Summer Research Program

Department:
Astronomy

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Black holes and theoretical astrophysics

About the lab:
Using software visualization tools to study computer simulations of matter falling into black holes.

Prerequisites:
Some basic computing skills and programing experience would be useful.  Experience with python is a plus but not essential.

Specific project(s) available:
N/A

Web site:
http://people.virginia.edu/~swd8g/

Department:
CDL - ALMA Operations - NRAO

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Software Development

About the lab:
"The student shall create, document, and demonstrate a reusable plotting library based on plot.ly. The interface to this library will be robust and well documented to allow its use by a large number of other web-based software at the CDL.
Documentation will include a software requirements document and a software user manual using the CDL’s template documents as the foundation for these documents. A viewgraph presentation will be created to compare the advantages of using javascript and python as the software language. The student will also learn to use git for version control and eclipse for the integrated development environment.
Once the software is ready for testing, the student will work with cryostat hardware to record and plot temperatures using the plotting library they have written.”

Prerequisites:
N/A

Specific project(s) available:
N/A

Web site:
http://www.cv.nrao.edu/

Department:
Astronomy

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Near-field cosmology, galaxy evolution

About the lab:
Current topics in galaxy evolution; how galaxies like the Milky Way grow and evolve over time and the structure of the dark matter halo of our galaxy.

Prerequisites:
Some familiarity with basic computing skills, e.g., python notebooks is preferred but the projects will be self-contained

Specific project(s) available:
N/A

Web site:
http://astronomy.as.virginia.edu/research/near-field-cosmology

CDL - ALMA Operations – NRAO

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Software Development

About the lab:
"The student shall design and build new software to operate the ALMA Cartridge Bias Module test set:
• Using a rigorous software engineering approach including requirements analysis, development and test milestones, design documentation, and user documentation.
• Take into account comments received from the previous and current users of the test set for developing requirements."

Prerequisites:
Target Python or LabVIEW. Python preferred but would need first to investigate whether the test set hardware is supported by available Python libraries

Specific project(s) available:
N/A

Web site:
http://www.cv.nrao.edu/

Department:
National Radio Astronomy Observatory Headquarters and Central Development Lab

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Engineering, Electrical

About the lab:
"Developing a simple demonstration L-Band (~ 1.4 GHz) radiometer receiver with enough sensitivity to measure the cosmic microwave background noise by making measurements to record received noise/signal strength on the sky at multiple elevation angles (tipping measurements).
The project is divided into several student-based tasks which will be executed sequentially as multiple sub-projects. During the first phase, the student would work to understand the principle of measurement, establish the required receiver sensitivity, and translate that into requirements for the receive horn/antenna, the low noise amplifier, and a detector. If time permits, this phase will include the design and construct these components. During the second phase, the components will be completed, tested, and integrated into a receiver which will then be evaluated for its performance (sensitivity and stability). Finally, this receiver will be used to perform tipping measurements on the sky and the data used to estimate the value of the cosmic background radiation.
There is a Scientific Atlanta 10-meter diameter steerable parabolic antenna located on the grounds of the University of Virginia which is being recommissioned as a radio science and engineering instrument for education and outreach activities. When available, the receiver constructed as a result of this project could be commissioned (with suitable modifications) on this dish as a future project.”

Prerequisites:
Basic mathematical and analytical skills, knowledge of electronics circuits. Having taken some RF and microwave courses shall be a plus.

