cha Industrial Engineering |
| 1927 | Bioleaching of arsenic-contaminated soils by Aspergillus niger Arsenic is a trace metalloid that is ubiquitous in almost every environment. Increasing concentrations of arsenic in soil and water is a problem the world is currently facing with the multiple arsenic inputs by anthropogenic sources such as mining, milling, agricultural use, and coal ash. In 1993 the World Health Organization provisional guideline for arsenic was reduced from 50 micrograms per liter to 10 micrograms per liter. Since then, arsenic concentrations above acceptable standards were detected in many countries, such as the United States of America, China, France, and Germany.It is a natural process by which biological processes and the anatomy and physiology of plants reduce the arsenic concentration in soil and water. Plants need a necessary supply of nutrients, including arsenic, to grow and immobilize the arsenic through the biological processes mentioned. Certain species of plants have a higher tolerance to an excessive collection of arsenic in the soil. They could make an efficient, low-cost solution to reducing arsenic concentrations to below provisional guidelines. Team LeadersTom O. Owino Environmental Engineering and Earth SciencesCaye Drapcho Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences |
| 1924 | Nanotechnology In this CI course, students will be introduced to the fundamentals and applications of Nanotechnology from Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) perspective. Nanotechnology is the art, science, and engineering of designing materials, devices, and systems at the nanoscale from bottom-up and/or top-down approaches. The role of this technology in ECE has been the driving force behind the information technology revolution over the past few decades and is further expected to be the enabling technology behind the next technological revolution in robotics, automation, and artificial intelligence. The course is structured around some introductory lectures, followed by student-driven research on a topic of student’s choice. This CI experience may lead to publication of a review article, if a student takes the sequence over a few semesters. Team LeadersHassan Raza Electrical and Computer Engineering |
| 1919 | Designing motile synthetic cells: Structural Biomaterials The remarkable ability of cells to control shape, interact with their environment, and migrate directed through chemical and mechanical cues are some of the key features that set living systems apart from most synthetic systems. In this creative inquiry project, we will investigate minimal model cells, made from emulsion drops supported by a thin biological material shell. We will explore how stresses are mechanically stored and released in the biomaterial structure, resulting in emulsion drops that migrate! Research will investigate basic physical mechanisms of motility, elucidating how to control whether motion is sustained or intermittent and direction and speed in these minimal, bio-inspired, robot-like drops. Students from a variety of backgrounds are welcome to join and will gain experience in quantitative analysis and experimental techniques, and learn to be collaborative researchers as part of an interdisciplinary team. Team LeadersKimberly Weirich Materials Science and Engineering |
| 1918 | Black Bass Reservoir Ecology Black Bass populations in reservoirs support important recreational fisheries across North America. However, many North American reservoirs are now over 50 years old. Fish habitat quality in reservoirs tends to decline with reservoir age due to sedimentation and decomposition of natural structures submerged during reservoir filling. A common management approach to compensate for declining fish habitat quality is to install natural (i.e., trees, rock piles, stump clusters) or artificial (i.e., man made) structures in older reservoirs. Such installations have become common across North America and there is evidence that installed habitats can attract and hold fish while increasing angler catch rates. In recent years the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources has been engaged in a large-scale habitat enhancement project on Lake Hartwell aimed at improving habitat for native sportfish, including Largemouth Bass. However, non-native Alabama Bass are also present in Lake Hartwell. For SCDNR to successfully enhance native fish habitat more information is required on habitat use and selection for native and non-native fish in Lake Hartwell. This Creative Inquiry project will work closely with SCDNR and Clemson University faculty and graduate students to use acoustic telemetry to quantify habitat use and movement patterns in native Largemouth Bass and non-native Alabama Bass (also known as Spotted Bass) in Lake Hartwell. The goal of this project is to identify locations and installed habitat types that be preferentially selected by Largemouth Bass and show little benefit to Alabama Bass. Students working on this project will assist with overall project objectives and will also develop an independent project that investigates hypothesis-driven questions regarding fish habitat use in reservoirs. Team LeadersTroy Farmer Forestry and Environmental ConservationDeon Kerr Forestry & Environmental Conservation |
| 1915 | Gender Equity on College Campuses The goal of this creative inquiry is to better understand the current resources devoted to gender equity on college campuses. In Fall 2021 the focus will be on developing a 'use case' for a GEC on Clemson's campus. Team LeadersSarah Mae Cooper Philosophy and ReligionDiane Perpich Philosophy and Religion |
| 1906 | Creating a Textbook for the College and Career Professional Development Course CCPD 1400 is a College and Career Professional Development course for Physics majors and transfer students. College and Career preparation is an iterative process. It is important to learn and develop new skills and participate in new experiences throughout college. By investing time in college and career preparation activities during their undergraduate experience, students will be successful, high achieving college students and they will also be ready to carry out an effective, thoughtful job search when the time comes. Currently, there is no textbook for this course. The goal of this project is to develop and design a textbook for the course that the students will use for instructional purposes. Team LeadersRise Moroney Physics and Astronomy |
| 1903 | Physiological Phenotyping of Cotton Leaf Shape Isolines to Collect Data for Cotton Breeding In recent years, frequent hurricanes have brought in high winds and cloudy days causing significant boll loss in cotton in South Carolina. These conditions are also augmenting the frequency and intensity of biotic stresses affecting cotton canopy development and productivity. Four major leaf shape alleles exist in cotton: normal, sub-okra/Sea-Island, okra, and super-okra. These leaf shapes are a multiple allelic series of a single incompletely dominant genetic locus. After the shape has been determined, it normally does not vary through the remaining growth and development of the leaf. Leaf shape plays important roles in canopy development and photosynthesis and is associated with production advantages such as boll rot resistance, earliness, flowering rate, chemical spray penetration, lint trash, and yield. Understanding the differences in physiological mechanisms that lead to variation in plant performance among different cotton leaf shapes would help open new avenues for developing cultivars with ideal leaf shape, which would enhance sustainable and profitable production. The specific objectives of this project are to: (1) evaluate six leaf shape isolines of cotton based on physiological traits related with yield and performance (photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, transpiration, chlorophyll fluorescence, chlorophyll index, leaf temperature, leaf area, time to maturity, flower number, water use efficiency, and lint yield), (2) elucidate differences in physiological mechanisms that lead to variation in plant performance among different leaf shape isolines, and (3) identify the leaf shape ideotype with superior physiological mechanisms towards developing cotton varieties with improved productivity. In this study, the cotton plants will be grown in a greenhouse. The results from this study will help fine-tune the leaf shape approach for better agronomic performance and will compliment cotton breeding programs for variety development. The NC State cotton breeder, Dr. Vasu Kuraparthy, who developed the novel leaf shape approach, is a collaborator on this project. Team LeadersSruthi Kutty Plant and Environmental Sciences |
| 1900 | Clinician Well-Being and COVID-19: Fostering Resilience Using Authentic Connections Groups(ACGs) Among Undergraduate Students in a Prelicensure Baccalaureate Nursing Program Fostering Resilience Using Authentic Connections Groups(ACGs) Among Undergraduate Students in a Prelicensure Baccalaureate Nursing ProgramThe physical and psychological demands inherent in nursing education have been associated with vulnerability to burnout (a psychological syndrome that occurs in response to chronic emotional and interpersonal stressors) and can begin long before the student is a professional registered nurse. The levels of burnout are alarming and may adversely impact professional development, jeopardize patient safety and place undue strain on the physical and mental health of student nurses. Even before the COVID-19 outbreak, many already faced symptoms related to burnout syndrome as well as stress, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and even suicidality. Now this global pandemic crisis is presenting even greater academic and personal hardships that are very likely to exacerbate existing levels of burnout syndrome and related mental health problems. Team LeadersJanice Lanham School of Nursing |
| 1896 | Developing Medical Devices for Intervertebral Disc Repair The objective of this CI is to design and develop medical devices that can be used for repairing the herniated intervertebral disc. Team LeadersJeremy Mercuri Bioengineering |
| 1895 | Soft Matter and Complex Fluids This creative inquiry will enhance students’ ability of computational thinking by offering computational research projects on soft matter and complex fluids. Soft matter represents soft materials that are easily deformed by thermal fluctuations and small external forces, while complex fluids refer to multi-component soft materials that can flow but display non-Newtonian rheology. Gels, liquid crystals, polymers, colloids, emulsions, foams, lipid membranes, cell suspensions, and many biological systems fit this description. Soft matter and complex fluids are ubiquitous in nature and play an important role in many industrial and biological applications, from soft construction materials, food processing industries, to biomimetic soft materials and artificial tissues. Team LeadersZhen Li Mechanical Engineering |
| 1893 | Robotics Automation and Machine Learning Robotics and Artificial Intelligence have evolved significantly in the past decade. The advancement sin the research area such as computer vision, robotics and automation have enabled advanced manufacturing across the spectrum of various industries, especially in the State of South Carolina. This Creative Inquiry will provide students an opportunity to get hands-on experience with robotics, computer vision and flexible automation. Students will be challenged to come up with their own design of a Delta Robots with machine vision capability to solve a real-world engineering problem related to high-speed pick-and-place task. Students will learn inverse kinematics of parallel manipulators and use the theories to guide their design and prototyping. A successful solution will involve theoretical analysis, CAD design, rapid prototyping (3D printing, water jet), mechatronics (sensor fusion, motor and actuators, etc.), and computer vision for complex problem under high-speed processing requirement. The CI project will present the students with in-depth robotics knowledge, and also prepare students for joining exciting engineering positions in high-tech industries. Team LeadersEthan Kung Mechanical EngineeringYiqiang Han Mechanical Engineering Jude Carreno Mechanical Engineering |
| 1891 | Modeling Solid-Liquid Interface Properties in High-Entropy Alloys for Additive Manufacturing Processes Advanced designs in many applications require the development of materials with improved properties to cope with the increasingly harsh environments that such applications pose. Advanced manufacturing processes, such as additive manufacturing (AM), can deliver parts with complex geometries, minimal waste material, and limited post-processing. However, AM microstructures can vary considerably from those produced by traditional metallurgy. It is essential to characterize and control the microstructure and properties of AM parts such that they may be qualified for use in critical applications. Furthermore, the combination of these advanced processing techniques with novel compositions, such as high-entropy alloys, can potentially generate invaluable knowledge to grow optimized materials. We will use atomistic modeling tools to analyze the solid-liquid interface properties that control the solidification process and dictate the morphology of the microstructure. We will combine molecular dynamics with Monte Carlo methods to sample the correct composition in the solid, liquid and interphase. We will compute the interphase stiffness relying on the capillary fluctuation method and the kinetic coefficient for different compositions and undercoolings. Team LeadersEnrique Martinez Saez Mechanical Engineering |
| 1890 | Gero App Development This project will work with the Study of Health Aging & Applied Research Programs (SHAARP.org) lab to develop, test, and refine a smartphone application. This application will assess the cognitive, psychosocial and everyday functioning of older adults. Team LeadersLesley Ross PsychologyChristine Phillips Psychology Paige Rodeghero School of Computing |
| 1889 | SHAARP Lab Experience The Study of Health Aging & Applied Research Programs (SHAARP.org) laboratory examines cognitive, sensory, lifestyle, and physical predictors of everyday functioning among older adults. We then examine how different interventions (such as brain training and exergaming) impact health (such as dementia and cognition) and everyday functioning (such as driving mobility, crashes, falls, and Complex Instrumental Activities of Daily Living). Team LeadersLesley Ross PsychologyChristine Phillips Psychology |
| 1887 | Blockchains, Security and Privacy Blockchains can be viewed as digital models of fiat money and business contracts in decentralized networks where distributed ledgers provide data integrity and smart contracts allow automatic execution of business logic. The goals of project include: Learning the basic concepts and cryptographical tools used in blockchains and crypto-currencies, (b) Learning programming experience on smart contracts (in Ethereum), (c) Work as teams on projects in various business applications. Ideally each team consists of students from Math, CS, ECE and business school, a mixture of graduate and undergraduate students. Team LeadersShuhong Gao School of Mathematical and Statistical SciencesRichard Brooks Electrical and Computer Engineering |
| 1870 | Fish Ecomorphology Phenotypic plasticity can give rise to intra-specific phenotypic variation, which can lead to unique phenotypes between or within populations. Phenotypic plasticity provides an excellent opportunity for ecologists to study habitat induced phenotypic divergence as well as phenotypic disparity of ecologically different species. Body shape has been shown to be an excellent surrogate for the ecology of fish species and is known to be strongly influenced by water velocity. However, studies of intra-specific body shape divergence among habitat types have focused geographic separated habitats such as lakes and rivers. Only one study has been done looking at body shape differences between lotic and lentic habitats within a stream. By examining the variation in body shape, it may be possible to understand how some individuals are able to take advantage of different flow regimes and habitats. The objective of this study is to test for intra-specific body shape differences between high and low flow micro-habitats within streams. In this study we address three hypotheses: 1) individual fish occupying high water velocity habitats will have significantly different body shape from fishes in low water velocity habitats. 2) individual fish occupying high water velocity habitats will have more fusiform body shapes and deeper caudal peduncles fishes in low water velocity habitats. 3) All fish species will show similar responses to water velocity. Team LeadersBrandon Peoples Forestry and Environmental ConservationLuke Bower Forestry and Environmental Conservation |
| 1868 | Creative Medical Device Solutions for COVID Needs (CMeDS) The emergence of COVID-19 has created unpresident demand of medical device solutions that can rapidly address clinical and patient needs during this pandemic and beyond. In bioengineering, the opportunity to collaborate with clinicians in the design of biomedical devices is challenging, and with COVID, these opportunities are both more in demand and more challenging than ever. But they are critically needed. Clinicians continue to be an essential contributor to the design process, in that they are both the users of biomedical devices, and often the first point of contact for problems that occur in their use. Typically, students explore design related issues, and recruit clinicians to support their work. In this new CI, clinical collaborators that have critical COVID-related needs will work with students to create the next generation of biomedical devices during this pandemic and beyond. This CI will be open to all undergraduates, and projects will be multi-semester, to support the development of long-term innovations to address COVID challenges. Team LeadersJohn D DesJardins Bioengineering |
| 1867 | Recognizing Behaviors of Cognitive Impairment Every 69 seconds, someone in the U.S. is newly diagnosed with Alzheimers. In this project, students will participate in educational sessions that will provide tips and tools for recognizing behaviors associated with cognitive impairment and how to effectively communicate with individuals in public and in family contexts. Team LeadersKathleen Valentine School of Nursing |
| 1863 | Creating A Smart Phone APP for the Clemson Extension Health Program's WalkSC Step Initiative WalkSC is a 12-week program that encourages participants to walk the equivalent of the length of South Carolina without actually making the trip. Based on a step challenge, and developed by Clemson Extension, participants who sign up gain access to a private Facebook group and receive a two-to three-minute video each week about a diet or exercise topic and flier with nutrition, exercise and health tips. There have been four WalkSC cohorts and initial data is very encouraging that the program is having a positive impact on participants’ movement habits and health outcomes.This creative inquiry project willexamine the current data sets and future data sets with the goal of developinga smart phone application to facilitate and improve the WalkSC experience.CI students will conduct literaturereviews regarding the benefits of Step programs for health; Gamification ofhealth habits and Use of Smart Phone Technologies to improve human behaviorsand habits.The cross-disciplinary team willdevelop an APP to use on smart phones that leads participants through theWalkSC experience. This APP will be piloted with upcoming WalkSC groups anddata from these pilot groups will be compared with past WalkSC groups andfuture control WalkSC groups that do not utilize the new APP. Data will becollected and analyzed to determine the effectiveness of the APP to increaseadherence to the WalkSC program. Participant digital surveys will be conductedto gain insight into creating a final version of the WalkSC APP.The final goal will be to publishand consider the future use of the WalkSC APP for promotion, income generationfor the WalkSC program and development of future iterations of WalkSC typeinitiatives for Clemson Extension Health Program. Team LeadersMichelle Parisi Food, Nutrition, and Packaging SciencesW Kirby Player Cooperative Extension Services |
| 1858 | Ionospheric Radar Data Analysis and Instrument Development In this CI, students work with data collected by high power- large aperature incoherent scatter radars in the polar region, specifically to address questions associated with high latitude ionosphere and thermospheric physics. We also develop low power ionospheric sounding radars using software defined radios within my lab and associated analysis software. Team LeadersStephen Kaeppler Physics and Astronomy |
| 1854 | ColorNet: Watson in the Watt ColorNet uses Machine Learning (ML) which focuses on learning patterns from data. In this case, the “pattern” is the relationship between the color incorrect and color correct images and the “data” is a large set of manually produced, paired examples of the incorrect and correct images. By exposing an appropriate ML model to a sufficient number of such paired examples, the model learns to predict the correct from the incorrect. Team LeadersErica Walker Department of Graphic CommunicationsD. Hudson Smith Watt Family Innovation Center Carl Ehrett Watt Family Innovation Center |
| 1852 | Rising to the COVID-19 Challenge with Buoyant And Magnetic (BAM) Assays Sensitive, Rapid, On-Site Testing in Saliva This is a continuation of the COVID-19 Challenge which we started in June. Our team received first prize in the pitch competition (out of 86 teams). Rapid, accurate, and highly accessible COVID-19 diagnostics are critical for managing the pandemic and even in helping eliminate it. Since many people may have high viral loads before/without symptoms, inexpensive, rapid, on-site testing for the virus is key. We hope to develop the first test that meet the WHO's criteria for testing in resource-constrained settings: Affordable, Sensitive, Specific, User-friendly, Rapid and robust, Equipment-free and Deliverable to end-users (ASSURED). Resource constrained settings include developing world locations as well as businesses, schools/universities, and homes in the US. Our approach combines two separation technologies: antibody-functionalized buoyant microbeads capture SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid proteins in saliva and rise to the surface separating and concentrating the protein; next antibody-labelled magnetic microbeads attach to the nucleocaptured proteins on the buoyant microbeads forming a buoyant and magnetic (BAM) sandwich complex. The concentration of nucleocapsid proteins in saliva can be quantified by counting the number of BAM complexes, which can be completely separated from non-magnetic buoyant microballoons using a magnet and from non-buoyant magnetic microbeads by removing the magnet and observing floating behavior. The team will work on simulating reaction kinetics, measuring buoyancy and magnetic separation in simple simulated saliva systems (often at home during the pandemic), optimizing reaction and video capture conditions, and writing up results for publication as well as pitch competitions.Finally, while we are focusing on COVID-19 detection, the underlying technology could be used as a platform for multiple other diseases. Team LeadersJeffrey Anker Chemistry |
| 1851 | Design Justice in Architecture This research focuses on architecture and space within marginalized communities. It will question rules implemented and institutionalized by entities in power. Namely, sections of architectural history in which practices followed such directives without questioning the effects those actions had in our culture and society will be analyzed. Students will use architecture and urban design as lenses to highlight the truthful consequences of government sponsored displacement, exclusion, segregation, racial inequality, social injustice, redlining, as well as policies that have fortified racial discrimination. The research will provide students with sources to develop projects and initiatives through design to combat these injustices with an emphasis on the notions of city, architectural pedagogy, and architectural practice. Team LeadersClarissa Mendez School of Architecture |
| 1850 | Virtual Reality and Global Learning Students will help to advance the frontiers of global learning by building 3D virtual environments of international locations where users will gain cultural knowledge and collaborate with international peers. Students will become proficient in applications such as Spoke, Sketchup, Rhino, Blender and Mozilla Hubs. In addition, they will acquire a general understanding of current research on virtual reality in higher education, particularly as it pertains to global learning and intercultural communication. Team LeadersNate Newsome Watt Family Innovation Center |
