From clean water to cancer: Undergrads serious about research

From clean water to cancer
Undergrads serious about research

BY PATRICK KURP
Special to the Rice News

Rice undergraduates are becoming increasingly aware that engineering success begins in the lab. The independent learning that occurs in a research project is exactly the kind of learning that will be expected of them after graduation.

”Much of the information learned in students’ undergraduate career will be out of date within five years,” said Bart Sinclair, associate dean of the George R. Brown School of Engineering. ”To be productive, they will have to continue learning throughout their careers.” Research, he said, is the best preparation for self-directed, lifelong learning,

About 65 percent of Rice engineering students have participated in research by the time they graduate, a number that is on the rise. Small classes and accessible faculty make it easier for undergraduates to join investigative teams at Rice than it is at most other universities. Programs such as the Brown Undergraduate Research Internship Program offer myriad opportunities. ”If you are proactive and seek help from professors, the options are there for you,” said senior Laura Campo.
 
Adam Stubblefield, a 2002 Rice graduate, who is now assistant research professor in computer science at Johns Hopkins University, attestted to the value of research for students heading for graduate school. As an undergraduate, Stubblefield investigated computer security systems and had several published papers under his belt by the time he applied to graduate school. He now evaluates applications. ”We select either someone who has a faculty recommendation attesting to research experience or someone we have seen present a research paper at a conference.”

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Research often helps students identify a career path. Sinclair’s own undergraduate research at Rice —helping build and debug a computer — clarified his goals. ”After that experience, I was a die-hard computer engineer.”

Clean water

A mechanical engineering major, senior Candace Marbury became interested in water purification systems while working in Mexico with Engineers Without Borders. Now she is helping create a computer model to make water filtration more cost-efficient.

”We’re modeling the impact of contaminants on membranes as they filter water to predict and ultimately prevent early fouling of the membrane,” Marbury explained. ”This will enable municipalities to develop pre- or post-treatment methods to prolong the life of the costly filters.” The project, under Qilin Li, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, would benefit communities that rely heavily on filtration for their fresh water supply.

Mapping cancer

Even before he entered Rice, Mitchell Koch used his programming skills to do research into new cancer therapies. Now a freshman who plans to major in electrical and computer engineering, Koch has worked the last two summers with Devika Subramanian, professor of computer science and electrical and computer engineering, to computationally analyze gene expression data from cancer patients to discover how cell malfunctions arise.

”We are designing algorithms to computationally reconstruct signaling networks in cancer cells from gene expression data, as well as available proteomic and genomic data,” Koch said. ”By comparing these networks in cancer cells to those in normal cells, we are looking for clues as to what type of drugs could combat cell malfunctions.” The project is a joint endeavor with Bradley Broom and Prahlad Ram of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Water filtration

After delving into fluid mechanics research, Laura Campo, a senior in mechanical engineering, is now planning a research career. Directed by Brent Houchens, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, Campo studies particle accumulation to improve water filtration systems.

Campo works on a computational model of flux decline in cross-flow filtration based on solution properties, water pressure and the geometry of the system. ”By modeling on the computer, we can predict for conditions you can’t run in the lab,” Campo explained. ”We should be able to figure out the optimum parameters to minimize membrane fouling.”

She added that this research has impacted her planned career path. ”I wasn’t sure I wanted to do research, but now I’d like to teach and do more research in this same area.”

Risk analysis

How do religious tensions in the Mideast or instability in West Africa affect global markets? Statistics major Caroline Nganga hopes to apply statistical formulas to such weighty questions.

”We compare political risks and market data to study the effects of political risk on extreme portfolio outcomes,” said Nganga, a native of Kenya  “The markets in certain countries will respond differently to different indicators of risk, The sophomore is using her programming background to tackle this project, led by graduate student Lada Kyj and Katherine Ensor, professor of statistics. ”I can definitely see how I can apply this to economic conditions in my country,,” Nganga said.

Sensor networks

Ryan Stinnett envisions intelligent networks of wireless sensors helping firefighters, monitoring soldiers in the field and detecting industrial gas leaks. Those are a few of the applications for the networking software he is helping develop under Richard Baraniuk, the Victor E. Cameron Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. An electrical engineering major, the senior writes code designed to move information efficiently from node to node. ”Many new ideas are only evaluated in simulators, but I’m testing those theories out on the devices themselves,” he said. Stinnett has become the Rice specialist on this type of programming and recently helped write a paper with faculty and graduate students.

Pure math

Walter Kelm may end up working on real-life engineering problems and applications, but this past summer he was content to delve into the world of pure mathematics. Kelm, a junior, participated in a study of the mathematical basis of the behavior of musical instrument strings, led by Professor Steven Cox and Associate Professor Mark Embree in the Department of Computational and Applied Mathematics. Kelm worked on solving a partial differential equation developed to describe string vibrations in a magnetic field.

”This specific problem doesn’t have very many real-world, practical applications, but it is cutting-edge research for mathematics, said Kelm. ”This equation has never been fully solved or fully understood.”

Treating cancer

Neha Kamat is already a three-year veteran of research at Rice. As a freshman, she studied the ability of nanoshells to absorb near infrared light from lasers and emit heat, thereby destroying cancerous tumors without damaging healthy tissue. The recipient of the Beckman scholarship for undergraduate research, she now works on a project of her own under Jennifer West, the Isabel C. Cameron Professor of Bioengineering. Kamat is investigating whether nanoshells could break through the blood-brain barrier to treat brain tumors.

”Most drugs and nanoparticles can’t get through the barrier, and radiation can kill healthy tissue,” she said. ”I’m trying to make nanoshells mimic a natural protein to see if they can be transported through the barrier.”

Fighting leukemia

Two years ago, Laura Timmerman was a history major. Now she peers into a microscope, building a device that will equip white blood cells to fight leukemia. After taking an introductory chemical engineering course, Timmerman joined a project under Sibani Lisa Biswal, assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering.

”We can put new RNA in white cells and make them active against cancer,” Timmerman explained. So she is building a tube the diameter of a strand of hair that can handle cell transport and the placement of RNA into cell membranes.

”I wasn’t expecting so much responsibility,” she said. She had never considered attending graduate school or entering the medical field, but she now plans to do both.