Specific project(s) available:
N/A

Web site:
http://www.cv.nrao.edu/

Department:
Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Microbiology and Infectious Diseases

About the lab:
The Criss lab investigates how Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the bacterium that causes gonorrhea, avoids killing by the human immune system. We have found that this bacterium expresses gene products that allow it to withstand the antimicrobial proteins neutrophils make, and also manipulates neutrophils to prevent them from releasing these proteins. For these studies, we purify neutrophils from human blood and incubate them with wild-type or mutant N. gonorrhoeae. We measure different parameters over time, including bacterial survival (by colony count and immunofluorescence microscopy), neutrophil binding and phagocytosis of the bacteria (by imaging flow cytometry and microscopy), and neutrophil activation (by flow cytometry, biochemistry, and immunofluorescence microscopy). Based on a genetic screen we previously performed, we have a list of candidate genes in N. gonorrhoeae that contribute to bacterial survival.
For a summer project, one or a few genes can be cloned, mutated in vitro, reintroduced into N. gonorrhoeae, and the resulting mutants confirmed. The mutants can then be tested for their survival after neutrophil challenge. This project will include standard molecular biology techniques (PCR, cloning, transformation, restriction digest and ligation, DNA sequence analysis) as well as learning to grow N. gonorrhoeae and E. coli and to purify human neutrophils. This work is carried out at Biosafety Level 2.

Prerequisites:
N/A

Specific project(s) available:
N/A

Website:
http://mic.med.virginia.edu/criss/

Department:
Biology

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Functional Genomics

About the lab:
Plant genetic engineering; gene expression analysis; bioinformatics/p>

Prerequisites:
Cell and or molecular biology; biochemistry

Specific project(s) available:
Overexpression and silencing of parasite effectors/targets in transgenic plants; use of artificial miRNAs and or CRISPR/Cas9 editing

Web site:
N/A

Department:
Chemistry

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Biophysical Chemistry

About the lab:
"The main goal of our research is to determine how individual bacterial cells act and interact with others in tissue-like bacterial communities called biofilms. Biofilms are the natural environment for terrestrial bacteria and constitute a major component of bacterial biomass on earth. Despite the importance of biofilms for the biogeochemistry of our planet and the biochemistry of higher living organisms, the behavioral phenotypes of individual cells in biofilms remain unknown. A critical barrier to progress has been the inability to resolve micrometer-sized bacterial cells in thick (>5-100 µm) bacterial biofilms in a non-invasive manner. We have overcome this barrier by building a new super-resolution fluorescence microscope that is able to resolve individual bacterial cells in living biofilms.
Summer research students in the lab will use this microscope to help us investigate how bacteria assemble and function together as a population in different physical and chemical environments. Such information is essential for understanding synergistic or antagonistic interactions among different cell types and different species. The results of this work will help inform new strategies for controlling biofilm growth in industrial, medical, and agricultural settings and for harnessing the diverse metabolic potential of the microbial world in new biotechnological applications. "

Prerequisites:
We are looking for driven students with a willingness to learn. Interested students should have completed introductory biology, chemistry, and physics courses.

Specific project(s) available:
Grow biofilms under different conditions, perform super-resolution microscopy experiments, construct mutant bacterial strains for imaging.

Web site:
http://www.gahlmannlab.com/

Department:
Chemistry

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Chemical Biology

About the lab:
Develop new chemical probes to understand how fat signaling is regulated in cells and animals.

Prerequisites:
Biochemistry, Organic Chemistry, Biology

Specific project(s) available:
N/A

Web site:
http://hsulab.com/

Department:
Chemistry

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Energy and Inorganic Chemistry

About the lab:
Energy Related Catalysis, Synthesis, Characterization

Prerequisites:
Organic Chemistry, Chemistry Lab

Specific project(s) available:
N/A

Web site:
http://machangroup.virginia.edu/

Department:
Chemistry

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Nanoscience, Energy, Catalysis

About the lab:
My lab is focused on developing novel nanostructured materials for efficient energy conversion technologies, such as nanocatalysts for fuel cells, electrode nanomaterials for batteries and supercapacitors, and plasmonic materials.

Prerequisites:
General Chemistry

Specific project(s) available:
N/A

Web site:
http://zhanglab.as.virginia.edu/

Department:
Engineering/Systems and Information Engineering

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Smart and Connected Health/Mobile Sensing Systems

About the lab:
Data collection and analysis on smartphone and wearable sensor data streams to understand health, design of mobile sensing systems for health and wellness.

Prerequisites:
Some programming experience and/or probability and statistics.