| 1848 | REFil - Recycling Excess Filament 3D printing is one the fastest growing and most innovative of the manufacturing industries. However, a large portion of material used to 3D print invariably gets used as support material, failed prints, and other wastes. This unused plastic often gets discarded, with an average of 10%-20% of the total material used thrown away. The renewable spools CI will be heading industry grade recycling of filament to provide to campus resources and eventually the community with recycled spools of filament to reduce waste. Team LeadersWilliam Martin General Engineering |
| 1847 | Media Forensic Hub CU Media Forensics Hub (https://www.clemson.edu/centers-institutes/watt/hub/) is part of the Watt Family Innovation Center. By “Media Forensics” we mean the development and application of state-of-the-art techniques to broaden and deepen our understanding of all media types, while working to increase the capacity of our students and community to apply them. The “Hub” accomplishes this by spanning multiple disciplines and approaches, from history and case studies, to AI and machine learning, to experiments in the lab and the field. We connect widely-spaced entities with a common interest from across disciplines, centers, institutions, and perspectives. Team LeadersSteven Sheffield Watt Family Innovation CenterDarren Linvill Communication Jeffrey Lees John E. Walker Department of Economics Patrick Warren John E. Walker Department of Economics Dawn Sarno Psychology David White Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management |
| 1842 | Digital Wellness Nurse - Applied Biomedical Sensing and Machine Learning in Nursing The Digital Wellness Nurse (DWN) is an ongoing collaborative project aimed at developing an interactive, digital assistant for healthcare professionals engaging a diverse patient population. The project will feature the development of an artificially intelligent chat interface that collects patient data from multiple sources, including previous health data, wearable sensor data, and patient interviews. The combination of these data can be used to develop a patient wellness profile, which can be monitored overtime to assess progress toward a healthy lifestyle over time. The DWN will be designed to interact with electronic health record systems to access patient health and medication history. Students participating in this project will engage in human subjects research during the design and implementation of a DWN prototype. Research will include usability studies for an interactive patient software application, machine learning applications to develop autonomous patient interviewing and data management, and wearable sensor integration to enable continuous patient monitoring. Team LeadersJordon Gilmore BioengineeringNancy K Meehan School of Nursing Jerome McClendon Campbell Grad Engr Program Caitlin Moore Clinical Ed/Pract&Med Surv Pro |
| 1834 | Transgene Containment and Removal in Important Perennial Grasses Turfgrass and switchgrass are among the most important perennial grasses significantly impacting agriculture production, agriculture economy, sustainable energy and environment. Like in many row crops, genetic engineering of both switchgrass and turfgrasses using transgenic technologies offers the opportunity to incorporate many economic and agronomic benefits that are difficult or impossible to achieve through traditional breeding techniques. However, the risk of transgene escape and the unforeseen environmental consequence by the use of transgenic technology in perennial grasses require development of strategies for transgene containment. We propose to develop and evaluate an integrated approach that combines a dual site-specific recombination system and total sterility induction mechanisms for transgene containment and removal in switchgrass and turfgrass, producing transgenic products self-contained for desirable transgene, but free of undesirable foreign DNAs. Team LeadersHong Luo Genetics and Biochemistry |
| 1826 | Culture's Influence on People's Interactions with Others and with their Environment This project investigates the influence of cultural background and cultural values on various psychological processes related to interpersonal relations as well as to environmental attitudes and behaviors. Team LeadersCeren Gunsoy Psychology |
| 1821 | "Engaging in Qualitative STEM Education Research on Topics in Graduate Education" This creative inquiry course will investigate qualitative research methods on three ongoing research projects involving graduate education. Students will have the opportunity to choose which of the three projects they would like to be most involved with and will work together based on their interests. The projects revolve around graduate mentorship, the entrepreneurial mindset in STEM, and the mentoring experiences of women doing an engineering dissertation. Students in this project will learn how to perform qualitative research and gain valuable experience with data collection, coding and analysis (with Excel and MAXQDA), and interpretation. Team LeadersJennifer Shaffer Brown Engineering and Science EducationKaren High Engineering and Science Education Luther Duncan Engineering and Science Education Steven Edalgo Engineering and Science Education |
| 1814 | Developing a Sustainable Equine Composting System Animal waste has been successfully converted to compost for several decades in a way to efficiently dispose of and utilize as a resource. The Clemson University Equine Center houses anywhere from 60-70 horses in which each defecates an average of 30 lbs. daily with no ecological or economical disposal benefits. Our goal is to determine how to effectively convert horse manure into organic compost, sustainably package it through used feed sacks and market the product to the public. Team LeadersBrittany Perron Animal and Veterinary SciencesKristine Vernon Animal and Veterinary Sciences Travis Vaughan Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences |
| 1812 | Signals, Sensors, and Machine Learning to Improve Psychotherapy Outcomes This Creative Inquiry project is an interdisciplinary collaboration led by engineers, a computer scientist, and a social scientist. The team will work together to create training tools for therapists to improve session outcomes, especially using the Motivational Interviewing framework. The team will be assisted by clinical psychologists from the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and Florida State University, who will provide content knowledge of the therapy setting. Engineering and computing students will develop instrumentation and data processing techniques that will allow the therapists to be physiologically monitored, adding important information to the session records, which can be improved for better patient outcomes. Team LeadersJordon Gilmore BioengineeringNina Hubig School of Computing Delphine Dean Bioengineering Jerome McClendon Campbell Grad Engr Program |
| 1810 | Development of a Zebrafish Model of Parkinson's Disease to Analyze Novel Treatment Methods Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease that causes balance and coordination problems that eventually lead to death and affects nearly 10 million people worldwide. As of today, there is no definitive test to diagnose and track the progression of PD This increases the need for a reliable biomarker to diagnose, track, and ultimately, treat the disease. PD has been linked to lysosomal storage disease characteristics. A potential biomarker has been discovered in a lysosomal storage disease, GM1 Gangliosidosis. This biomarker connects lysosomal enzyme upregulation to impaired autophagy. Between the connection with PD and LSDs, it is hypothesized that a similar biomarker can be found in PD. There are many PD cellular models that are used in disease research. These models typically are not all inclusive of the disease, but model a specific aspect of the disease, such as degeneration of dopaminergic neurons, the aggregation of a-synuclein, and accumulation lewy bodies. This project will explore potential biomarkers of PD and if one or more aspect of the disease is directly related to enzyme upregulation. Team members in this creative inquiry will research different cellular models of Parkinson’s Disease in order to determine potential biomarkers that can help diagnose and track the disease. Team LeadersJessica Larsen Chemical and Biomolecular EngineeringEmme Bagwell Biological Sciences |
| 1799 | Invasion Ecology of Non-Native Ornamental Trees Virtually all non-native trees in the United States were originally introduced as ornamentals and landscape trees. Their escape into natural and managed areas has been associated with declines in native biodiversity and alterations in food webs. We will look at the most common non-native ornamentals (e.g. Callery pear, privet) and their impacts on various native species from plants to pollinators, leaf litter arthropods, and twig borers. Students will design experiments to test hypotheses related to these potential impacts, collect and analyze respective data, and present the results in presentations and publications. Team LeadersJessica Hartshorn Forestry and Environmental Conservation |
| 1798 | Software Engineering Bots for Newcomers Onboarding to Open Source Projects Onboarding refers to the process of teaching newcomers (new workers) the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in their positions. It serves as a way to integrate new workers into the environment both so they can understand how to succeed in their position but also integrate with their coworkers so they can work effectively as a team. It is during this period that programmers become familiar with a new project, its source code, and its team. While it is considered a necessity, it is also very costly and error-prone. Open-source software (OSS) projects leverage the coordinated effort from globally distributed stakeholders who build high-quality software. To remain sustainable and to evolve, several projects rely on the onboarding and retention of newcomers. However, attracting newcomers and engaging them are not easy tasks. Previous work shows that the barriers posed during the joining process may lead newcomers to give up on contributing. Joining an OSS project is a complex, multi-stage process, and this complexity could push newcomers away from the project.We propose to create a conversational bot that could help newcomers with finding open source projects that they can contribute to and guide them throughout the process. Newcomers face difficulties when onboarding to new projects. We believe that a bot that guides the newcomer, offering help when there is no activity, provides resources and recommends experienced developers for assistance, the newcomer will feel more confident and will be poised to have a successful contribution. Team LeadersPaige Rodeghero School of ComputingJames Dominic School of Computing |
| 1792 | Smart and Healthy Buildings Buildings are generally considered as static objects with limited capability to adapt to varying environmental and operational conditions. One important aspect is the flow of users, which can vary significantly during a typical day. This project consists of developing and testing the technology necessary to identify and quantify the flow of users in a building, and even track the location of each user in real time. It is anticipated that once users can be tracked, the building operating conditions, such as HVAC conditions and lighting, can be altered to create the necessary conditions for optimal comfort. Several technologies are under development including the analysis of signal strength of mobile devices from wireless access points. The students involved in this CI project will work with industrial partners to test various technologies in several buildings on campus, including the Watt Family Innovation Center. Team LeadersVincent Blouin School of ArchitectureNigel Kaye Civil Engineering Da Li Civil Engineering Seyed Ehsan Mousavi Rizi Contruction Science and Management |
| 1790 | BeakerBox: Science Education and Outreach in Middle Schools Help develop fun activities for K-12 science classrooms! Through this CI, small teams will generate lesson boxes (“kits”) and activities to help local teachers communicate concepts in genetics, evolution, and developmental biology for the 6th-8th grade classroom. The goals of this project are to promote understanding of concepts, science literacy, and excitement about STEM for middle school students. Over multiple semesters we will develop grade-appropriate inquiry-based activities, generate class resources for teachers, and implement these activities in local classrooms with the College of Science Outreach Center. Team members in marketing and graphic communication will create branding materials, assist in generation of classroom materials, and design and establish communication materials such as flyers, websites, and social media. Team LeadersKara Powder Biological SciencesKatherine Freeman College of Science-Deans Offic |
| 1789 | Collaborative for Communication and Culture This creative inquiry is designed to support Clemson’s land-grant mission and CBSHS’s goal to build people and communities by fostering collaboration between students and departments performing cutting-edge cultural criticism. Cultural criticism entails committed and rigorous analysis that draws on a variety of research traditions. This interdisciplinary work aims to assess, advocate, and advance positive change in the communities and cultures in which we live. 5C emphasizes student mentorship and training, and allows students to collaboratively develop projects that train them in critical communication approaches to problem solving, leading to meaningful interventions in South Carolina and the region. Team LeadersJames Gilmore Communication |
| 1786 | RCA Product Development Competition Student teams will develop a proposal for food products based on the criteria set by the Research Chefs Association (RCA). Teams will develop both a gold standard and the corresponding manufactured item formulations. If selected, teams will compete in the Student Culinology® Competition at the RCA's annual conference. Team LeadersCarol Hegler Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences |
| 1775 | Microbial Transfer in Hospitals : Empirical Research Study of Contact Transfer via Nursing Personnel Healthcare associated infections are deadly and costly in our medical practice. They negatively impact patient outcomes, while increasing length of patient stay and widespread antibiotic exposure, all of which in turn can increase chance for opportunistic infections, medical errors, deterioration and muscle wasting. Reducing bioburden by altering surface materials has been shown to significantly decrease HAIs. Current options for this are limited solely to copper bed linens. This research study is designed to identify and quantify contamination and spore transfer that occurs in daily nursing practice. This study will provide a basis for the development of new materials, fabrics, and linens in the form of copper and silver scrubs. Team LeadersKelliann Koehler Research/Electron Micro FacilOlin Mefford Materials Science and Engineering |
| 1773 | LGBTQ+ Learning Communities: Queering University Spaces The purpose of this creative inquiry project is to provide students with an opportunity to answer the broad question: How are universities deployed (or not) as queer spaces? The project involves an initial sequence that provides an overview of lgbtq+ studies and reviews the literature related to queer(ing) space on campus. Then two semesters of research experiences will be dedicated to introducing, designing, and implementing a participatory action research project that describes queer space as it pertains to Clemson University. Students will have an opportunity to design a study and collect, analyze, and present data in a variety of formats, including scholarly presentations and community education exhibits. Team LeadersRachel Wagner Educational and Organizational Leadership DevelopmentKimberly Carter Gantt Multicultural Center |
| 1768 | Moot Court Competition This CI involves legal research addressing a defined hypothetical problem. Participants will do research on legal issues and write a legal brief. Teams will present their briefs and defend them orally in an intra-university competition at the end of the Spring. Then in the Fall, they will again compete at a qualifying competition for a slot in the nationals the next spring. The Spring will also involve another intra-university competition in preparation for the next year’s nationals. Team LeadersCary Kaye Philosophy and ReligionKelly Smith Philosophy and Religion |
| 2234 | Addressing Social Determinants of Health in Pregnant Women with Substance Use Disorders Substance use disorders (SUDs) are a significant public health issue and pregnant women with problematic substance use are at substantial risk of comorbid health and mental health problems. In addition there are increased risks to the baby's health and poor birth outcomes. This project aims to address the social determinants of health related to worse outcomes in pregnant women with substance use disorder and improve screening, brief treatment and referral in this population. Team LeadersAnna Baker PsychologyIrene Pericot Valverde Psychology |
| 1764 | New Ideas of Making Driverless Vehicles Better Driverless vehicles use advanced in-vehicle and transportation infrastructure sensors and electronic controllers, wired and wireless communication (vehicle-to-everything (V2X)), human-machine interfaces, data management infrastructure and advanced analytics tools to enable the safe and secure longitudinal and lateral movements of driverless vehicles. A substantially improved surface transportation system, in terms of both safety and efficiency, is the result. This course will provide students with a comprehensive overview of concepts and hands-on experience related to new ideas to make driverless vehicles and their surrounding environments much safer, more secure and more efficient than what is envisioned today. Team LeadersMashrur Chowdhury Civil EngineeringMD Mizanur Rahman Civil Engineering |
| 1763 | Research Topics in Mineralogy This CI project encompasses research related to mineralogy including crystallography, crystal chemistry, mineral occurrences, and mineralogical applications in petrology. Students will develop skills in hand sample identification, compositional and morphological characterization of minerals, as well as atomistic scale investigation of composition, structure, and mineral stability. Team LeadersLindsay Shuller-Nickles Environmental Engineering and Earth SciencesEmily Scribner Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences |
| 1759 | Team Research in Computational Environments This creative inquiry research project seeks to further our understanding of how humans work and interact with artificially intelligent agents in a team environment. The Team Research in Computational Environments lab group conducts and reports on multiple experiments supporting this field every semester and this creative inquiry allows Clemson students the opportunity to learn how to conduct such research and conduct their own study on human-autonomy teaming. Team LeadersNathaniel McNeese School of ComputingBeau Schelble School of Computing |
| 1756 | Stress, Health, & Well-Being This CI team focuses on three common health behaviors: sleep, physical activity, and nutrition. Research projects can include objective and subjective measures such as performance, activity, exercise, sleep logs, affective/emotion, satisfaction with life, circadian rhythms, self-control, and other daily functioning tasks/scales. The broad goal of this research is to develop and document intervention strategies to improve performance, health, and well-being in college students and in workers. Team LeadersJune Pilcher Psychology |
| 1755 | Deconvolving the Southern South American Dust Production Pathways Glacial action in South America over the past ~1 million years created a tremendous amount of dust (airborne rock power). This South American dust influenced Earth's global climate over this time period, but our understanding of HOW Earth's atmosphere and hydrosphere were effected is hampered by a limited understanding of when and where deposits of glacial dust came from. In this project, students will use detrital mineral geochronologic methods to determine the bedrock sources of large dust deposits throughout South America. Team LeadersMary Fidler Environmental Engineering and Earth SciencesAlexander Pullen Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences |
| 1753 | Gene Editing in the Brain via Nanotechnology Although a vaccine and several treatments exist for Hepatitis B, chronic cases remain a public health concern. Chronicity is due in part to large numbers of non-infectious particles, produced alongside the virus, which exhaust the immune response. In this project, we will focus on treating Hepatitis B by using targeted polymer amphiphiles to assembly around virus particles and removing them from the body. We will also study the effect of flowing fluid on directed self-assembly, in order to mimic blood flow conditions in the human body. Self-assembly of nanoparticles is an area of intense focus in nanomedicine, but relatively little attention has been given to either directing self-assembly around a free-floating target and the effect of flow on nanoparticle formation. As a result, these areas potentially hold broad interest for nanotechnology. Team LeadersJessica Larsen Chemical and Biomolecular EngineeringChlo Forenzo Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering Lucian Williams Bioengineering Joey Lavalla Bioengineering |
| 1745 | Narratives of Incarceration: Upstate Critical Thinking Initiative Mass incarceration and recidivism rates continue to grow in the U.S. This is a subject that U.S. citizens rarely think about but it directly affects them – 95% of prisoners are released and over 70% commit another crime within seven years that lands them right back in the prison they left – which directly affects public safety. Education is the only known method of reducing recidivism. However, prisons mostly punish rather than rehabilitate. The aim of this project is to research and create a critical thinking initiative that keeps possible societal reintegration and penal abolition in its sight. The program would focus on ways to evolve reading and writing (narratives, academic papers) skills as a means of empathetic rehabilitation and create artifacts that serve as portfolios for the incarcerated students. Team LeadersNancy Paxton-Wilson English |
| 1740 | Physics of Sports Laboratory Development In this Creative Inquiry project, we will be involved in the creation and development of the laboratory component of a new general education course focused on the physics of sports. We will collaboratively design and test new laboratory exercises and deploy these exercises into the new lecture course associated with this project. Potential topics include Coefficient of Restitution, Deflategate and Materials Advantages in Sports. Team LeadersAmy L Pope Physics and AstronomyChad Sosolik Physics and Astronomy |
| 1737 | 3D Printing and Graphic Communications This Creative Inquiry project introduces students to the core technologies, applications and production processes of three-dimensional printing. Students will learn 3D design, design for print production and apply their knowledge in hands-on project work that will allow them to produce 3D objects of their own. We intend to use Mimaki 3duj-553 color 3D printer to study print quality and to create special 3D effects. Team LeadersNate Newsome Watt Family Innovation CenterShu Chang Department of Graphic Communications |
| 1727 | The Effects of Radio-Frequency Effects on Biological Cells This project studies the effects of radio-frequency (RF) fields on cell growth, including cell growth rate and cell viability. The targeted frequency is from kHz to low GHz. The unique features of the RF technologies developed in this effort include uniform electric fields across the targeted cell samples, the capabilities to identify frequency components that are most likely to induce RF effects, and real-time online monitoring of biological processes. We will begin with yeast cells and move on to neurons. The obtained results are expected to help understand the effects of cell phone signals on human health and point to new biomanufacturing technologies as well as new bioelectronic medicine. Team LeadersPingshan Wang Electrical and Computer Engineering |
| 1722 | SAE Layout Design Provide recommendations for the SAE Formulae 1 and Baja work areas that address issues/opportunities identified by last year's CI team. Team LeadersWilliam G Ferrell Jr Industrial EngineeringLindsay Hobbs Watt Family Innovation Center |
| 1702 | Cancer Systems Biology in the Birtwistle Lab This is a creative inquiry that broadly catches research projects going on in the Birtwistle Lab. In general, we do both basic and applied research at the interface of engineering and cancer biology. We specifically focus on cancer systems biology from both experimental and computational / theoretical perspectives. The purpose of this CI is to get first time undergraduates familiar with the lab, who we are, what we work on, and how we do it, so that they can enter more specific projects subsequently. Team LeadersMarc Birtwistle Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering |
| 1678 | Archaeology from the Era of Fort Hill Plantation and the Revolutionary War This project gives students the opportunity to work with archaeological data from Fort Hill Plantation and Revolutionary War Era fortification of Ft. Rutledge, both located at the core of Clemson’s campus. Students learn archaeological laboratory methods through working with the artifacts excavated by Clemson students during the 2021 Clemson Archaeological Field School, analysis of materials related to the landscapes and people that lived and worked on what would later become Clemson University. Students can be involved in original scholarship about enslavement, indigenous life, the revolution and the history of the Upstate region. Project components involved analysis and curation of historic period artifacts, 3D virtual reconstructions of artifacts, and Portable X-ray Fluorescence (pXRF) componential analysis of coal and soil deposits. Team LeadersDavid Markus Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice |
| 1665 | Forest Herbicide Applications This project will investigate the effects of herbicide treatments on vegetation in various types of forested stands. The research study will involve various herbicide applications may include site preparation, timber stand improvement, and seedling release sprays to deaden competing vegetation around preferred trees and seedlings. Study sites will be near Andrews, SC and the Clemson Experimental Forest which are located in Georgetown County along the coast and near campus, respectively. Team LeadersStephen Peairs Forestry and Environmental Conservation |
| 1662 | Clemson Metapopulation Research The Clemson Metapopulation Research Creative Inquiry team conducts spatial ecology research on a local green salamander population to address the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources' 2015 State Wildlife Action Plan. Current projects include (1) derive estimates of abundance and survival at the subpopulation-scale using a capture-recapture study, and (2) estimate population connectivity, inbreeding, and the liklihood of bottlenecks across subpopulations. Team LeadersMegan Novak Forestry and Environmental ConservationRussell Kyle Barrett Forestry and Environmental Conservation |
| 1643 | Documentary Film Production - Production, Technology, and Marketing Our CI is focused on professional quality documentary and even feature film production and production technologies. In the 2020-2021 school year we will be working on two funded films. One of the films is titled WORDMAN and is the life story of famed communicator and literary giant Kenneth Burke. This film was first developed and sponsored by Professor David Blakesley. During the course we will have a Zoom presentation from a Hollywood studio film professional where an overview of the studio system environment will be discussed and all of your questions will be answered. It will be an excellent insight on how an actual film studio works and how a student can best prepare themselves to work in the industry by learning skills and learning production techniques. These same techniques will be the underpinnings of the CI itself.The other film's working title WALT'S WALTZ and is a story of mental health and how as a community we need to be better prepared and focused on helping people with their mental health issues. A principal subject of the film is a Clemson grad and former Clemson lecturer Walt Rooks who lost his fight with depression by suicide. This film if being financially supported by a 501c3 tax exempt organization based in Greenville and led by Clemson alumnus Susan Rooks, Walt's mother and project founder. Both of these films will be filmed with a cinematic quality camera and lens and edited to the same standards you will find by major motion picture studios. The members of the CI, along with Open Studio Club member at Clemson are both being produced for the documentary film festival market and commercial broadcasting opportunities such as PBS and HBO. We will also work on the business of the film and how to package and market the film for distribution and sales.The course is being led by a Hollywood studio industry professional who has worked on post-production special effects on dozens of feature films and television shows and Free and Open Source film production software engineering. Copy and paste the link below to see a picture of our cinema camera:http://clemsonos.org/cion.jpgEveryone in the CI will get plenty of time with the camera, as well....testing and actual production. The goal of the class is to make sure everyone has professional technical skills and professional production credits to add to your resume. Team LeadersMichael Collins EnglishDavid Blakesley English |
| 1640 | Tangible genomics This Creative Inquiry project will center upon genomics. The focus will be on structural variations with emphasis on mobile elements. Mobile elements, discovered by Barbara McClintock, are also often referred to as jumping genes or transposable elements.They are abundant in many genomes --e.g. more than 50% of the human genome is comprised of mobile elements. Transposable elements are associated with certain genetic disorders not only through insertion but also via recombination between elements. As part of this project, we will investigate different aspects of mobile element biology and how genomes evolve with respect to transposable elements. This Creative Inquiry has computational including programming as well as some wet-bench aspects. Furthermore, we will explore new approaches on how to visualize genomes with regard to mobile elements. This includes the developments of tangibles for data interaction. Team LeadersMiriam Konkel Genetics and Biochemistry |
| 1638 | Tiger Tea Kombucha Tiger Tea is a data-driven product development project where students develop beverage formulations, design labels, execute human subjects research, and analyze data to iteratively improve delicious and nutritious kombucha for the marketplace. Team LeadersRupert Hurley Food, Nutrition, and Packaging SciencesFunan Jiang Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences |
| 1636 | Pre-service Teacher Instruction Using Mixed-Reality Simulators Mixed-reality simulators provide opportunities for pre-service teachers to practice and reflect on the implementation of academic instruction and behavioral supports before entering the classroom. This Creative Inquiry will provide opportunities for project students to use, facilitate and research a mixed-reality simulator supporting the instruction of pre-service special education and general education teachers. Participants will learn a variety of evidence based practices to support the behavior needs and academic growth of students in classrooms. Using the simulator, these instructional techniques can be personalized, practiced and retried in a realistic, non-threatening environment without risking harm to "real" students. In addition, this Creative Inquiry Project will support a research study evaluating the effectiveness of simulations in teacher education as well as the participant's views of the simulator. Team LeadersMya Kelley Education and Human DevelopmentLogan Qualls Education and Human Development Shanna Hirsch Education and Human Development |
| 1629 | DeepGreen: Modeling and Boosting Energy Efficiency on Liquid Immersion HPC Systems This project aims to comprehensively understand the opportunities enabled by liquid immersion cooling, and explore its full potential to boost energy efficiency for high performance computing (HPC) under various thermal and power constraints. Improving energy efficiency, i.e., the ratio of performance to total power consumption, is crucial to sustain performance growth and realize exascale computing within 20 MW of power. HPC systems consume tremendous amounts of power for not only computing but also cooling to keep compute components within their thermal limits. In this project, we investigate liquid immersion HPC systems to optimize overall energy efficiency. we propose to develop machine learning models and system software to understand and optimize energy efficiency and reliability for workloads running on liquid immersion HPC systems. Our experimental platform is a Submer SmartPodX immersion cooling system. Team LeadersRong Ge School of Computing |
| 1628 | Brand Communications: Research, Strategy & Student Agency Planning Students involved in this CI project will participate in cross-disciplinary work with multiple departments and partners to research various approaches for the formation of a student-run agency for various client-based projects on campus. Team LeadersJacqueline Herr Department of Graphic CommunicationsKatie Hildebrand Erwin Center for Brand Comm |
| 1617 | Engineering Nanobiomaterials for Delivery of Cancer Therapy Advances in cancer research together with advances in biomaterials and nanotechnology, have enabled the development of micro- nano-scaled drug delivery systems for cancer treatment. The goals of delivery systems for cancer treatment are (1) delivering cancer therapeutics efficiently to the tumor site, (2) enhancing uptake of therapeutics by tumor cells, and (3) minimizing non-specific uptake of therapeutics by healthy cells. The design of effective delivery systems for cancer therapies will require optimization of micro- or nano-based delivery systems, cell-specific targeting, and mechanisms for effective drug release. Targeted delivery may be enhanced by both active and passive targeting mechanism. Targeting moieties that bind to overexpressed receptors on malignant cells can be conjugated to particles to increase cell-specific uptake, thus enhancing the efficacy of treatment. Additionally, environmentally responsive polymers can be used to achieve efficient and/or controlled release of therapeutics under physiologic conditions. The goal of this CI is to develop innovative drug delivery systems to advance cancer treatment. Team LeadersAngela Alexander BioengineeringJessie Boulos Bioengineering Kharimat Lora Alatise Bioengineering Jim Kalogeros Bioengineering |
| 1616 | Diversity Outreach in Bioengineering We aim to improve retention and matriculation of students of color into bioengineering by building their identity as engineers. Targeting incoming freshman, this CI will function as a diverse cohort of minority students enrolled in bioengineering. We will connect underrepresented upper classmen and grad students with the freshmen as they work together on a multidisciplinary engineering project. The potential being that underrepresented students can build a community of fellow bioengineers for support and fellowship that will aid in developing their identify as engineers early in their college careers. In the second year, students will design their own hypothesis based study based on their foundational year of research on the team. In addition, they will use their project to outreach to new general engineering students and K-12 students in our state. Team LeadersAngela Alexander BioengineeringMelissa McCullough Bioengineering Jordon Gilmore Bioengineering Melinda Harman Bioengineering Delphine Dean Bioengineering Maria McCoy Cooperative Education Prog |
| 1610 | Visual Exploration of Scientific Data (SciVis Contest) This Creative Inquiry aims at exploring scientific data by means of interactive visualization techniques. The project is developed in conjunction with the SciVis contest, a visualization challenge hosted every year at the IEEEVIS conference (http://ieeevis.org/).Students should expect to enroll in the CI project for 2 semesters. During the Fall semester, students will learn the basics of scientific visualization by working with Paraview. During the Spring semester, students will develop a new project based on the dataset published in the SciVis contest. High-quality projects will be submitted to the SciVis contest and, if accepted, students will have the chance to attend the IEEE VIS conference for presenting their work. Team LeadersFederico Iuricich School of ComputingGuoxi Liu School of Computing Mehrdad Yousefi CCIT CITI |
| 1602 | The Nanomaterials Studio: Modeling Materials at the Nanoscale Nanomaterials are a class of materials with a feature size (e.g., crystal size, a dimension of an object) in the nano-metric (10^-9 m) regime. Many new phenomena and properties emerge in nanomaterials that enable a wide range of real-life applications, including miniaturized electronics, light-weight structures, and energy harvesting and conversion devices. In this CI project, students will perform research activities related to the field metallurgy and gain hands-on experience in performing simulations that explore the thermal and mechanical behavior of a wide range of nano-structured metals. The goal of such studies is to explore size effects in novel metallic systems and identify features at the nanoscale that optimize their properties. The research work is computational in nature and employs a wide range of simulation tools. Team LeadersFadi Abdeljawad Mechanical Engineering |
| 1597 | Application of Machine Learning to Science and Engineering In this project, students will learn and work on applying machine learning methods to science and engineering problems, including 1) predict the material properties from the material composites; 2) predict skin cancer using images; 3) understand social behavior using social media data. Team LeadersFeng Luo School of ComputingJianhua Tong Materials Science and Engineering |
| 1587 | Evaluation of Forage Production and Quality for Livestock Production Systems in the Southeastern United States A major challenge for producers in cool-season grass systems like tall fescue is the quantity and quality gap of forage production that usually occurs during mid through late summer. Warm season annuals can complement perennial cool-season systems and extend production during this critical summer months. High level of nitrogen fertilization are usually required to maximize summer annual grasses production, but summer annual legumes have the potential to provide high forage quality and fix atmospheric N that will reduce fertilizer cost. In recent years, stored forage in the form of baleage has become more popular in the southeast. Legumes-grasses might present some challenges for a proper ensiling process due to the commonly lower sugar concentration in the resultant forage. Thus, evaluating the impact of the ensiling process of this forage mixes is warranted in order to generate producer’s adoption of these forage sources.Although alfalfa has been grown in the Southeastern USA since the late 1800’s, it has not attained the status in this region as in other parts of the nation mainly due to problems with alfalfa weevil and an abundant supply of inexpensive nitrogen fertilizer that reduced the need for leguminous crops to boost soil fertility. However, the cost of fertilizers has risen and modern well-adapted and pest-resistant alfalfa varieties are available in the market. Information about productivity and management of alfalfa, generated locally, is needed in order to demonstrate, educate, and ultimately re-introduce and advance the utilization of alfalfa as part of diverse forage systems and crop rotations for livestock farms in the Southeast USA. The goals of this project are to evaluate: 1. How summer annual grasses alone or in mixtures with annual legumes affects yield and nutritional value of fresh and ensiled forage. 2. The impact of growing new alfalfa varieties on plant persistency, forage yield and quality. Team LeadersMatias Aguerre Animal and Veterinary Sciences |
| 1585 | Micro-Heart Tissue Pumps and Pipes Heart disease is the #1 cause of death in the world every year, and finding new therapies to treat heart disease is very slow and very expensive. Fortunately, researchers are able to grow small pieces of heart tissue in the lab to test new therapies as quickly, cheaply, and safely as possible. Unfortunately, these heart cells in a dish do not behave the same as heart cells in our body because they are no longer subjected to the same mechanical environment of a beating heart under pressure. In this creative inquiry, we are developing new culture chambers for growing heart cells in mechanically-realistic conditions in order to improve future therapy screens. Students will work in teams to (1) build miniature pump and pipe chambers, (2) grow heart-like tissues within these chambers, and (3) test the effects of different therapies on these functional tissues under disease-like conditions. Team LeadersWilliam Richardson BioengineeringJonathan Heywood Bioengineering Michael Potter Bioengineering |
| 1581 | Building an Academic Dashboard/Case Study of Black Students in Engineering Many students don’t realize that there are multiple degree paths to most careers, especially in engineering. As part of an NSF-funded project, students on this Creative Inquiry team will help design and develop a prototype “Academic Dashboard” to help put students in the driver’s seat of their education. The dashboard will include information about major choice and activities to develop and track adaptive decision-making skills. The project will focus on two main tasks: 1) designing the dashboard structure, and 2) modeling academic pathways in engineering. The purpose of modeling academic pathways using longitudinal data is to identify indicators of “overpersistence” and alternative strategic pathways. This information will be incorporated into the dashboard to help students make informed decisions about their path forward. Team LeadersMarisa Orr Engineering and Science EducationHaleh Brotherton Engineering and Science Education Jessica Manning Engineering & Science Education |
| 1579 | Disposable Point-of Care Home Testing Platform for Metabolic Disease Nonketotic hyperglycinemia (NKH) is a rare, pediatric metabolic disease caused by mutations resulting in the deficiency of the enzyme complex that breaks down the amino acid glycine. The resulting abnormally high levels of glycine in the body leads to severe medical issues starting in infancy, including uncontrollable seizures and problems with breathing. There are currently no tools available to monitor levels of glycine in patients while at home, which is necessary for drug and diet-mediated regulation of glycine levels in the body and preventing seizures. The objective of this CI is to develop a low-cost, disposable, stand-alone point-of-care diagnostic and monitoring system to enable caregivers of NKH patients to monitor glycine levels at home, adjust the patient’s drug treatment schedule, and improve the patient’s quality of life as well as clinical outcomes. Team LeadersRenee Cottle Bioengineering |
| 1574 | Servant Leadership Abroad Servant leadership is an essential concept for future business leaders to acknowledge; it considers how an organization affects the growth and well-being of the people in the local community. This Creative Inquiry project will explore crucial business issues that affect Puerto Rico in the wake of a major hurricane through the lens of what it means to be a servant leader. The research topic for this year is the global logistics of humanitarian aid and we will work with Samaritan’s Feet, a non-profit organization based out of Charlotte, N.C., called to identify an issue pertinent to their operations. Samaritan’s Feet serves underprivileged children worldwide by providing them with a pair of new shoes and words of hope for future opportunities. During this project, students will have to identify, collect, and analyze the data necessary to address the issue identified, and propose an innovative solution or operational improvement which they will present to the managers and other stakeholders of Samaritan’s Feet. This CI will require travel to Puerto Rico during Spring Break 2020 to examine first-hand the on-the-ground operations of a Samaritan’s Feet mission trip. The location of the travel portion may change each year depending upon the needs of the organization and communities abroad. Team LeadersGabriela Peschiera Office of Student EnrichmentKristin Scott Department of Management |
| 1563 | Education and Entitlement: Improving Learning Environments through Student Input How does student feedback manifest in instructional change? Can student voices make a difference in their own education? What are the boundaries between student input and instruction design? These are the questions we seek to answer in this Creative Inquiry. With a focus on how and when student voices can impact design education, specifically in undergraduate education in general, we seek to understand how student feedback can inform and contribute actively to the learning environment. This is our opportunity to be proactive in the learning process and shape the course evaluation procedures in order to make our voices impactful. Team LeadersWinifred Newman School of Architecture |
| 1554 | Impact of the Microbiome on Clostridium Difficile Growth and Toxin Production Infections caused by Clostridium difficile, an important healthcare-associated pathogen, rely on the ability of C. difficile to colonize the human gut successfully. Colonization is highly reliant on the metabolic environment provided by the gut microbiota, the indigenous microbes living in the gastrointestinal tract. This project will focus on how short chain fatty acids produced by the gut microbiota impact C. difficile growth. Students will grow C. difficile under different metabolic conditions, then measure growth and toxin production. Techniques include anaerobic cultivation, preparation of in vitro bacterial growth assays, molecular assays such as PCR, and cell culture assays to detect toxin activity. Students will also be expected to participate in weekly group meetings to discuss study results and relevant literature related to the project. We expect to present results at a local, regional, or national meeting at the conclusion of the student’s CI project. These results are expected to characterize how certain microbial metabolites contribute to C. difficile susceptibility, thus increasing our knowledge to combat C. difficile infection. Team LeadersAnna Seekatz Biological Sciences |
| 1552 | Waikiki and the World: A Study of the Pacific Islands and Their Peoples This Creative Inquiry project provides an opportunity for students to evaluate the impact of colonialism, contemporary capitalism and modern tourism on the physical integrity of the Hawaiian islands and their culture by exploring the history, art, and worship practices of the indigenous peoples. Hawaii and the rest of the Pacific Islands represent a special place in the cultural imagination of those who live outside of the region. Its image as a tropical paradise filled with exotic landscapes and peoples has been shaped through the lens of American pop culture from films, television shows, musical theater productions to party themed-sets and popular music, all which inform the development of Hawaiian tourism. Team LeadersWilliam Terry History and GeographyKatie Laporte History and Geography |
| 1549 | The Role of Acetate Metabolism in Fungal Pathogenesis Invasive fungal infections cause nearly one and a half million deaths annually, accounting for nearly 50% of all AIDS-related deaths. Cryptococcus neoformans, an invasive opportunistic pathogen of the central nervous system, is the most frequent cause of fungal meningitis. Exposure to C. neoformans is common, as it is an environmental fungus found in the soil that can enter the lungs through inhalation and disseminate to the central nervous system in susceptible individuals. An increased rate of infection occurs in individuals with impaired cell-mediated immunity, particularly those with AIDS and recipients of immunosuppressive therapy. The widespread availability of antiretroviral therapy in developed countries has helped improve the immune systems of many HIV patients to decrease their susceptibility to infection. However, cryptococcal meningitis is still a major problem in resource-limited regions of the world such as sub-Saharan Africa where HIV prevalence is high and access to healthcare is limited. The CDC estimates the yearly burden of cryptococcal meningitis to be nearly one million cases with more than 190,000 deaths. Despite the global significance of cryptococcal meningitis, current treatments are inadequate as the gold standard therapy is based on half century old drugs that have a wide range of liabilities and shortcomings. Metabolic adaptability and flexibility are important attributes for fungal pathogens to successfully infect and cause disease. Although carbon metabolism is critical for virulence in C. neoformans, very little is known about which carbon sources are utilized during infection. Our long-term goal is to provide a better understanding of how Cryptococcus can adapt its metabolism to survive in the changing environments encountered during infection. Developing a more in-depth understanding of the metabolism and physiology of this pathogen during infection may facilitate identification of suitable targets for new antifungal therapies. Team LeadersKerry Smith Genetics and Biochemistry |
| 1546 | Science and Values in Environmental and Radiological Health The objective of this project is to develop effective tools within the context of environmental and radiological health for emphasizing the interwoven nature of science and values and making ethics accessible for everyday decision making. This project also provides an introduction to the responsible conduct of research. Team LeadersNicole Martinez Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences |
