March 18, 2025

Twelve Drexel undergraduate student and faculty pairs were awarded Undergraduate Research Mini-Grants of up to $1,000 to fund their research endeavors in the Spring Term. These grants support faculty and student collaboration in undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative work at the University while also helping students practice writing applications for funding opportunities. Read about each project below!

Autonomous Navigation of Robot Cars in Mock Smart City
Daniel Chigozirim Agbara, mechanical engineering '25
Lifeng Zhou, PhD, College of Engineering

This project focuses on developing an autonomous navigation system for robot cars within a mock smart city environment, enhancing perception accuracy, control precision, and motion planning. By integrating sensor fusion, machine learning, and PID-based control, we aim to create an adaptive system capable of autonomous navigation.

Shadow Education Literature Review and Research Study
Jordana Benblatt, psychology & health services administration '26
Kristy Kelly, PhD, School of Education

Thus far, we have been reviewing literature to understand the development and usage of shadow education techniques in various areas of the world. With this funding, we can expand this literature review into a research study to learn how students today use supplemental materials to advance their learning.

Autonomous Soil Sampling System
Kelvin Cai, mechanical engineering '28
Lifeng Zhou, PhD, College of Engineering

This project focuses on developing a robotic system that can autonomously collect soil samples with high precision and efficiency. By automating the sampling process, the system will improve soil health monitoring, making it faster, more consistent, and scalable for large agricultural fields.

Microparticle Encapsulation of Small Molecule Drug For Controlled Drug Delivery in Peripheral Arterial Disease
Phoebe Ellin Chua, biomedical engineering '27
Kara L. Spiller, PhD, School of Biomedical Engineering, Science & Health Systems

This project aims to develop a polymer microparticle system for controlled delivery of a small molecule drug to promote blood vessel growth and enhance healing in chronic wounds caused by restricted blood flow.

The Role of HDACs in Regulating Androgen Receptor Activity in Bone-Metastatic Prostate Cancer
Jaden Drumm, biological sciences '27
Alessandro Fatatis, MD, PhD, College of Medicine

The Fatatis lab has demonstrated that there is an inverse relationship between the androgen receptor (AR) and IL-1β, a pro-inflammatory cytokine known to promote prostate cancer bone metastasis. This project has high clinical significance, since targeting AR signaling in prostate cancer patients would unleash the pro-metastatic effects of IL-1β.

Tracker Gen H2O
Jon Lin, mechanical engineering '25
Lifeng Zhou, PhD, College of Engineering

This project aims to develop a portable, semi-autonomous rescue boat equipped with sensors, including a camera, mapping system, and environmental monitors. Designed for disaster response, it can navigate debris-filled waters and tight urban flood zones.

Dynamic Relations Between Self-Injurious Urges, Affect, and Self-Injurious Behaviors Using Structural Equation Modeling
Madeline Navea, psychology '25
Elizabeth Velkoff, PhD, College of Arts and Sciences

Self-injurious urges (SIUs) and affect are two of the strongest predictors for self-injurious behaviors (SIBs), yet only certain characteristics of SIUs predict SIBs, and little is known about their momentary relationship. The current study will investigate the temporal, momentary relations between SIUs, affect, and SIBs, such that we hypothesize 1) certain SIU characteristics will increase the likelihood of engaging in SIBs at several later time points and 2) SIUs (t+2) will have an indirect effect on the relationship between affect (t+1) and SIBs (t+3).

Robust and Risk-Aware Planning for Autonomous Vehicles in Smart Cities
Gary Pham, computer science '25
Lifeng Zhou, PhD, College of Engineering

This project aims to build a reliable and risk-aware smart city simulation to aid in the testing and advancement of autonomous vehicles (AVs). We are addressing challenges AVs face in urban environments, such as adverse weather and malicious attacks that can compromise perception systems. This project is particularly relevant to “smart intersections” that are powered by AI to evaluate how pedestrians, bicyclists, and other vehicles interact and intelligently manage traffic.

Geospatial Heterogeneity in U.S. Inflation After the COVID-19 Pandemic
Nihar Shah, economics and data science '28
André Kurmann, PhD, School of Economics, LeBow College of Business

This research project aims to construct price indices for various consumer goods at the county level to analyze the extent of geospatial heterogeneity in U.S. inflation after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Spatial Memory in Athletes and Nonathletes
Sarah Sikder, health sciences '26
Alexa Tompary, PhD, College of Arts and Sciences

This research project examines the relationship between sports participation and spatial memory, exploring whether athletes exhibit better spatial memory skills compared to nonathletes and whether differences emerge between team and individual sport athletes. Using cognitive memory tasks, this study investigates potential benefits associated with athletic experience and spatial memory to improve training methods and encourage sports participation. 

Design and Application of VLMs in Drone Target Tracking
John Tran, computer engineering '27
Lifeng Zhou, PhD, College of Engineering

This project will use Visual Language Models (VLMs) to detect and track ground targets by leveraging their general-purpose intelligence and situational awareness, enabling them to adapt to various contexts and generate effective tracking strategies. Their multimodal understanding allows them to process visual and textual data, making them versatile for dynamic environments.

Next Generation Blood Pump for Children with Heart Failure
Emily Woodland, BS/MS biomedical engineering '27
Amy Throckmorton, PhD, School of Biomedical Engineering, Science, and Health Systems

This project aims to design and prototype the next-generation Drexel Dragon Heart (DH8) centrifugal blood pump, focusing on reducing size and optimizing pump geometry to minimize fluid stress and maximize pressure generation, supported by in-silico modeling and in-vitro hydraulic testing.

Undergraduate Research Mini-Grants are offered twice annually. Applications open in the Fall Term to support work undertaken the following Winter Term and in the Winter Term to support work undertaken the following Spring Term. More information can be found on our Undergraduate Research Mini-Grants page.