| 1544 | Health Literacy in the American Sign Language Community This CI is designed to explore ways to alleviate the communication barriers between healthcare systems and the deaf people who use American Sign Language (ASL). Through conducting research in the community, the researchers analyze a variety of data and information that addresses the existing health literacy issues being provided in ASL for deaf people. The purpose of this is to ensure that these individuals have the access to information pertaining to awareness about health welfare. The goal of this research is to create a better understanding for delivering health and medical information via ASL for deaf people with different educational backgrounds and to ultimately break down the prevailing communication barriers that they face in today's society. Team LeadersJody Cripps Languages |
| 1540 | Using Magnetic Nanoparticles to Prevent Restenosis Aging, smoking, diet, and genetic factors cause the build up of plaque in the arteries that provide nutrients to the heart, which is a major cause of heart attacks. To solve this problem, stents are commonly used to open the artery back up. In some cases, when a stent is inserted, it injures the walls of the blood vessel causing it to swell and block the blood vessel back up. In recent years, medicated stents have been used to deliver medication that reduces that swelling by reducing the growth and spreading of the cells that cause the problem. In doing that, they also stop the healing process of the injury site, which causes delayed effects like blood clots that block the artery. We designed a magnetic nanoparticle coated with heparin. Heparin is a drug that is naturally found in the body. It is known to stop the swelling in the wall of the blood vessel and accelerate the healing process. We have tested these nanoparticles on cells and mice to show that they are not toxic. We have started to test their effect on the cell growth and spreading to show that they are effective as a treatment option. We plan to deliver that nanoparticles to the stent using a magnetic field similar to the ones used in MRI imaging. This project would advance the treatment of blocked arteries without causing new problems. In doing so, we would eliminate the need for multiple surgeries to treat the complications. This helps save patients from complications associated with stent implantation and help patients live healthier lives. Team LeadersNardine Ghobrial BioengineeringDelphine Dean Bioengineering |
| 1533 | Maze Following and Cell-to-Cell Communication in Slime Mold. Slime molds are known to follow mazes in laboratory settings. Students will explore how to grow, maintain, and use various species of slime molds for experimentation, replicate existing maze following experiments, and use the results to generate new hypotheses related to maze following and cell-to-cell communication in slime molds. Team LeadersV Christine M Minor Biological Sciences |
| 1527 | Creation of Museum Exhibits and Displays Students will be trained in creating permanent and temporary exhibits and displays, as well as creating outreach programs and tours of the museum. Students will gain skills in data management, working with museum management software, animal identification, scientific writing, photography, identifying key anatomical structures, public speaking and team-building. Students will be given the opportunity to create displays inside and outside the museum, working closely with university landscape workers to develop an environmentally friendly and aesthetically pleasing exterior that will benefit native wildlife and promote awareness of native plants and animals. Team LeadersMelissa Fuentes Biological SciencesRichard Blob Biological Sciences |
| 1521 | Deer-Coyote Interactions White-tailed deer are an important game species and coyotes may be impacting their populations in South Carolina. There is evidence that coyotes eat deer fawns, but this may depend on deer density and habitat. This CI will involve learning about deer-coyote interactions and how we are quantifying them, processing wildlife camera photos, performing limited field work, and developing/executing/presenting a research project. This CI will require a 2 semester commitment. Team LeadersDavid Jachowski Forestry and Environmental ConservationAlex Jensen Forestry and Environmental Conservation Michael Muthersbaugh Forestry and Environmental Conservation Elizabeth Reghi Saldo Forestry and Environmental Conservation |
| 1519 | Affordable Automation for the Entertainment Industry For most touring theatre productions, the locations of production elements are marked by hand using a tedious measuring and checking system. The objective of this project is to develop an affordable new tool for the entertainment industry called the PlotBot, a programmable robot that will accurately mark the locations of production elements such as scenery, overhead or rigging based elements, seating and the parameters of the space in which they are to be installed. The PlotBot will utilize a CAD-based interface and the user would input the configuration of the stage space, then overlay the ground plan plot for stage elements. With this information, the PlotBot would physically plot the points on the deck, similar to how a laser cutter or CNC router work. There are robots that serve similar functions that could be adapted to house this technology but are cost prohibitive for much of the industry. This four semester project will be completed in three main phases: (1) Planning and Design, (2) Fabrication, and (3) Testing and Improvement. During the third phase, we plan to allow tours to use the PlotBot and provide feedback as tours provide a controlled laboratory for testing and improvement. Near the end of the project, we will present the prototype at the USITT conference. In addition, we will also publish on the development and design of the PlotBot, the educational experience of a diverse student team, and additional applications of the PlotBot (e.g., tradeshows, construction, real estate, sporting events, street festivals, etc. Team LeadersMatthew Leckenbusch Performing ArtsBradley J Putman Dean of Engineering & Science Shannon Robert Performing Arts |
| 1518 | Neurodevelopmental Disorders Brain development is a carefully choreographed process orchestrated by many different cell types in the brain. The laboratory studies the cellular and molecular events that control brain neural stem cells and their progeny. The goal of this Creative Inquiry project is to provide insight into how these events normally occur and what goes awry in neurodevelopmental diseases. Team LeadersDavid Feliciano Biological Sciences |
| 1517 | Stories of Refuge, Detention, and Hospitality This CI began in Fall 2019 to understand immigration detention in the United States. Team members met with immigration lawyers and non-profit organizations, visited with people at Stewart Detention Center, observed court proceedings, and organized events on campus and online. This Fall 2021, team members continue to explore the stories and practices of refuge, hospitality, and care, even as detention centers remain closed to visitors during the pandemic. Team members conduct interviews; post writing, video, and podcast projects in an online archive; study relevant scholarship; and organize events, as part of an experiential and intellectual collaboration to better understand and produce knowledge on contemporary migration.Spring 2022 may include a spring trip to Georgia to meet with community members in Clarkston and Atlanta, contingent on the pandemic. Team LeadersAngela Naimou English |
| 1516 | The Mary Bruce Project: Women and the Golden Age of Tropical Medicine The turn of the last century was marked by a golden era in tropical medicine. British doctors and researchers working in the British Colonies in Africa and the tropics made major discoveries, including elucidating the infectious agents that cause malaria, sleeping sickness, and schistosomiasis. However, the stories of women and their contributions to the history of tropical medicine are largely untold.Sir David Bruce was a Scottish doctor working for the British Army in colonial Africa and the tropics. One of his major discoveries was working out that sleeping sickness was transmitted by the tsetse fly. In Bruce's papers, there are illustrations of the trypanosomes drawn by Bruce's wife, Mary Bruce, who was working alongside Sir David in the field. In a number of Bruce's papers, Mary Bruce is even listed as an author! Our starting hypothesis is that Mary Bruce contributed in significant ways to the scientific research of her husband David Bruce. This project seeks to answer the following questions: What was Mary Bruce's role in Sir David Bruce's many discoveries? What is Mary Bruce's own story?With the aim of telling Mary Bruce's story (and the stories of those like her), this project has two goals: (1) To expand the online presence of information about women in the golden age of tropical medicine via Wikipedia entries, a publicly accessible Mary Bruce Project blog, and generation of a dedicated online archive; (2) To generate and submit for publication at years' end at least one popular science article arising from our research. Team LeadersKimberly Paul Genetics and Biochemistry |
| 1507 | Making to Learn Geometry There is emerging evidence to support “maker activities” to support STEM learning, although the role and impact of “making” as part of the K-12 education experience is in its infancy. The primary purpose of this project is to conceptualize, design, and test makerspace activity prototypes and related learning modules that would be appropriate for use in local middle grades classrooms. As part of this process, our team will study the makerspace literature as it relates to learning geometry. We will also interview local teachers/students and observe their classrooms in order to assess their needs and wants. Opportunities for conducting student research and/or assisting project leaders with a future grant research project will be offered. Team LeadersNicole A. Bannister Teaching and Learning |
| 1506 | Substance Abuse and Cognition Substance Use Disorder (SUD) is a chronic, complex condition that is among the most prevalent of mental health disorders. To evaluate effective treatment approaches, it is important to first assess risk factors for relapse and barrier to recovery. While potential individual risk factors have been identified, there is currently no research aimed at systematically investigating how these factors together establish an individual’s risk for relapse. Thus, the purpose of this investigation is to identify specific risk factors for relapse and barriers to addiction recovery in individuals who are hospitalized at Greenville Memorial Hospital due to complications from SUD. This research is a randomized control trial that will examine how neurocognitive, health, and personal risk factors as well and social, financial, and situational barriers influence recovery. Additionally, this project will evaluate which barriers a recovery coaching intervention can overcomes and what risk factors recovery coaching can mitigate. Students will be involved in working with patients at Greenville Memorial Hospital to collecting all survey data, cognitive assessments, and neuroimaging measures. Team LeadersKaileigh Byrne PsychologyIrene Pericot Valverde Psychology Zhuo Job Chen Psychology |
| 1505 | Immunity and Infections in Zebrafish Infectious disease is an increasing problem, and the overall goal of our research is to better understand how our innate immune system combats pathogens. We use zebrafish as a model host for infection studies to investigate mechanisms of infection and immunity. Projects include investigating the role of specific genes and pathways in immunity, modeling human patient conditions, and understanding how anti-fungal drugs affect the host immune system. Team LeadersEmily Rosowski Biological SciencesSavini Upara Thrikawala Biological Sciences |
| 1490 | Data-driven Disaster Relief Logistics Planning This proposed research project aims to understand the dynamic evolution of a hurricane's forecast and how to mobilize disaster relief commodities to address the immediate needs following a hurricane. Specifically, we will investigate (i) how to utilize historical data on hurricane trajectory, intensity, and affected areas as well as their rolling forecasts to estimate the forecast errors/uncertainty; (ii) how to create a stochastic optimization model that incorporates the forecast errors/uncertainty to support disaster relief logistics decision making; (iii) how to visualize the disaster relief logistics solutions using visualization tools such as ArcGIS. Team LeadersYongjia Song Industrial Engineering |
| 1481 | Engineering Biology of Arthropods We explore structural and organismal features of insects from the physics and materials point of view looking at the physical determinants of the materials performance and evolution of insect fibrous materials. We are interested in mechanisms of nano and micro fluid movements, sensitivity of insect antennae, mechanisms of silk formation by insects and analysis of structural and physical properties of insect fibrous materials. Check out these videos, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JCIOOWm8w8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHDbdKj8NuM Team LeadersKonstantin Kornev Materials Science and Engineering |
| 1480 | Advanced Manufacturing by Ultrafast Lasers This project includes hands-on participation to learn the state-of-the-art ultrafast laser and use it for micro-manufacturing, material strengthening, and multi-functional surface processing. Team LeadersXin Zhao Mechanical Engineering |
| 1479 | Breaking the Resolution of Optical Microscopy Biophotonics is a multidisciplinary field, which combines biology, photonics, and electronics to further our understanding of cellular biological processes within functional and dysfunctional tissues using optical microscopic techniques. This CI was created to allow students to design and build an optical system which pushes the limits in optical microscopy resolution to observe cellular events that would be undetectable using current techniques. Team LeadersZhi Gao BioengineeringLucas Schmidt Bioengineering |
| 1475 | Implementing Open Educational Resources into the Undergraduate Curricula in the College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences Open educational resources (OER) are freely available resources that supplement or can be used in a course in lieu of the textbook. The goal of using OER is to decrease the cost of education. For example, when OER is used in a class, students may be able to purchase an older version of the textbook, or they may be able to avoid purchasing the textbook altogether. Classes that use OER give students access to the class materials on the first day of class. Studies have shown that student learning and grades are higher when this is possible. In this Creative Inquiry, students will work with Primary Team Leader, Dr. Rachel Getman, who is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, to increase the use of OER in the Clemson University College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences. Team LeadersRachel Getman Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering |
| 1474 | Design and Implementation of the Human Machine Interface for the 2030 Autonomous Vehicle This project is designed to engage undergraduate Clemson students using an innovative educational method that allows Engineering and Psychology majors to apply academic knowledge and skills to the area of autonomous vehicles. During the semester students will focus on the design and implementation of the human machine interface for the 2030 self-driving car which will provide user experiences related to personalization, digital trust and usability. Team LeadersPierluigi Pisu Campbell Grad Engr ProgramJerome McClendon Campbell Grad Engr Program |
| 1473 | Technology Commercialization: From Lab Bench to Business Building a successful business around a new technology takes more than just a research discovery. Commercialization requires creating a customer base, determining value proposition and building a business model. Every new commercial product, besides being great, requires someone who buys it. Therefore, the road towards commercialization starts with customer interviews. Over the years successful entrepreneurs developed a uniformed approach to generate robust, repeatable, scalable business model. It is called business canvas. In this project the PIs, who are successful entrepreneurs themselves, will guide you through the process of generation and completion of business canvas. Team LeadersAlexey Vertegel BioengineeringVladimir Reukov Bioengineering |
| 1472 | Business Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, and House Price This project provides a novel perspective on using artificial intelligence to study how to use natural language processing tools to predict real estate prices. Students will be guided to create a database that could be used for modeling house values using machine learning tools. It is an exciting opportunity for students to apply their knowledge from finance and engineering backgrounds to study real-world problems. Team LeadersYannan Shen Department of Financial Management |
| 1471 | Machine Learning in Finance and Real Estate This project will bring students across disciplines together to develop the most wanted applications of machine learning in finance and real estate investments. Students will collaborate and learn to use big data and Machine Learning tools to solve questions in the business world. This project will help students across different departments, creating the environment of a startup company. Together we will network, learn, explore, and succeed. Team LeadersYannan Shen Department of Financial Management |
| 1470 | Environmental effects of co-contaminant exposure Ecotoxicological studies traditionally determine or model effects resulting from single pollutants, yet no environmental contaminant is ever truly the sole toxicant in a contamination scenario. This project seeks to characterize the uptake, distribution, and/or effects of multiple environmental contaminants at different levels of biological organization. Students will study stress markers such as reactive oxygen species (ROS), gene expression, DNA methylation, and visual changes to determine if traditional ecotoxicological models sufficiently predict the effect of combined exposures. Team LeadersNicole Martinez Environmental Engineering and Earth SciencesLisa Manglass Environmental Engineering & Earth Sciences |
| 1457 | Frontline Service Robots and AI This Creative Inquiry is designed to provide business, psychology, and engineering students with an opportunity to empirically explore issues related to “frontline service” robots and artificial intelligence entities. In other words, robots and AI’s designed to assist customers rather assist with the manufacture of products. Relevant topics include services marketing, social psychology, human-computer interaction, and strategic HR. Team LeadersMichael Giebelhausen Department of Marketing |
| 1456 | Social Media Listening Center Digital Analytics SMLC Digital Analytics CI: This CI will use the software associated with the Social Media Listening Center to monitor, listen and engage with social media for CU clients/partners, as well as complete weekly projects using social media analytics. Members of the CI, will have the opportunity to work collaboratively on assignments for companies, individually on personal assignments and gain a deeper understanding of leveraging analytics in the digital sphere. Members of the CI will refine their digital presence, contribute to collaborative projects, participate in webinars, and contribute to weekly analysis reports. Team LeadersWilliam Henderson Communication |
| 1450 | Embodiment and Race Conference Organization The conference on Embodiment and Race (November 4-7, 2021) is a two-day interdisciplinary conference that will explore the issues of race and embodiment from the perspectives of critical-race theory and phenomenology. The aim of the conference is to open a space for Clemson University and the local community where we can extend and deepen our understanding of recent debates on race, racialization, and being an embodied agent of a minority group. This conference will bring together academics who work on race and embodiment to share their studies and discuss different approaches to these issues. In my teaching I explore the issues of philosophy of racism and racial embodiment focusing on questions: What role does embodiment play in the experience of racism and/or racial harm? How do various social policies benefit or burden people classified as being a given race? Does racism harm the racist as well as the victim? Team LeadersEdyta Kuzian Philosophy and Religion |
| 1446 | Pathways to Graduate Education Pathways to Graduate Education is a program to engage underrepresented undergraduate students in robust research and exploration of graduate education opportunities. The students in the CI will understand the graduate education process while participating in the development and implementation of a research project. This CI will encourage students to be active participants in developing a research project, around social justice, applicable to their respective fields. Team LeadersDeOnte Brown New Student & Family ProgramsCherese Fine Charles H. Houston Center Jerad Green Gantt Multicultural Center Sara Hanks |
| 1445 | All In: Football Recruiting Design We have partnered with the Clemson Football Recruiting Office to help design a mailer to send to potential Clemson Football recruits. This multidisciplinary team will meet to brainstorm, design and prototype a personalized 3D mailer that the recruiting office can send to high school football players in the recruiting process. The mailer is intended to promote Clemson Football and get the student excited about the possibility of being on the team. This is an incredible opportunity for students to have a direct impact on Clemson Football and potential incoming players. Team LeadersHaley Appleby Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences |
| 1443 | Autonomous Vehicles and Users with Disabilities Persons with certain motor or cognitive disabilities like paralysis of the extremities or autism may face significant obstacles to gainful employment and social inclusion due to difficulties in operating conventional motor vehicles. Proponents of fully autonomous or “self-driving” vehicles argue that the emergence of this technology may address this issue. Advocates for disabled persons are concerned, however, that the needs of persons with disabilities are not being adequately considered in the design of this technology. As a result, it is argued, self-driving technologies are being developed that will ultimately prove inaccessible to persons with a range of disabilities, ultimately undermining the potential mobility benefits of the technology. There is, therefore, a critical need to determine a model of interaction that will support efficient use of this technology by persons with disabilities. The proposed research is being initiated to determine the needs, preferences, and concerns of persons with motor, cognitive and other disabilities in interacting with self-driving vehicles, a model of interaction incorporating context-specific methodologies and the development of tools to support accessible interaction. Team LeadersJulian Brinkley School of Computing |
| 1442 | Building Elder Care Services Students work with the professor to assess caregivers attitudes, knowledge and benefits about the care of persons with cognitive impairment. The students will do community based action research and consider policy changes that could improve the health of elders and those who care for them. Team LeadersKathleen Valentine School of NursingAdam McFarlane School of Nursing |
| 1440 | Sullivan Center: Programs Evaluation In this creative inquiry, students will gain hands on clinical experience working with the Joseph F. Sullivan Center (JFSC) while assisting with the development and evaluation of lifestyle medicine projects. The JFSC is an academic, clinical learning facility that operates on Clemson's campus, and has many satellite locations throughout the upstate. Additionally, the JFSC operates a mobile health clinic statewide to transform SC's rural and under served populations. The JFSC addresses root causes of disease by whole person clinical interventions, recognizing the spectrum of genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors, supporting individual, family and community vitality. Students will be responsible for collecting data from patients directly, including vital signs like height, weight and blood pressure, during the patient visits. Program evaluation will be performed at various levels, from patient to population. Students may be responsible for analyzing data on single patients or analyzing larger data sets to ensure efficiency in case management services, depending on the student’s interests and current programs running at JFSC. Past research projects that students have assisted with include lifestyle medicine individual case studies, quality assurance, quality control and quality assessment measures for Best Chance Network patient’s lab results, and cohort studies on a population enrolled in FirstLine Therapy for 12 months or more. Team LeadersCaitlin Moore Clinical Ed/Pract&Med Surv Pro |
| 1439 | Advancement of Assisted Reproductive Technologies for Cattle and Other Species Assisted reproductive technologies (ART) are utilized for both humans and cattle; however, ART has been and will continue to be used to save species from extinction. Most advances used in ART currently used in all mammalian species were developed at least partially using cattle as a model. Assisted reproductive technologies commonly used in bovine reproduction are artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer. This project will focus on methods to increase bovine fertility and examine the putative microRNA markers associated with early pregnancy and early pregnancy loss in pregnancies produced by in vitro fertilization or embryo transfer. The team will meet weekly to coordinate and plan activities for the week which would include estrous synchronization of cattle, estrous detection, embryo transfer, blood collection and processing, ultrasonography, ELISA, RNA isolation, qRT-PCR, and cell culture. Team LeadersScott Pratt Animal and Veterinary Sciences |
| 1431 | Profiling Sensitivity of Glioblastoma Cells to Targeted Anti-Cancer Drugs Glioblastoma is the most common and the most malignant of all primary brain tumors. Prescription of drugs for such tumors would require an intricate understanding of the targets the drug would act upon and how it would affect other proteins in the cell and overall cell behavior. Our research goal would construct a network of proteins in the cell which are important in glioblastoma and help prescribe a suitable drug combination for such tumors. Team LeadersMarc Birtwistle Chemical and Biomolecular EngineeringDeepraj Sarmah Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering |
| 1428 | Something Very Fishy Something Very Fishy is a musical theater production paired with a hands-on marine science exhibit for elementary school children. This collaboration between Kathy Prosser (Educational Entertainment LLC) and Michael Childress (Biological Sciences) will bring to together local elementary school classes with Clemson student volunteers in a unique arts and sciences (STEAM) outreach program with a focus on marine conservation and our changing climate. Members of this creative inquiry team will develop and present hands-on marine science exhibits to enhance the experience of children attending this musical theater adventure following lives of a young marine biologist and a local fisherman who must set aside their differences to work together to save their local marine animals. Members of this creative inquiry team will develop hands-on exhibits, demonstrations, grade-specific experiments, class resources for teachers, and activities in support of the general theme of marine conservation. Team members will also care for and exhibit live marine animals in portable touch tanks, demonstrate the use of cameras and diving gear used by marine scientists, and lead students through basic experiments demonstrating the importance of water quality. Photo backdrops, reusable bag coloring stations, and continuous videos of underwater exploration will give the participating children an immersion experience like no other. CI team members will also have an opportunity to learn about ongoing marine science research through their partnership with the Conservation of Marine Resources and Marine Ecology creative inquiry teams. This will include reading and discussing the current marine conservation literature and assisting in the analysis of field data. Team members will also be expected to create a digital poster and promotional video about the Something Very Fishy production for use in advertising and promotion of future productions. By bringing together education, biology and environmental science majors with local artists and performers, this promises to be an enriching experience for everyone. Team LeadersMichael Childress Biological SciencesKea Payton Biological Sciences |
| 1425 | Saving Lives Takes a Team: Investigating Team and Process Management in Cancer Care Coordination Understanding how to effectively coordinate patient care has been a long-standing issue within the healthcare context. In fact, in 2016 at least 30 percent of all malpractice claims estimated that communication failures were to blame, resulting 1,744 deaths and $1.7 billion in malpractice costs over five years. The goal of this project is to help reduce these communication failures in cancer care by better understanding the care coordination process and how different healthcare teams must work together to provide effective cancer care. This project is a unique interdisciplinary effort, bringing together organizational science and industrial engineering researchers at Clemson and Greenville Health System. CI members on this team will be involved in field research including interviews, focus groups, simulations, and observations; training development and evaluation; data organization and analysis; formal presentation of findings at conferences and to GHS leadership; and other qualitative and quantitative research efforts. Team LeadersMarissa Shuffler PsychologyJordan Smith Psychology Riley Mccallus Psychology Annamaria Wolf Psychology Allison Traylor Psychology Kevin Taaffe Industrial Engineering |
| 1422 | Falls Prevention in Older Adults Initiative Falls are the leading cause of fatal and nonfatal injuries to individuals over the age of 65 years old, and the risk of falls increases with age. Causes of falls are multifactorial, and rural-dwelling older adults are typically at a higher risk. The purpose of the Ready for STEADI? Fall Prevention Initiative is to reduce fall risk factors among rural community-dwelling older adults through improved screening and through an education and balance training intervention. This creative inquiry focuses on determining the efficacy of the intervention. The intervention, held once a week (Thursday 12:30pm-3:30m) consists of coach training certification and research in balance and aging, implementation of the 8-week evidence-based falls prevention program (Matter of Balance). Data collection will involve psychosocial surveys and program evaluation. Students will gain hands-on experience working with older adults in a community setting, assist in implementing a falls prevention intervention, assist with developing and implementing a falls screening protocol, data collection and program evaluation. Team LeadersKaren A Kemper Public Health SciencesAnna-Marie Chancellor Dean Of The Graduate School Brandi Crowe Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management |
| 1419 | Multiplexing Using Spectral Imaging and Combinatorics (MuSIC) There are hundreds if not thousands of specialized cell types within the human body. Knowing the relative abundance of these cell types is important for understanding physiology and disease. Current technologies can only look at a handful at a time, and only expensive technologies can look at dozens. The expensive technologies also are destructive, meaning they have to kill the cells to know what type it was. This project uses a novel technology developed in our lab called MuSIC to make high-dimensional cell type profiling fast, affordable and non-destructive. This will push the boundaries of our single-cell understanding of physiology and disease, as well as increase the potential of personalized medicine through accessibility to such technologies. Team LeadersMarc Birtwistle Chemical and Biomolecular EngineeringMadeline McCarthy Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering |
| 1414 | Building and Probing Simple Neuronal Circuits With Combined Optical Tweezer and Microelectrode Array Experiment The human brain is perhaps the most complicated system in the known universe. It is comprised of 100 billion individual neurons with about 80% of the brain mass in the cerebral cortex, which is the site of human cognition. There are massive efforts underway to understand how the brain works. What is memory, attention, perception, thought, language self-awareness, consciousness, etc.? To even begin to answer these questions, much fundamental science must be done. In this creative inquiry, we intend to build and study simple neuronal circuits, in vitro. We will use a combined optical tweezer and microelectrode array system to manipulate simple neuronal circuits, to electrically excite the circuits, and to probe the response of these circuits. We will build and study simple model logic gates out of rat or mouse neurons. Team LeadersHugo Sanabria Physics and AstronomyKatherine Wentworth Biological Sciences Joshua Alper Physics and Astronomy |
| 1409 | Infant Cranial Remodeling Infant cranial helmets are used when children, under the age of 1, are diagnosed with a cranial deformity. The helmets help to direct the growth of the infant’s head, in order to restore proper head shape. Students involved with the Head Start! project will work to improve the current helmet designs by using pressure mapping technology to identify proper pressure values within the helmet. All testing will be done on head molds, so no human subjects will be used. Team LeadersKyle Walker BioengineeringJohn D DesJardins Bioengineering |
| 1406 | Design for All Abilities There are many individuals with physical and/or cognitive disabilities in the world, but their needs are often overlooked in the design of everyday things. This project will guide students through research on principles of universal design, identification of a project with a local impact, and development of prototype solutions to improve the accessibility and utility of the Clemson campus. Students will participate in activities that allow them to gain first-hand experience with some of the challenges individuals with disabilities face on a daily basis. This experience will enable students to empathize with people different from themselves, providing a unique design perspective and ability to think outside the box when developing solutions to meet the needs of a wide range of stakeholders. Team LeadersMatt Miller General Engineering |
| 1404 | Stream Fish Mercury Dynamics in Managed Forests Southeastern forests contain large pools of mercury in the terrestrial leaf litter and understory vegetation. The majority of the mercury in southeaster forests is from atmospheric deposition, meaning that even remote forests far from industrial activities may have elevated levels of mercury stored in the soil, leaf litter, and living plant biomass. Common forest management practices intended to reduce fuel loads (e.g., controlled burning, mechanical thinning) may also release mercury from soils, leaf litter, and living plant biomass into downstream aquatic environments. Mercury bioaccumulation in aquatic ecosystems, particularly in fish at the top of aquatic food chains, has been well documented in a variety of systems. However, we know very little about how fish and invertebrate mercury burdens are affected by fuel reduction practices. For example, does the amount and type of mercury (methyl versus inorganic) released into downstream aquatic systems differ between controlled burns and thinning? Additionally, how do nutrients, which are also released during forest management activities, affect stream food webs and, subsequently, mercury bioaccumulation? Students in this project will participate in collection of fish and invertebrates from forest streams in the Clemson Experimental Forest and the Santee Experimental Forest (part of the Francis Marion National Forest near Charleston, SC). Students will learn techniques for backpack electrofishing, invertebrate collections, diet analysis, and age and growth techniques using otoliths and scales. Students will also be encouraged to develop specific research questions and to develop hypotheses that could be tested with real-world data collecting during the course of this project. Team LeadersTroy Farmer Forestry and Environmental ConservationBrandon Peoples Forestry and Environmental Conservation Alex Chow Forestry and Environmental Conservation Donald Hagan Forestry and Environmental Conservation Jeremy Pike Plant and Environmental Sciences |
| 1401 | Creating a Health Hub for SC Rural Communities: Prosperity, SC This Creative Inquiry Project will facilitate the creation/expansion of a Health Hub that includes a community garden, greenhouse, and health education center on Hwy 76 in Prosperity, South Carolina. This initiative will be associated with a well established medical practice in the community. Team LeadersW Kirby Player Cooperative Extension ServicesJulianna Parham Anderson |
| 1400 | Restoration Ecology: From Coastal Wetlands to the Appalachian Mountains and Back Wetland RestorationStudents in the CI will assist with research related to a wetland restoration at Brosnan Forest in Dorchester, South Carolina. The Brosnan Forest is a 14,400-acre preserve near Charleston, SC, and is currently restoring a 200-acre wetland on the property. Students will help with vegetation surveys, growing plants in the greenhouse and learn about seed viability and germination. Students will gain valuable skills in wetland plant identification, wetland seed bank knowledge, and fieldwork. Piedmont Prairie RestorationStudents will work on a prairie and understory restoration in the Clemson Experimental Forest. Students will learn to identify native and invasive grasses, sedges, and forbs. They will also learn to survey vegetation and other field techniques. Team LeadersAlthea Hagan Forestry and Environmental Conservation |
| 1397 | Insect Bioelectricity Insects provide excellent opportunities to perform basic and applied biological experiments at the molecular, physiological and organismal scales. They serve as model organisms for developmental and cellular biology, and are important vectors for human and agricultural pathogens. As a result, working with insects can expose students to numerous hard and soft skills useful in a range of life-sciences fields, from medical to agricultural biology, evolutionary and ecological to developmental and immunological. In this project, students will examine patterns, mechanisms, and function associated with bioelectricity in insects, including relationship to regeneration, immunity, and pathology. Techniques used include tissue culture, fluorescence microscopy, standard virological techniques (such as plaque assays), and more. Students are required to participate in communicating data in weekly group meetings, and then via on-campus, state, regional, and national meetings. Team LeadersMatthew Turnbull Biological SciencesJABEZ BATTU Biological Sciences |
| 1395 | Human Factors in Medical Device Reprocessing Human factors engineering focuses on understanding how people interact with technology and studying how user interface design affects the interactions people have with technology. U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidelines identify human factors engineering as essential for maximizing the likelihood that new medical devices will be safe and effective for the intended users, uses and use environments. Therefore, incorporating human factors engineering into medical device design and product development can be a key factor for meeting regulatory standards and launching a successful product. The long-term goal of this Creative Inquiry is to introduce the tools and techniques used in human factors engineering and to apply those skills to medical device design. Students enrolled in this CI interact with industry professionals and a cross-disciplinary team of faculty and students, using human factors and usability testing to inform medical design decisions with a focus on devices in end-use conditions and during their reprocessing. Students conduct the testing on commonly used medical devices and medical device prototypes and use hypothesis-driven research for improving upon medical device designs. Undergraduate students looking to join this team are expected to be involved for 2-4 semesters. Team LeadersMelinda Harman BioengineeringMarketa Marcanikova Bioengineering Simeon McKelvey Bioengineering Delphine Dean Bioengineering David Neyens Industrial Engineering Manuel Gutierrez Bioengineering |
| 1394 | Estuarine Fish Ecology I As transitional zones between freshwater and marine environments, estuaries contain a diversity of habitat types and experience highly variable abiotic conditions. Variation in salinity has long been recognized as a factor controlling estuarine fish distributions, through its effect on behavior and physiological processes. Despite this, the ecological consequences of habitat-specific residency patterns on foraging and growth of freshwater, estuarine, and marine fish species is still not well understood. As estuaries serve as essential habitats for many recreationally and commercially important fishes, a more complete understanding of how habitat-specific estuarine conditions affect growth and survival of fishes is needed to provide managers with better information for habitat-specific management actions (e.g., protection, restoration efforts). This CI aims to explore relationships between habitat-specific residency patterns, foraging, and growth in estuarine fish populations. Students will work on team-based projects that require critical thinking, data collection, quantitative analyses, and presentation and publication of results. Students will gain essential knowledge and skills for processing samples in the lab including otolith aging, diet analysis, stable isotope analysis, preparation of gonadal tissues for histological analysis, and identification of estuarine fish and invertebrates. Team LeadersTroy Farmer Forestry and Environmental Conservation |
| 1393 | Survey of Clemson Infrastructure "Restore and Improve Urban Infrastructure" is one of the 14 Engineering Grand Challenges and this CI will explore what infrastructure is and it's role in our lives. Through a collaboration with Clemson University's Facilities, we will be conducting an inventory of the stormwater system to assist with University's MS4 program. This is great experience for students interested in Civil Engineering, Biosystems Engineering, or Environmental Engineering though all students are welcome. Team LeadersWilliam Martin General Engineering |
| 1390 | History of the Clemson Child Development Center This Creative Inquiry will research the history of the Clemson Child Development Center and create a multimodal presentation of findings for the 50th anniversary celebration of the center in the fall of 2019. Research will be conducted through interviews with founders, past and present board members, past and present teachers and directors, and former students. Team LeadersJacquelynn Associate Malloy Teaching and Learning |
| 1389 | Bat Ecology and Management Students in this creative inquiry will work collaboratively with faculty, staff and graduate students to study the ecology of bats on and nearby Clemson's campus. A major component will be assessing bat behavior and space use in response to land use change. This will provide student with experience in radio-tracking, acoustic monitoring, experimental design, data analysis, and project management. Team LeadersDavid Jachowski Forestry and Environmental ConservationEduardo Rosales-Gonzalez Forestry and Environmental Conservation |
| 1384 | Unraveling the Mystery of the Rare Rocky Shoals Spider Lily Rocky Shoals Spider Lilies are an important part of South Carolina’s natural heritage and probably existed along most Piedmont streams prior to hydropower development of shoals and sedimentation of creeks and streams due to agricultural practices. The watershed for Stevens Creek is forested and mostly undeveloped allowing us a glimpse of what plant, fish, and even mussel populations may have looked like prior to European influence. There is a population of Rocky Shoals Spider Lilies that runs approximately 150 yards along Steven Creek on the Naturaland Trust Property.As a part of this CI, students will research and characterize the Stevens creek run where the Rocky Shoals Spider Lily occurs and at least two additional sites where historic populations existed to determine why the Rocky Shoals Spider Lily has such a robust population along this stretch of stream. Students will collect water quality data using the SC adopt a stream protocol and characterize the sites. They will additionally put out game cameras as one hypothesis is that deer herbivory is impacting Rocky Shoals Spider Lilies. Students will also work to propagate Rocky Shoals Spider Lilies in greenhouses at Clemson so that we will have a population we can attempt to introduce to other suitable stream stretches. By using the SC adopt a stream protocol, students will be adding to a database of stream health for the state and they will be able to compare Stevens Creek to other SC streams to determine what is different about Stevens creek that allows the Rocky Shoals Spider Lily to persist. Team LeadersAndrew Grunwald Forestry and Environmental ConservationAlthea Hagan Forestry and Environmental Conservation |
| 1383 | Controlled Environment Agriculture: Innovation of Distributing Food to Urban Environments and Food Deserts The project will provide an atmosphere for the design and evaluation of a moderate sized controlled environment container to yield animal protein, vegetables to supplement fresh food in an urban environment. Urban areas, also called food deserts, have limitations to fresh food and previous research has proven that, if available, people would welcome the choice of fresh food to prepare in their household. People are also reassured that the products being produced are fresh and free from harmful chemicals. Transportation is limited for these people so getting to a grocery store is somewhat restricted, so the idea of bringing a food production unit to the area is widely accepted. Presently these portable controlled environment units are available and expensive, however economics performed usually show limited to no revenue. The CI will investigate what is needed for the unit to produce food but on a more economical scale. This would also benefit school systems by providing fresh food to supplement the cafeteria needs for fresh food and at the same time becomes an effective teaching tool that can be positive reinforcement for understanding science, math and economics topics in an enjoyable and dynamic atmosphere. Team LeadersLance Beecher Cooperative Extension Services |
| 1381 | Sugar High? How do different sugars and sugar substitutes in soft drinks impact the oral microbiome? Dental cavities are a major health problem worldwide. To better understand what causes tooth decay, we need to examine the microbes living on our teeth. This community of microbes are known as the oral microbiome. The bacteria that live on our teeth form a biofilm commonly known as dental plaque. The microbes in the tooth biofilm survive by feeding on sugars and starches consumed in our diets. After feeding on these sugars many of the waste products expelled by bacteria are acidic, causing tooth enamel erosion, and eventually, tooth decay. The goal of our research will be to compare how different soda types influence the oral microbiota. Students involved in this CI will conduct genomic and microbiological research on the oral microbiome. Student’s will complete DNA/RNA extractions of plaque biofilms, complete PCR amplifications, prepare samples for DNA/RNA sequencing, and will learn how to use Next Generation DNA sequencing technology. Student’s should expect to enroll for at least 2-4 semesters. Team LeadersVincent Richards Biological SciencesLauren O'Connell Biological Sciences |
| 1379 | Dinosaurs to Birds: Ontogeny and morphogenesis The long- to short-tailed avian dinosaurs transition occurred 125 Mya. The tail underwent considerable morphological change, from the long, reptilian-like ancestral condition to the short, distally fused tail of Pygostylian birds. We are interested in the developmental and genetic changes that occurred to bring about this morphological adaptation in the tail and the fusion of the synsacral vertebrae. Understanding these processes will provide insight into vertebrate morphogenesis and the basis of morphological adaptation. Team LeadersSusan Chapman Biological Sciences |
| 1371 | High-Performance Cluster Computing Parallel computing is often a topic covered until the senior year for undergrads. Moreover, large-scale computing is becoming a fundamental tool to researchers in many fields of science and engineering (e.g., business, chemistry, physics, biology). This CI is dedicated to opening up parallel computing to all levels of undergrads in relevant fields of computational science and engineering. Through this CI, we explore how high-performance computing (HPC) systems impact various disciplines, how HPC systems are constructed, what it takes to program parallel applications, how to run parallel applications on an HPC system, and how to optimize applications.This CI is intended to introduce undergraduate students from various STEM disciplines to parallel computing early in their undergraduate experience. Skills and knowledge gained through hands on activities, research, and training will prepare students for undergraduate research, provide skills to help students stand out and succeed in graduate school, and provide students an opportunity to test their skills against teams from all over the world at the annual Supercomputing Conference's Student Cluster Competition.Each year the annual competition's scientific domain changes (e.g, geophysics, bioinformatics, molecular dynamics, hydrology, climate); therefore, this CI is open to STEM majors who can serve as domain scientists to help interpret scientific results produced by the HPC applications. Team LeadersJon Calhoun Electrical and Computer Engineering |
| 1370 | LEAD Forward Each of you already have a full academic schedule with required curriculum requirements. Each of you though are also positioning for future co-ops, summer internships and full time jobs following graduation. What will differentiate you from your peers as you seek those employment opportunities? Demonstrated leadership skills will make a difference.Register to be part of LEAD Forward, a unique opportunity to learn leadership skills and how to apply them now and in the future. Email Emily Budlong at leadforward@clemson.edu to learn more about this opportunity and how you can apply to be a part of this program! Team LeadersStephen Murphy Dean of Engineering & Science |
| 1369 | Statistical and Mathematical Models in Weather Forecast This is an interdisciplinary project in which students will gain access to both statistics and mathematics. The students will record temperatures in certain regions and try to use statistical models to find seasonal patterns in the recorded numbers. The patterns and numbers are used to forecast weather in the future. Students will then use computer software to analyze the prediction errors. Students will also perform similar activities in the context of number theory. Team LeadersJun Luo School of Mathematical and Statistical SciencesHui Xue School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences |
| 1352 | New Drug Targets in Bacterial Genome Drug resistance to current antimicrobials is a major health concern in the 21st century. This project will focus on discovery of new target sites in the genome of pathogenic bacteria. The project will involve looking for new sites of intervention in the bacteria genome, and approaches of targeting nucleic acid and enzyme targets selective to bacteria. Team LeadersDev Arya Chemistry |
| 1351 | Rocket Club Leadership Clemson University Rocket Engineering (CURE) is a team who's main objective is to design and fabricate a high powered rocket to enter into the annual Spaceport America Cup, an international intercollegiate experimental sounding rocket competition. Throughout the year, members of the team will separate into various flight critical teams including flight dynamics, structural design, payload and recovery, avionics, and manufacturing. The rocket will be designed with various height, weight, and apogee constraints based on the competition category rules. Team LeadersPhanindra Tallapragada Mechanical EngineeringGarrett Pataky Mechanical Engineering Daniel B Fant Mechanical Engineering |
| 1349 | IBM Watson in the Watt The IBM Watson in the Watt team, sponsored by IBM, brings the world renown AI technology "Watson" to Clemson, with a mission to broadly explore AI's use in broad disciplines. We welcome creative students from any disciplines that are interested in "answering questions" with the power of a wealth of data. The team will learn about:* What is Watson* How to use Watson to answer questions* How to train Watson to be expert of your discipline, by feeding it the right data - lots of itCurrently, we have professors offering Watson challenges in digital humanities, digital history, healthcare, precision agriculture, and Internet of Things. The list of challenges keeps growing. Team LeadersD. Hudson Smith Watt Family Innovation CenterKuang-Ching Wang Electrical and Computer Engineering Carl Ehrett Watt Family Innovation Center |
| 1345 | Renaissance MAN: Men of Color and Social Action Renaissance Male Achievement Network (Renaissance MAN) is an initiative that provides academic enrichment, social engagement, personal development and professional preparation to men of color. Participants of Renaissance MAN will engage in this Creative Inquiry beginning the spring semester of their second year. This CI focuses on exploring the role of racial identity, masculinity and leadership philosophy in addressing social issues. Participants will ultimately develop and implement a plan to address a social issue. Team LeadersDeOnte Brown New Student & Family Programs |
| 1344 | Image-Guided Drug Delivery To the Brain Advances in nanotechnology have led to the development of nanoparticles that can deliver therapeutics into specific cells for the treatment of many cancers, including gliomas. Clinical translation of these therapies to patients has been limited due to inefficient efficacy in vivo. Image-guided drug delivery may help overcome barriers to translation providing quantitative analysis of biodistribution and pharmacokinetics through real-time visual monitoring of the therapeutic within the body,. Computed tomography (CT) is a desirable imaging method for brain disease diagnosis, as it can provide information on the location of bones, muscles, fat, and organs. However, CT can require long-term exposure to radiative contrast agents in order to obtain high quality image information. The high doses required are not currently approved by the FDA. Because of this, we are proposing the creation of a nanoparticle system capable of delivering FDA approved contrast agents directly to the site of interest, limiting toxicity associated with whole body exposure and off-targeting. Due to their small size, nanoparticles have the ability to load a high concentration of drug while simultaneously being targeted to specific areas of the brain, which would provide a dramatic improvement to current CT capabilities. Team LeadersAngela Alexander BioengineeringJessica Larsen Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Megan Pitz Bioengineering |
| 1343 | Polymeric Biomaterials for Treatment and Diagnosis of Central Nervous System Disease The presence of the blood-brain barrier dramatically hinders neurologic treatments, with >98% of small molecule drugs unable to enter the brain. Modern medical attempts to deliver drugs into the brain have involved disruption of the barrier, exploitation of different routes of administration, and attachment of ligands on nanoparticle surfaces that are specific to cellular receptors at the blood-brain barrier. These methods have had limited success in translation to clinical applications. The modulation of nanoparticle shape has been shown to have a large impact on nanoparticle transport, thermodynamic stability, and cellular internalization. However, the effect of different nanoparticle shapes on brain uptake has not been extensively explored. Team members in the Modulating Nanoparticle Shape to Enhance Blood-Brain Barrier Delivery creative inquiry will engage in the creation of polymer-based nanoparticles of various shapes to improve blood-brain barrier delivery. CI students will have the opportunity to work in an interdisciplinary research environment, using engineering, biology, and nanotechnology related concepts towards solving a major medical problem. Team LeadersJessica Larsen Chemical and Biomolecular EngineeringMolli Garifo Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering Dorian Foster Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering |
| 1341 | Targeted Gene Editing in Mammalian Cells Gene therapy has been proposed for inherited and acquired diseases yielding promising results in animal studies and human clinical trials. The advent of gene-editing tools, such as CRISPR/Cas9 nucleases have unleashed new possibilities for curing diseases at the genetic level. In this Creative Inquiry, we will investigate the application of genome editing tools for achieving precise gene modification in target cells for therapeutic applications. Team LeadersRenee Cottle Bioengineering |
| 1337 | Combining Big Data with Live-Cell Imaging for Automatic Image Analysis Humans can easily identify cellular features such as nucleus and cytoplasm from phase contrast images of cells, but computers still struggle. This project will combine computer vision algorithms based on deep learning with big data sets generated in the wet lab here using high-throughput live-cell imaging apparati. The goal is to make computers better at automatically identifying cell features from phase contrast images, or to identify cell types from such images. Team LeadersMarc Birtwistle Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering |
| 1331 | Horse Play Hippotherapy, also known as equine assisted therapy, is the use of a horse as a moving platform for rehabilitation treatment for a range of disabilities. Literature has shown positive improvements in patients with spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, and many other disabilities when partaking in hippotherapy. This information will be used to create saddles for effective use in hippotherapy. Adaptive saddles will be created to provide assistance to those of specific disabilities whom normally cannot ride without assistance or minimal intervention. The saddle will be suited with pressure sensor feedback in order to obtain rider patterns within the saddle. Further modifications to gather rider actions while mounted on the horse can also be explored. Team LeadersAnne Marie Holter BioengineeringKristine Vernon Animal and Veterinary Sciences John D DesJardins Bioengineering |
| 1330 | Designing With Docs In bioengineering, the opportunity to collaborate with clinicians in the design of biomedical devices is considered the highlight of any design experience, but usually these design experiences are limited to senior year, if at all. Clinicians are an essential contributor to the design process, in that they are both the users of biomedical devices, and often the first point of contact for problems that occur in their use. Typically, students explore design related issues, and recruit clinicians to support their work. In this new CI, clinical collaborators that have the support of their clinical innovation departments will work with students to create the next generation of biomedical devices. This CI will be open to all undergraduates, and projects will be multi-semester, to support the development of long-term innovations in healthcare. Team LeadersJohn D DesJardins BioengineeringJordon Gilmore Bioengineering |
| 1322 | Aging and Decision-Making Decision-making is a prevalent part of everyday life, and the choices we make can have significant consequences across all stages of the lifespan. The purpose of this CI Team is to examine adaptive and maladaptive decision-making strategies that occur with healthy aging. This research seeks to assess how social, cognitive, emotional, and motivational factors influence decision-making. Understanding these factors may allow us to develop decision aids that can improve decision-making outcomes with age. Team LeadersKaileigh Byrne Psychology |
| 1321 | Bioprinting When hosted in the proper fluid medium, cells can be loaded into ink jet printer heads and printed in three-dimensional structures. The ultimate goal of this technology, called “cell printing” is to print organs that can be used as replacements for diseased or damaged organs. While this goal is still far in the future, cell printing currently has several applications, including rapid drug testing, bioprinting of skin grafts for promoting wound healing, and bioprinting of bone and cartilage. One problem inhibiting further development of bioprinting concerns the control over droplet formation for existing printheads. Ideally one would like to have control over the drop diameter and number of cells per drop in a fixed printhead. However, any given printhead typically is capable of forming a narrow range of drop diameters. It is possible that, for viscoelastic fluids, there is a greater possibility to control the characteristics of drops than is the case for fluids that have little or no elasticity. This idea is the focus of this project. Team LeadersJoshua Bostwick Mechanical EngineeringJohn R Saylor Mechanical Engineering |
| 1318 | NASA Micro-g NExT This Creative Inquiry is focused on applying to NASA's Micro-g NExT Program. Teams of undergraduate students from multiple majors will be challenged with creating a device to aid in space exploration missions defined by requirements outlined by NASA. Student teams, if selected, will have the opportunity to travel to Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX, to test their devices in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory. Team LeadersLaura Redmond Civil EngineeringAtul Kelkar Mechanical Engineering Andrew Densieski Mechanical Engineering Sara Dockins School of Materials Science & Engineering |
| 1316 | Hellbender Ecology Hellbenders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) are large, long-lived amphibians that live their entire lives in rivers and streams throughout the Appalachian mountains. As part of this project, students will assist with hellbender monitoring surveys and will work independently or in groups to develop a research question and hypothesis, collect and analyze data, and summarize findings as part of a year-long project. Team LeadersCathy Jachowski Forestry and Environmental ConservationDaniel Knapp Forestry and Environmental Conservation |
| 1314 | Collaborative Biomedical Engineering Design Between Clemson and Arusha Technical College Developing countries face healthcare challenges every day, whether it is lack of supplies or a shortage of healthcare professionals. Medical devices and equipment that are considered standard in hospitals in the United States can be hard to find and very expensive in developing countries, such as Tanzania. In addition there is a shortage of trained biomedical engineers. Therefore, the goal of this Creative Inquiry team is to design and develop medical instrumentation and monitors that are robust, user-friendly, and low-cost for Tanzania in collaboration with engineering students and faculty at Arusha Technical College in Tanzania. The students on this team will be expected to work on electronics and instrument design. They are expected to do needs finding to find the issues facing biomedical engineers in rural SC and in Tanzania. The students will collaborate weekly with students from Arusha Technical College through message boards. In addition, the Clemson and ATC student teams will have joint videoconferenced update meetings once a month with faculty and staff from both institutions. In addition to doing design, Clemson students are expected to learn about Tanzania. Students will learn about Tanzanian culture, government and healthcare structure. In addition, students will learn some basic conversational Swahili. Team LeadersDelphine Dean BioengineeringWilliam Richardson Bioengineering John D DesJardins Bioengineering Melissa McCullough Bioengineering |
| 1313 | Pathways to Engineering There are many pathways to an engineering degree, but all of them pass through calculus. Some students complete first semester calculus in high school and start their post-secondary studies ahead of the game, or at least not behind. Others complete calculus in high school, but nonetheless, place into courses below calculus at the start of college. Still others do not attempt calculus in high school. In South Carolina, there is a significant racial and socioeconomic disparity between engineering students who place below calculus and those who enter college calculus-ready. In this project, we analyze qualitative focus-group and interview data from first-year engineering students around the state to understand both academic and non-academic factors that affected their initial mathematics placement in college. Team LeadersEliza Gallagher Engineering and Science EducationAubrie Pfirman Engineering and Science Education |
| 1309 | FishShapes: Exploring the Evolution of Body Form Diversity Across Fishes. Students will join a team of scientists from across the US that are working to investigate body shape evolution across teleost fishes. Teleosts account for 96% of all fish species, nearly half of extant vertebrate diversity, and exhibit a spectacular variety of body forms, including lineages that range from deep-bodied (e.g. moonfish, spadefish), elongate (e.g. eels, needlefish), laterally compressed (e.g. ribbonfish) to globular (e.g. pufferfish), plus the uniquely shaped seahorses, flatfishes and ocean sunfishes. The purpose of this research is to tease-apart the major interacting factors influencing the evolution of body form at the macroevolutionary scale, across teleost fishes, and to identify trends in shape diversity over their evolutionary history. As members of the ‘FishShapes’ team students will spend at least 2 semesters conducting research: collecting data and working together to develop and test a hypothesis concerning the evolution of body shape across fishes. The ultimate goal is to write and publish a scientific paper. This project is ideally suited to students who have no prior research experience, as we will cover everything from how to develop hypotheses through to giving scientific presentations. Team LeadersKeiffer Williams Biological SciencesSamantha Price Biological Sciences |
| 1283 | Data Analysis, Decision Making and Healthcare Modeling in Hospital and Clinic Settings Prisma Health continues to expand its academic research presence as its relationship with Clemson faculty and students matures. In particular, the departments of Emergency Medicine and Perioperative Services have worked on process improvement initiatives where Clemson students have been able to contribute. This Creative Inquiry will be instrumental in supporting research projects in these departments, as well as hands-on support of various applied projects. One main driver in this research is the measurement of human performance and decision making in healthcare delivery, To support this research, students might have the opportunity to work with physicians, residents, and patients at various levels from data collection to presenting results. Students will also engage in data analytics and some healthcare modeling, depending on the student's background. Team LeadersKevin Taaffe Industrial EngineeringVishnunarayan Girishan Prabhu Industrial Engineering |
| 1272 | Elucidating Water Transport and Structure of Polymer Membranes for Energy Applications The use of polymer membranes for energy storage and delivery applications is ubiquitous. The performance properties of these membranes is inherently tied to the nanostructure, making it important to elucidate the fundamental structure-property relationships of these materials. Team LeadersEric Davis Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering |
| 1267 | Decision-Making and Risk-Taking The purpose of this Creative Inquiry team is to conduct research on the (1) effect of emotion and reward motivation on goal-directed decision-making as well as (2) how individual differences, such as personality and susceptibility to performance pressure, affect risk-taking behaviors. Decision-making is an inescapable, prevalent phenomenon that can have significant consequences. This research aims to understand factors and cognitive mechanisms that affect decision-making and risk-taking. Students should expect to enroll in the CI project for at least 2 semesters. Team LeadersKaileigh Byrne Psychology |
| 1265 | International Collaborative Research with Tecnologico de Monterrey, Mexico During Fall 2022, students will be introduced to various colleagues at Tec de Monterrey, Mexico. From their interactions, literature reading, discussion groups, and guided mentorship, students will develop a research plan to execute at Clemson University, with the intention of visiting Mexico sometime in the near future as the project reaches maturity.One or multiple projects will be identified that bring together interdisciplinary, multicultural and international interaction. Team LeadersRodrigo Martinez-Duarte Mechanical EngineeringHugo Sanabria Physics and Astronomy |
| 1258 | Native Bass Conservation Bartram's Bass is native to the Savannah River basin of SC and GA; it occurs nowhere else in the world. Students learn field sampling and lab techniques to learn more about the basic ecology of this rare fish. Students also have the opportunity to develop independent research projects and present results at professional conferences and in scientific publications. Team LeadersBrandon Peoples Forestry and Environmental ConservationCaroline Cox Forestry and Environmental Conservation Tyler Zumwalt Forestry and Environmental Conservation |
| 1256 | Development and Assessment of Makerspace Standard Operating Procedures The Clemson Makerspace provides students, faculty and staff the ability to collaborate and innovate using current technologies such as 3D-printers, laser cutters, a waterjet, 3D-scanners, textiles processing equipment, and electronics. The Makerspace educates and trains students of all majors on machines and processes. The objective of this project is to develop a safe set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for training students on Makerspace equipment within the culture and requirements of the university. Team LeadersTodd Schweisinger Mechanical EngineeringKelsey Sheaffer University Libraries |
| 1254 | International Bridge Design Project With Engineers Without Borders (EWB) In Nicaragua Students participating in this Creative Inquiry project will develop alternative pedestrian bridge designs and then implement the best design for the community of El Serrano, Nicaragua. The bridge project is one of the official projects for the Clemson University Student Chapter of Engineers Without Borders (CU-EWB) as recognized and approved by the EWB-USA national office. Team LeadersMark A. Schlautman Environmental Engineering and Earth SciencesJerry Wylie Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences |
| 1253 | Ecotoxicological Effects in Aquatic Species This project investigates the effects of pollution on fish species, specifically the effects of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and pharmaceuticals. These toxic compounds are released from wastewater treatment facilities, and during oil spills, and can enter waterways through road runoff. Effects we measure are upregulation of liver enzymes, excretion of metabolites in the bile, and cellular damage like membrane disintegration and DNA damage. Team LeadersPeter Van den Hurk Biological SciencesSubham Dasgupta Biological Sciences |
| 1252 | Appalachian Fire Ecology Wildfires in late 2016 burned tens of thousands of forested acres across the southern Appalachian region. These events, unprecedented in recent history, have created a unique opportunity to conduct important fire ecology research in affected areas. This Creative Inquiry project is a collaborative effort between Clemson, the US Forest Service, and other agencies to assess the impacts of these fires, with a primary focus on the Rock Mountain fire in north Georgia. . Team LeadersDonald Hagan Forestry and Environmental ConservationBrayden Williams Forestry and Environmental Conservation |
| 1251 | Supporting Healthcare Superheroes: Application of Organizational Science to Improve Healthcare Effectiveness Soaring healthcare costs, staffing shortages, and legislative changes have contributed to a surge of interest in the ways healthcare organizations manage their leaders and teams in order to better impact the bottom line. As a research initiative of the DIGITAL lab, we are interested in better understanding the impact of leadership development on multiple levels of analysis within the healthcare industry: this includes, but is not limited to, leader health and burnout, team effectiveness, employee engagement and health, patient safety and experiences, and business outcomes. The purpose of this CI team is to examine leadership structures within Prisma Health - Upstate (formerly Greenville Health System) and the impact of leadership on various outcomes. Team LeadersMarissa Shuffler PsychologyMarlee Johnson Psychology Allison Traylor Psychology Katelyn Hedrick Psychology Riley Mccallus Psychology Phoebe Xoxakos Psychology Sydney Begerowski Psychology Thomas W. Britt Jr Psychology Annamaria Wolf Psychology Jordan Smith Psychology |
| 1250 | Science and Pseudoscience in Popular Media The combination of access to information and the decline in science education and critical thinking ability have given rise to a fear of science and mistrust of scientists. Because of the lack of understanding of science, charlatans like Dr. Oz are able to exploit the public’s fears for their own financial gain. A few examples of what this exploitation has led to: cancer patients refusing chemo therapy treatments in favor of questionable “natural” therapies; a subset of people have tried to “cure” their autistic children by giving them bleach enemas; and an increase in the production and marketing of dietary supplements promising to cure everything from obesity to cancer. Because of ignorance, people can be the victims of scams and in the case of fad diets and supplements, can be harmed. In addition to the decline of science education, critical thinking, and difficulty identifying reliable sources of information, public attitude towards science and scientists is negative. Scientists are harassed on a regular basis and are accused of being paid to do the bidding of large companies like Monsanto. Additionally, these celebrities and charlatans mislead the public by saying science is wrong and that they are the only ones that are trustworthy. This leads to fearmongering and a belief in conspiracy theories. The proposed project seeks to help students and the general public tell the difference between science and pseudoscience and be able to evaluate claims seen in popular media, correct misconceptions about science, and to help students develop critical thinking skills through presenting their findings to a general audience. The CI will help students explain science to a general audience and show people that science is relevant to their lives, approachable, and nothing to be afraid of. Team LeadersElliot Ennis Chemistry |
| 1247 | Leveraging liquid interfaces Shaping a liquid interface can provide a lens for understanding the physics of everyday fluid processes. Stretching and shearing an interface is common for products such as toothpaste and ketchup and allow their flow and elasticity to be characterized. Destabilizing a sandy oil–water interface can provide a cheap and scalable solution to oil remediation. Interfacial patterns such as “bead-on-fiber” formations can be used in novel desalination techniques and demonstrate complex physical phenomena such as soliton interactions. This CI project will leverage liquid interfaces to develop novel measurement techniques and study practical interfacial phenomena with environmental and industrial applications. Team LeadersJoshua Bostwick Mechanical Engineering |
| 1246 | ENGAGE Dominica 6: Primary School Initiatives The Soufriere Primary School is located on the southwest tip of the island of Dominica. Due to the damage caused by Hurricane Maria in 2017, the school has been displaced and operating only half day programs to be able to support all of the children in the community in a small temporary space. This Creative Inquiry team will support a significant outreach program with the school and the community. Project components will include a school/community garden (with economic programming for children to sell excess goods to local businesses), a chicken coop, sports fields (basketball/soccer), and a STEM learning garden. The mission of our team is to plan different projects throughout the year to help the Soufriere Primary school and implement the projects on our trips to Dominica. Our goal is to help with the learning experience for the local community. This semester, our focus is specifically working towards the development of a garden so that the students not only have access to food, but can also gain agricultural skills. Team LeadersJennifer Ogle Civil EngineeringIsaiah Del Campbell Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences |
| 1243 | ENGAGE Dominica 4: Infrastructure Ever notice how convenient it is to have Google Maps and Google Street View when you want to look at a location that you've never been to before? In many small island developing states, this type of digital data does not exist. This group will research what it would take to develop a digital data set for primary roads on the island of Dominica. Over several trips, significant amounts of geolocated video has been obtained. This, along with the linear road mapping currently available will provide the starting point for this development. Team LeadersJennifer Ogle Civil EngineeringIsaiah Del Campbell Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences |
| 1240 | Exploring Balkan Politics As part of the semester abroad program in Belgrade, students will investigate key political and social issues in Serbia (and the region), incorporating both American and Serbian perspectives in their review. They will meet with Serbian students to discuss these issues and present their research to one another. Team LeadersJeffrey Peake Political Science |
| 1238 | Thinking Outside the Box: A Cross-disciplinary Approach to Understanding Team Creativity Have you ever wondered how the teams of people who work on shows like SNL, South Park, and The Daily Show with Trevor Noah are able to come up with such creative content in such a short amount of time? What stands in the way of creativity in teams like these and what can we do to help teams reach their creative potential? Come to think of it, what even is creativity? As a research initiative of the Developing and Improving Globally Integrated Teamwork and Leadership (DIGITAL) Lab, we are interested in exploring these topics by specifically looking at what goes on during team meetings that helps or hinders creative processes and outcomes. Team LeadersMarissa Shuffler PsychologyMarlee Johnson Psychology Grace Falgoust Psychology Allison Traylor Psychology Kyle Christenson Psychology |
| 1235 | Conation and Creativity in Engineering Have you heard of Disney Imagineers? Are you interested in how engineers apply creativity? Conation and Creativity in Engineering (CCE) is a variable credit Creative Inquiry project in which students from across campus research instinctive problem-solving (conation) and creativity that inspires innovation in engineering around the world. Want to get even more immersed in creativity in engineering? Students are invited to participate in Disney Imaginations design competition, created and sponsored by Walt Disney Imagineering which seeks and natures the next generation of diverse Imagineers, and/or newly-established Creativity in Engineering Club, action-research student group dedicated to supporting creativity across Clemson's campus. All majors welcome. Team LeadersClaire Dancz Engineering and Science EducationSusan Reeves Watt Family Innovation Center |
| 1224 | The Genetic and Developmental Basis of Evolution in Cichlid Fishes The Powder lab seeks to understand the genomic and developmental basis of natural diversity in animal morphology. Development involves the coordination of complex pathways, and variation during developmental processes can produce both human anomalies as well as evolved diversity. We focus on cichlid fishes of the East African rift lakes, which have undergone an extraordinary adaptive radiation to produce an incredible range of phenotypic diversity. This includes an unparalleled range of craniofacial morphologies, which correlates with their feeding mechanism (e.g. algae scraping or suction feeding). We seek to understand how this facial variation is produced using a range of shape analyses, experimental embryology, and genetics. Team LeadersKara Powder Biological SciencesAllyson Brandon Biological Sciences Leah Delorenzo Biological Sciences |
| 1221 | Human Factors Forensics This project will explore the application of psychology and engineering principles to accident analysis. Team LeadersBenjamin R Stephens Psychology |
| 1218 | Development of novel antibacterials Summary as described in Medchemcomm, 2014 Jun 1;5(6):816-825. "Controlling DNA topoisomerase functions has been envisioned for developing new anticancer and antibacterial agents. A number of small molecules have been tested for their ability as poisons of DNA topoisomerase functions. The therapeutic interest in the development of small molecules as inhibitors of DNA topoisomerase lies in their ability to act as DNA cleavage complex stabilizing agents and to recognize ATP binding site. The emergence of resistance to anti-bacterials has necessitated the search of novel molecules that could help tackle these issues. Small molecules that are both DNA binders and non-binders will be discovered to poison the functions of DNA topoisomerases". Team members will learn about the target enzyme and work towards investigating small molecules that can inhibit it. Team LeadersDev Arya Chemistry |
| 1211 | Whats in Our Waters The “What’s in Our Waters?” (WOW) educational outreach program, connects Clemson students with local high school classes to educate them about the human impact on local water systems, demonstrates techniques for water quality sampling, and communicates the results of a water quality studies at a local science conference. In this Creative Inquiry, the undergraduate students act as mentors in the WOW program, develop instructional videos of field sampling protocols for use by the mentors and other volunteers all across the southeast United States, and analyze the survey results from the high school students’ participation in the program. Team LeadersRandi Sims Biological SciencesPeter Van den Hurk Biological Sciences |
| 1209 | Clemson Curates: Visual Arts & the Clemson Campus Clemson Curates is a Creative Inquiry project focused on developing visual arts exhibits for the Clemson campus. Students from a variety of academic disciplines research, coordinate, and install artworks across campus. Current exhibit locations include the ground floor of Sikes Hall and the CAAH Dean’s Gallery in Strode Tower and the Brooks Center for Performing Arts. Clemson Curates presents visual arts exhibitions that explore ideas and issues reflective of and intersecting with Clemson University research. Students gain experience by interpreting visual art, writing exhibit content, managing projects and presenting their research. Students explore various media platforms necessary for marketing and exhibition coordination, and conduct studio visits with artists to make final selection for artwork to be included in exhibits. Team LeadersDenise C Woodward-Detrich Art |
| 1202 | Exploring Engineering Solutions to Improve Dialysis Care Patients on dialysis typically receive three blood-purification treatments a week. One of the most difficult— and potentially traumatic—experiences of a patient relying on dialysis is the experience of being “stuck” with a relatively large needle to draw blood. The primary goal of this project is to use engineering approaches to improve patient health outcomes and experience by enhancing the skill of nurses and healthcare technicians who perform these tasks. Students will work in a fast-paced, highly inter-disciplinary environment to communicate with clinicians, create novel materials to simulate anatomical structures, interface sensors with computers, and analyze human skill data. Team LeadersRavikiran Singapogu Bioengineering |
| 1198 | Carnivore Ecology This project is intended to challenge students to address pertinent research questions related to the ecology of carnivores, particularly their inter- and intra-specific interactions. The project will use a combination of collecting original and utilizing existing field data to address questions each semester that student develop with advisors. Team LeadersDavid Jachowski Forestry and Environmental ConservationMeghan Keating Forestry & Environmental Conservation |
| 1181 | Engage Dominica 3 - Soufriere and Scotts Head Development Over the last couple of years, this CI team has been engaged in collecting data for a public pier for Soufriere to support emergency evacuation as well as tourism development. After Hurricane Maria, they also spearheaded the development of a tool lending center which has been quite beneficial in rebuilding much of the public space of the Soufriere community. Now, the group will turn it's focus toward helping the small island town plan for future development to include fishing, farming, tourism, diving, among others. The small coastal town has a wealth of natural elements including Sulphur Springs, oceanside hot springs, coral reefs, diving sites, mountains, trails, etc. We will work with the community to inventory the current resources as well as plan for future development and resilient development. The community was devastated after Tropical Storm Erika in 2015 and again by Hurricane Maria in 2017. While development is important, resilient and sustainable development is even more so. Team LeadersJennifer Ogle Civil EngineeringIsaiah Del Campbell Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences Joseph Marcsik Civil Engineering |
| 1180 | Engage Dominica 2 - Archbald Tropical Research Center Assessment and Program Development The Archbold Tropical Research and Education Center (ATREC) is a 198-acre (79 ha) tract of rainforest and agricultural land managed by a Dominican not-for-profit organization in partnership with Clemson University and an international consortium of universities. The Center, located in the Commonwealth of Dominica, West Indies, was created in 1989 by a gift to Clemson from the late conservationist and philanthropist John D. Archbold.It was his vision that international students and researchers work with Dominican citizens to address pressing land use concerns. The Archbold Tropical Research and Education Center enables us to study the entire spectrum of ecological, economic, and social factors that influence human relationships with tropical ecosystems. For many years, researchers have traveled to Dominica and stayed at the property collecting specimens, cataloging them, and preserving them at the station.Since Hurricane Maria, the Clemson owned property in Dominica has been badly damaged and continues to sustain water and wind damage to buildings. Most of the current structures are uninhabitable and the university awaits a settlement with the insurance company. For this reason, we would like to seek support to digitally archive the works of many researchers before they are lost to degrading environmental conditions. Team LeadersJennifer Ogle Civil EngineeringJoseph Marcsik Civil Engineering |
| 1179 | Engage Dominica 1 - Water and Sanitation The mission of this project group is to improve the existing conditions of the grey water output to the environment by implementing preventative measures around the community of Soufriere, Dominica. Grey water contamination from some of the residential areas merges with the Alumn Stream and flows directly into the ocean causing a buildup harmful bacteria. Significant levels of the E. Coli bacteria have been found in the water entering the bay from the Soufriere River. The bacteria has degraded the coral reefs in close proximity and there are concerns for the public swimming area nearby. This project will research sustainable methods for filtering water using mushroom root growth, or mycelium. Team LeadersJennifer Ogle Civil EngineeringIsaiah Del Campbell Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences |
| 1176 | Machine Learning and Big Data Research (ML/BD) Machine Learning is a field which is becoming increasingly useful in a wide variety of domains due to the accumulation of large amounts of raw data (“big data”) and the availability of high-performance computing (HPC) systems which can process this data. These domains include image processing, natural language processing, autonomous driving, gene set analysis, molecular structure classification, and many others. The goal of this Creative Inquiry is to equip students with the various skills required to apply machine learning techniques to real-world problems, which includes data-related issues such as how to select and load a dataset, software-related issues such as how to implement a machine learning pipeline from basic components, and hardware-related issues such as how to best take advantage of GPUs and other high-performance computing resources. Students will gain hands-on experience with machine learning / big data by working on a real-world problem of their choice. Team LeadersMelissa Smith Electrical and Computer Engineering |
| 1174 | CU Food Forest A food forest is intended to mimic the structure of a woodland ecosystem, with layers of trees, shrubs, and herbs, but in a food forest these are substituted with edible and medicinal plants and fungi. The goal of this project is to create small areas, called food forests, throughout campus for all to enjoy. Edible fungi, which are often overlooked as a means of food in the garden, will be cultivated. Students will learn landscape planning and how to grow and maintain fungi in a food forest environment. The produce from the food forests will be available for anyone to pick. The intent is to nourish, educate, and inspire passersby. Team LeadersJulia Kerrigan Plant and Environmental Sciences |
| 1172 | Experimental Investigation of Carbon Fiber Composites The goal of this CI is to understand the behavior of carbon fiber prepreg laminates. High resolution experimental techniques need to be adapted to be able to measure the behavior of these laminates with white paint. Students will learn about anisotropic material behavior, carbon fiber fabrication techniques, and how to perform experiments and analysis. Team LeadersGarrett Pataky Mechanical EngineeringAndrew Cannon Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering |
| 1169 | Kinetic Sculpture We create pieces of art which incorporate movement into them. We display these at Artisphere, the art festival in Greenville held in May, and some are planned around Clemson campus and the RiSE Community. Team LeadersChristopher W. Norfolk Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering |
| 1168 | Fish Biodiversity Challenge This Creative Inquiry project focuses on conservation science of South Carolina's native fishes. Students learn sampling and lab techniques, as well as data management and analysis. Students have the opportunity to develop independent research projects and present findings at professional conferences, as well as author scientific publications. Team LeadersBrandon Peoples Forestry and Environmental ConservationRidge Sliger Forestry and Environmental Conservation Colby Denison Forestry and Environmental Conservation |
| 1165 | Injured Military Veteran Adaptive Sport Program Development This is going into Year 7 of a grant where we work with Injured Military veterans and get them exposed to adaptive sport opportunities with a focus on soccer but many other sports as well. We host at least 6 camps per year at Clemson and travel to a number of other cities or military bases to implement the program as well. We have a bunch of data from the summer 2022 camps that will be analyzed and Students will be involved with planning the 2022-2023 camps, working directly with the injured military veterans and collecting data surrounding best practices, program evaluation and impact. In addition, we are beginning to be asked to deliver presentations about our programs nationally so students will have those opportunities as well. Team LeadersSkye Arthur-Banning Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management |
| 1160 | Child Development The goal of this CI team is to better understand parent-child interactions, taking special consideration to how the dynamics of the child’s personality and temperament impact the quality of these interactions. We currently have three ongoing projects 1) how parent-child attachment develops during the first year of infancy into toddlerhood and child as well as parental and child factors that impact attachment; 2) how parents and non-parents perceive and respond to infant crying and toddler temper tantrums; and 3) how parents and non-parents handle multitasking and/or focusing on specific tasks (like driving), when hearing negative emotions from their children, such as infant crying or toddler/child temper tantrums, particularly with how it impacts parents’ own emotion regulation, attention, and physiological reactions? Team LeadersSarah Sanborn PsychologyJennifer Bisson Psychology |
| 1157 | A.R.C.H.E.R. (Accessible Recreational Creations to Highlight Educational Reach) Design Works Design targeted solutions with the ARCHER (Accessible Recreational Creations to Highlight Educational Reach) Design Works Creative Inquiry! Archery has been integrated into the physical education curriculum in K-12 schools across the state of South Carolina. However, students with disabilities can’t always participate fully. Through the ARCHER creative inquiry, Clemson students can design and develop engineering solutions to help these students experience the excitement that comes with hitting the bullseye. Clemson students will be paired with a K-12 student with a disability and will spend the semesters enrolled getting to know the K-12 student, learning about the PE archery program and current adaptive sports techniques, and designing and developing a prototype device to assist the K-12 student in archery competition. Team LeadersJohn D DesJardins Bioengineering |
| 1152 | Marine Ecology Marine ecology is an interdisciplinary field of study that integrates research efforts of marine science, conservation biology, evolutionary ecology, oceanography, and fisheries science. The goal of marine ecology research is to understand the abiotic and biotic factors that influence marine life interactions with their environment. Students in the Marine Ecology Creative Inquiry team will research the ecology of Caribbean spiny lobsters and coral reef communities in response to changes in water quality and habitat quality in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Students will participate in field research techniques, data analysis, presentation, and publication preparation and submission. If able to travel to the field with students this semester, they will get some experience in scientific diving. The spring semester will determine which students we will bring to the field for our summer-long research trips (if permitted through the University). Students with SCUBA certifications will be trained to conduct data collection as scientific divers. Senior students with sufficient experience will have an opportunity to develop senior thesis research questions of their own design. Team LeadersKea Payton Biological SciencesMichael Childress Biological Sciences |
| 1150 | Innovations in Bioinstrumentation Bioinstrumentation is an interdisciplinary subject of applying physical principles and mechanical, electronic and chemical engineering technologies to acquire, analysis and display information from cells, tissues, organs and entire organisms including the human body. This CI was created to allow students to design and build their own bioinstrumentation and/or wearable biomedical technology projects. (Instrumentation class/experience is a pre-requisite for this team) Team LeadersDelphine Dean BioengineeringTyler Harvey Bioengineering Melissa McCullough Bioengineering Lucas Schmidt Bioengineering |
| 1138 | 3D Printing Architected Electrodes This CI focuses on the research of 3D printing of pastes, a.k.a. robocasting, to create complex architected WC structures with unprecedented versatility. The paste to print is a composite of biopolymers and oxide nanoparticles. Once printed, these biopolymer composite architectures are heat treated to high temperatures to yield tungsten carbide. The electrical properties of these architected carbide shapes are then measured under mechanical load. The goal is to elucidate the relation between processing, the microstructure of the material, and the electrical and mechanical performance of the structure. Understanding such relation will enable the fabrication of electrically-conductive structures with optimized properties towards achieving structural batteries, fuel cells and capacitors. More details are in www.multiscalemanufacturing.net Team LeadersRodrigo Martinez-Duarte Mechanical Engineering |
| 1114 | South Carolina - China Economic Relations The U.S.-China relationship is the most important bilateral relationship in the 21st Century and China has become the top destination for South Caroline exports. In recent years China has expanded its international economic presence and South Carolina provides an alternative for Chinese outflow foreign direct investment. Overall in the United States, China has established 1,583 companies with $46 billion that directly employs more than 80,000 Americans. This project aims at exploring what South Carolina can offer to such international investment as Chinese FDI, what kind of business South Carolina has been able to attract from China, and what contributions Chinese investments are making to South Carolina's economic development. Team LeadersXiaobo Hu Political Science |
| 1099 | Object Use in Individuals with Autism For this project, students will explore how individuals with autism interact with everyday objects. Team LeadersJennifer Bisson Psychology |
| 1095 | Nutrient Acquisition and Utilization in Toxoplasma gondii Infection with Toxoplasma gondiiin people with compromised immune systems can result in severe morbidity and even lethality. A detailed mechanistic understanding of how Toxoplasmaparasites metabolize nutrients will contribute to identifying new targets to impact disease. Team LeadersZhicheng Dou Biological Sciences |
| 1094 | Tiger Gardens: Pulse crop breeding towards human health Research suggests that failure to link agricultural production with human nutrition and health has led to the development of unhealthy food systems. Malnutrition and high calorie linked chronic diseases are the result of unhealthy food systems. A sensible and quick approach to combat nutritional challenges would be to increase dietary diversity through vegetables that can provide a range of essential nutrients. This proposed Creative Inquiry project provides an introduction to vegetable production, value addition, and nutrition. Students are expected to develop a home garden model to provide year-round nutritious vegetables (especially micronutrients and vegetable proteins) to a small family. Team LeadersDil Thavarajah Plant and Environmental Sciences |
| 1092 | Mind Controlled 3D Printing In this project, we explore a conceptual Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) by controlling a 3D printer with Electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings. We currently have a lab-built printer and a lab-built a 2D that serves as a demo version, and a 3D printer that is the final goal. In addition, the team is exploring the usage of an open-source platform for EEG. Team LeadersHugo Sanabria Physics and Astronomy |
| 1086 | Activity in School-aged Children This CI team investigates the effects of physical activity on performance and behavior in school-aged children. In general we are interested in how light activity while completing tasks may affect the students' ability to perform as well as their behavior in the classroom setting. Team LeadersJennifer Bisson PsychologySarah Sanborn Psychology June Pilcher Psychology |
| 1083 | Biomimicry and Biomimetics Biomimicry is an approach to innovation that seeks sustainable solutions to human challenges by emulating nature's time-tested patterns and strategies. Biomimicry and Biomimetics aims to create products, processes, and policies—new ways of living—that are well-adapted to life on earth over the long haul using nature as a model. This project proposes to observe and investigate the diverse ecosystem of the greater Clemson area watershed. Team LeadersCarlos Barrios School of ArchitectureBrandon Ross Civil Engineering |
| 1080 | Diagnostic Imaging in Animal Research Diagnostic imaging techniques such as radiography, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and ultrasonography are non-destructive methods for qualitatively and quantitatively characterizing internal structures and pathology in animals. Students and cross-disciplinary team leaders for this CI project apply the scientific method to answer research questions related to diagnostic imaging and image analysis techniques for supporting animal research. Team LeadersJeryl Jones Animal and Veterinary SciencesAhmed Ali Animal and Veterinary Sciences William C Bridges Jr School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences Cerano Harrison Animal and Veterinary Sciences |
| 1079 | ASME Student Design Competition Team The ASME Student Design Competition provides a platform for ASME Student Members to present their solutions to various design problems - from everyday household tasks to groundbreaking space exploration. Each team must design, construct, and operate a prototype according to annually determined problem statement requirements.We are still waiting for ASME to announce its 2022 design competition problem statement. Below is the old 2021 statement for your reference.Harvesting the Sun and WindThis year’s competition requires teams to design and build a vehicle capable of collecting solar and wind energy to extend the duration of operation while of a remotely controlled vehicle that navigates a course and transports weights to earn points. The validation of your design is intended to take place at a face-to-face ASME E-Fest Student Design Competition and/or a virtual event to be held in Spring 2021. Team LeadersXin Zhao Mechanical Engineering |
| 1077 | Prosthetics - Socket Fit Sensor We have developed a sensor which will allow users and medical personnel to score a socket based on how well it fits a user. We are currently working on an evaluation apparatus, which will allow us to test the sensor in a relevant way. Team LeadersChristopher W. Norfolk Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering |
| 1073 | Using an Arduino for Tech Development This project is teaching students to use Arduinos to allow students to develop their own prototypes. An Arduino microcontroller is an easy to learn interface between electrical hardware and programing. After students have learned the basic concepts, they will be allowed to brainstorm and create a device of their choosing and design which utilizes an Arduino to solve a problem. Team LeadersWilliam Martin General Engineering |
| 1072 | Coupling Green Roofs, Rainwater Cisterns, and Urban Agriculture This project is exploring the possible synergy between utilizing green roofs, rainwater cisterns, and roof top agriculture. Green roofs have many benefits, but their impact on reducing stormwater runoff quantity from larger design storms is limited. Including a cistern can be a way to improve this, a cistern by itself is not a reasonable approach if there is no use for the stored water. Urban agriculture is the link that we will use to couple these two BMPs as the stored water can be used to irrigate the plants in the green roof, which expands the types of plants which can be grown to crops which can be harvested and produce a source of revenue as well as a source of locally produced food. Team LeadersWilliam Martin General Engineering |
| 1068 | Meiotic Homologous Recombination Our laboratory studies the mechanism behind the repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) by homologous recombination during meiosis. We use both human and the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to study meiotic recombination. The introduction of DNA double-strand breaks during meiosis is carefully controlled. If not repaired, a DSB can result in genome instability and potentially, cancer. DSBs are caused by exposure to chemicals, radiation, oxidative reactive species generated during normal metabolism and damaged replication forks. The repair of DSBs often involves the homologous recombination (HR) DNA repair pathway. The heart of HR is the RAD51 and DMC1 recombinase. These enzymes catalyze the search for homology between the damaged DNA and the sister chromatid. The activity of the recombinases is modulated by a number of accessory proteins. We utilize a combination of molecular biological and biochemical techniques to determine the role these accessory proteins have in the modulation of RAD51 and DMC1 recombinase activity. The results of our studies will provide insight into the mechanistic underpinnings of HR and genome maintenance. Team LeadersMichael Sehorn Genetics and Biochemistry |
| 1053 | Drinking Water Quality Students work to evaluate drinking water quality in the state of South Carolina. They test private wells, municipal water systems, and ambient source water for contaminants like E-coli and nitrate. They also measure general water quality parameters like pH, conductivity, hardness, alkalinity, and temperature. Team LeadersDavid Ladner Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences |
| 1048 | The Phoenix Challenge The Phoenix Challenge Creative Inquiry gives students the chance to create packaging for several products during all stages of the development to final execution, while competing with peers from other schools. This project serves as the structure in which students prepare for The Phoenix Challenge Competition, a competition held between more than dozen universities across North America. Educators from the different universities come together to choose a design brief posing a new problem within the field and students spend a year creating a product that meets the guidelines. Past examples include designing, prototyping and printing packaging for snack foods, golf products, hotel toiletries and coffee. Each year the team creates packaging solutions for several products that will be used and distributed by a small business. This has posed an additional learning experience as the team meets expectations and deadlines from a customer and works in collaboration with industry professionals outside of Clemson. Students are fully self-directed in the process—they conduct background and market research, come up with the design, organize prepress and layout, print and perform finishing details, all while communicating with the company. All products are produced by the students enrolled in the CI within the GC labs on donated equipment with donated materials. The initial quantity of the products are small and are intended to allow the small business to use the packaging while waiting for a true production run with a commercial printing company. In past years, the quantities produced by the students were was sufficient because it was for an event such as Springfest, the Tigers-4-Tigers run and the Greenville Zoo Kids Day Out Event. Team LeadersNona Woolbright Department of Graphic Communications |
| 1044 | Japanese stiltgrass invasion in a multi-use forest: patterns, mechanisms and perceptions Introduction to invasion ecology research, with emphasis on Japanese stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum) invasion in “multiple-use” forest landscapes. The Clemson Experimental Forest (CEF) will be used for field sites for a project that assesses if recreational trails and trailheads facilitate Japanese stiltgrass invasion. Team LeadersDonald Hagan Forestry and Environmental Conservation |
| 1036 | Metabolism in the Human Parasite Entamoeba Histolytica Entamoeba histolytica is a human pathogen that causes dysentery in ~90 million people each year. This disease is spread through ingestion of contaminated water or food, primarily in developing countries in areas that lack adequate sanitation and/or are overcrowded. Entamoeba is found in the environment as a resistant cyst that is shed by an infected person. Ingested cysts will survive the harsh stomach environment to become the motile amoeba form in the small intestine. These amoebas then move to large intestine to colonize and new cysts can form to be shed to the environment to allow the infection process to continue. Entamoeba infection can be treated; however, only ~10% of those infected develop symptomatic disease. Thus, there may be between 500 million and 1 billion people who are asymptomatic carriers of the disease who may not be receiving treatment, leading to Entamoeba’s persistence in the environment. Our research investigates how Entamoeba grows and thrives in the human body. Entamoeba colonizes the large intestine, which is a nutrient-poor environment since most of the nutrients from the food we eat has already been absorbed in the small intestine. We are examining what other nutrients Entamoeba can use for growth and how it interacts with the large intestine and the bacteria present there. This research is expected to help us understand how colonization in the large intestine occurs and helps this disease persist. Team LeadersCheryl Ingram-Smith Genetics and Biochemistry |
| 1031 | Biological and Evolutionary Approaches to Consumer Psychology In this project we will weave together themes of gift-giving, sexual economics and marketing to study the evolutionary underpinnings of gift giving. It is being done in concert with former lab members (who are now graduate students) as well. Team LeadersT. Andrew Poehlman Department of Marketing |
| 1028 | Development of Novel Antifungals A number of drugs are inhibitors of antimicrobial growth. We have identified medicinal leads that are active antifungals and also inhibit bacterial growth. Using chemical and biochemical techniques, this project will explore how we can tailor the chemical structures of these leads to develop better drugs. Team LeadersDev Arya Chemistry |
| 1018 | Video Game Development for Fun Learning of Distributed Dynamical Systems This project aims at the development of a car racing video game which can enhance the student learning experience of distributed dynamical systems and intelligent transportation. The project will be built upon existing work which already realized a sophisticated vehicle simulator, a game framework, and graphics engine. Students will be focused on developing an interface between existing work and intelligent transportation systems. The game development itself will be a fun learning process. Knowledge of Linux and C++/C is required. No knowledge of distributed dynamical systems is needed. Team LeadersYongqiang Wang Electrical and Computer Engineering |
| 1016 | Martian and Lunar Soil Simulants - Characterizations and Feasibility as Building Materials In-situ resource utilization is a critical component of NASA’s current and future Mars and Lunar exploration missions. This CI project aims to characterize Martian and Lunar regolith and to explore innovative and sustainable processes to transform in situ Martian and Lunar sources into construction materials. Team LeadersQiushi Chen Civil EngineeringZakia Tasnim Civil Engineering |
| 1006 | Contemporary Art & Practice Contemporary Art & Practice is a Departmental Creative Inquiry two-semester sequence consisting of ART 4730, and then ART 4750. Visual Arts Majors seeking the Bachelors of Fine Arts (BFA) Degree begin this Creative Inquiry two semesters from graduation such that their final exhibition in the Lee Gallery coincides with their enrollment in ART 4750. Contemporary Art & Practice CI students will explore historical and theoretical issues to gain critical perspectives on Art, visit and study current exhibitions in galleries in museums in New York City, gain professional experience, and share their studio research in an exhibition in the Lee Gallery. Team LeadersJoey Manson ArtDenise C Woodward-Detrich Art |
| 965 | Montana Prairie Ecology This Creative Inquiry is part of an undergraduate summer program that exposes Clemson students to the biodiversity and working landscape of the Great Plains through directed research experiences. Students will spend the spring semester learning about the ecosystem, developing research questions and preparing for the summer when they will travel to Montana. In the fall, the project will focus on analyzing resulting data. More information on the project and how to apply can be found at: http://prairieecology.blogspot.com/ Team LeadersDavid Jachowski Forestry and Environmental ConservationKeifer Titus Forestry and Environmental Conservation |
| 962 | Robot Networks The technological development of the last decade in robots, computing and communications has led to envisage the design of robotic and automation systems consisting of networked vehicles, sensors, actuators and communication devices. These developments enable researchers and engineers to design new robotic systems that can interact with human beings and other robots in a cooperative way. Applications span surveillance/monitoring, manufacturing, intelligent vehicles, exploration, and many others. In this project, we will explore some basics of robot networks and build robotic cooperation using several intelligent ground robots available in the lab. No knowledge of distributed dynamical systems or robotics is needed. Team LeadersYongqiang Wang Electrical and Computer Engineering |
| 960 | Campus Suicide Prevention This project focuses on campuswide suicide prevention as part of Clemson's Tigers Together to Stop Suicide initiative (www.clemson.edu/suicideprevention). Team leaders are affiliated with Healthy Campus and the Psychology Department. Students will conduct research and advocacy activities related to suicide prevention, including reviews of evidence-based prevention strategies, implementation of social marketing campaigns, hosting activities for National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and leading the Clemson Out of the Darkness Walk. Students will partner with organizations both on and off campus, including student organizations, non-profits, and university administrative units, to implement comprehensive strategies to address risk and protective factors for mental health concerns among Clemson students. Students will engage in program evaluation and related research activities to identify evidence-based strategies for implementation, evaluate the efficacy of Clemson's programmatic activities, and present findings that inform policy and practice in both the Clemson and broader academic communities. Team LeadersDelana Reynolds Student Health CenterHeidi Zinzow Psychology Jennifer Goree Student Health Center |
| 958 | Camera Traps in Animal Ecology This project is designed to train undergraduate students to design, carryout and report on investigations into animal ecology through the use of remote camera trapping technology. Specifically, students will utilize camera traps to collect scientific data on the location of animal species, then work with the mentors to analyze the data and report findings. Students will be expected to be involved with the entire scientific process from building hypotheses to writing and presenting findings at professional meetings. Team LeadersDavid Jachowski Forestry and Environmental ConservationMichael Muthersbaugh Forestry and Environmental Conservation |
| 956 | Economics of Crime and Punishment in South Carolina, 1900 - present The project will investigate the use of the death penalty in South Carolina in the early twentieth century. South Carolina executed about five prisoners each year between 1900 and 1920, most of whom were poor black laborer and farmers. Students will contribute to the creation of a substantial database of death-eligible defendants to understand who was executed and why. Team LeadersHoward Bodenhorn John E. Walker Department of Economics |
| 944 | Perception & Action: Studies in Virtual Reality, Haptic Surgical Simulation, Robotics, and Affordances Students will assist in conducting experimental research in one of a number of ongoing projects involving visual perception in virtual reality, touch and muscle perception in a laparoscopic surgery simulator, tele-operated robotics and/or the perception of “affordances.” Affordances are the things that can be done with the surfaces of the environment, such as whether an area on the floor is "step-over-able" or whether the width of a doorway is "pass-through-able." In a series of experiments we will investigate the accuracy of perceptual judgments pertaining to a variety of affordance behaviors, such stepping over, jumping over, passing through, whether or not an object is reachable, whether or not a short incline is stand-on-able, etc. Team LeadersChristopher Pagano PsychologyHannah Solini Psychology Balagopal Raveendranath Psychology |
| 2235 | Prenatal and Postpartum Anxiety and Chronic Illness Management This project examines the experiences of pregnant and postpartum women with chronic illness, with a particular focus on anxiety. A lot of attention has been given to postpartum depression but anxiety is often comorbid and more prevalent than depression in this population. Chronic health conditions exacerbate anxiety and this population is particularly vulnerable to the impact of anxiety and other barriers on health outcomes and disease management. Prenatal and postpartum management of chronic illness and adherence will also be examined as well as interventions that address barriers to care. Team LeadersAnna Baker Psychology |
| 2241 | Determination of the Microbial Population Prevalent in the Prisma Health's Ambulance Service System and the Assessment of Disinfection Practices for their Effective Eradication The emergency medical services (EMS) system is an integral component of the healthcare system and provides a point of entry for patients into the hospital protocol. The EMS personnel and equipment transport patients from various locations to and between healthcare facilities. Due to the nature and function of EMS, there is a high risk for personnel and equipment to come into contact with and transmit healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). Proper cleaning and disinfection of the ambulance and equipment are essential to reduce the bioburden prior to their return to service. Prisma Health Ambulance Service has a standard process and solution for disinfection. Furthermore, the microbiome associated with individual hospitals and ambulance service routes may be diverse and with varied susceptibility to disinfection practices utilized. This proposed study aims to identify the microbial population prevalent in specific hospitals and EMS services and to review and develop improved effective disinfection practices for their eradication. Team LeadersTzuen-Rong J Tzeng Biological Sciences |
| 2239 | Automotive Security and Privacy Modern vehicles are getting increasingly connected. Together with more automotive electronics and wireless interfaces, the number of possible attack surfaces increases, raising security concerns. Attacks on cars can have multiple implications, ranging from financial incentives or damage to the compromise of human safety.In-vehicle infotainment (IVI) platforms are a major component of each passenger car. Besides car manufacturer (OEM) apps and services, the next generation of IVI platforms are expected to offer integration of third-party apps. To accommodate this trend, Google has been pushing towards standardization among proprietary IVI operating systems with their Android Automotive platform. Android Automotive will have access to the in-vehicle network (IVN), allowing read/write access from/to the IVN. This increased connectivity opens new business opportunities for both the car manufacturer as well as third-party businesses, but also introduces a new attack surface on the vehicle. Therefore, Android Automotive must have a secure system architecture to prevent any potential attacks that might compromise the security and privacy of the vehicle and the driver. In particular, malicious third-party entities could remotely compromise a vehicle’s functionalities and impact the vehicle safety, causing financial and operational damage to the vehicle, as well as compromise the driver’s privacy and safety.This CI project is designed to introduce students to the field of Android Automotive from a security and privacy perspective, and teach students to conduct cutting-edge research on this novel research topic. Furthermore, this course will also prepare students to understand automotive security and privacy in general, as well as open new career opportunities in automotive and security companies and academic research. The CI team will identify new vulnerabilities, learn how to write technical reports and responsible disclosures, as well as write peer-reviewed academic papers. Participation in a security workshop or conference is particularly encouraged. Team LeadersMert Pese School of Computing |
| 2244 | Spiritual Psychology How can spiritual organizations attract spiritual employees? Assuming that spiritual employees are a better fit for spiritual organizations, we will seek to understand what aspects of recruitment messaging may help to attract spiritual applicants. In doing this, we will investigate the literature relevant to our topic of research. In this CI project, we will be studying topics such as individual-level spirituality, organizational-level spirituality, person-organization spiritual fit, work attractiveness, workplace wellness, and recruiting spiritual individuals. We will then design an experiment in which some aspects of recruitment messaging are manipulated. Finally, we try to analyze the results and compare them to our research hypotheses. Team LeadersSaeed Andaji Garmaroudi PsychologyCynthia Pury Psychology |
| 2247 | Hog Wild on the Clemson Experimental Forest The project will provide an overview of information, management, and research of wild hogs in the U.S. With the aid of the mentors, students will develop a series of research questions focused on addressing the management of wild hogs on the Clemson Experimental Forest (CUEF). The CUEF will serve as a study area to capture and attach GPS collars to wild hogs. Students will collect and analyze data, interpret results, and present findings to inform management of wild hogs on CUEF. Team LeadersGreg K Yarrow Forestry and Environmental ConservationErin Buchholtz Forestry and Environmental Conservation |
| 2249 | Produce an Exhibit & Short Film: The Distance between Girls and Boys Design, build, and curate a public gallery exhibit that will show in Greenville, Columbia, Charleston, and Clemson and produce a feature short film. The exhibit and film will reveal five years of critical research about the influence of gender on teenagers' use of public space to a broad audience. The research project is about how teenage girls and boys don't see their neighborhoods the same way and how it affects where they go and what they do. Learning about gender issues and teen spaces is important to South Carolinians now more than ever as rapid development across the state has led to dangerous, uncomfortable, and inaccessible places for teens to hang out. By seeing and hearing the often hidden perspectives of teens that have lived through rapid development in India and the Philippines, the public may gain a renewed understanding of the stakes involved if teens' views (especially girls) are not considered in the development process.This CI project will unpack the multi-site, cross-cultural research project and think critically about how and if the results transfer to the context of South Carolina. We will engage in debates about the impacts of the research on social and environmental sustainability and how cities measure sustainable development. Students will work in small teams under the leadership of a graduate student and faculty mentor to co-produce the exhibit materials and complete the installation. Team LeadersLyndsey Deaton School of ArchitectureKhin Htet Architecture Alexander Rosno Architecture |