Specific project(s) available:
Design of mobile health solutions for understanding and treating mental health disorders.

Web site:
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=h-Lr0bQAAAAJ&hl=en

Department:
Chemical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Biomaterials, Tissue Engineering, Mechanobiology

About the lab:
The Caliari Lab designs, synthesizes, and characterizes new biomaterials to explore the dynamic interplay between cells and their microenvironment, applying these platforms to address fundamental human health challenges in understanding disease and engineering tissues. Undergraduate researchers will become familiar with the literature as well as experimental techniques including polymer engineering, mechanical characterization of materials, cell culture, and microscopy.

Prerequisites:
N/A

Specific project(s) available:
N/A

Web site:
http://faculty.virginia.edu/caliari/index.html

Department:
Chemical Engineering

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Materials for solar cells

About the lab:
Perform synthesis and characterization of materials for next generation solar cells.

Prerequisites:
General chemistry laboratory course

Specific project(s) available:
N/A

Web site:
http://faculty.virginia.edu/choi/index.html

Department:
Civil and Environmental Engineering

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Water Resources Engineering

About the lab:
Our lab focuses on water resource systems. Much of our work is on better understanding and predicting flooding events. Students use geographic information systems and computer simulation models in our lab.

Prerequisites:
General computer skills, willingness to work with GIS software and learn new computer software and tools.

Specific project(s) available:
N/A

Web site:
https://engineering.virginia.edu/faculty/jonathan-l-goodall

Department:
Biomedical Engineering

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Neuroimaging

About the lab:
The admitted applicant will be working with a team of junior and senior PhD students to apply our state-of-the-art light microscopy technique and self-developed analytical tools to understand cerebrovascular dysfunction in important brain diseases, including ischemic stroke, traumatic brain injury and Alzheimer's disease.

Prerequisites:
MATLAB

Specific project(s) available:
We have multiple potential projects. The choice of a specific one is open to discussion.

Web site:
http://bme.virginia.edu/hu/

Department:
Materials Science and Engineering

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Corrosion of metals

About the lab:
We are trying to (1) understand the chemical and physical processes that control the degradation of materials in environments, (2) characterize the rate of damage in its different forms and develop accelerated tests, (3) develop scientific and engineering models to predict damage that can applied to actual structures in service.

Prerequisites:
The student will work in the laboratory with chemical and electrochemical methods in collaboration with a graduate student and another undergraduate. Students will prepare test samples, run tests, analyze results and present those results. ALL skills will be taught by our group members.

Specific project(s) available:
Corrosion of additively manufactured stainless steels

Web site:
https://engineering.virginia.edu/faculty/robert-g-kelly

Department:
Chemical Engineering

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Energy Storage Materials and Batteries

About the lab:
We are working on new materials and electrode designs for batteries and other energy storage devices. We are focused on synthesis, fabrication, characterization, and/or evaluation of battery materials.

Prerequisites:
Students need to be comfortable in a chemical lab environment. Some computer skills and computational analysis would be helpful. Completion of a college-level chemistry laboratory course required. Completion of introductory engineering coursework would also be helpful.

Specific project(s) available:
N/A

Web site:
http://faculty.virginia.edu/koenig/

Department:
Materials Science and Engineering

Area of research and sub-discipline:
High Temperature Materials for Extreme Enviroments

About the lab:
Our goal is to understand how materials will perform in high temperature reactive environments. We expose materials in high temperature furnaces (800-2000C), measure weight change, perform electron microscopy to understand degradation reactions that have occurred, use theory to predict their lifetimes, and design better high temperature materials.

Prerequisites:
Introduction to materials science preferred, undergraduate chemistry required.

Specific project(s) available:
Oxidation and corrosion of high temperature alloys, ceramics, or coatings for air plane engines, shipboard engines, or thermal protection systems for hypersonic vehicles.

Web site:
http://www.virginia.edu/ms/research/opila/

Department:
Electrical Engineering / Medicine

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Microfluidic/nano-devices for precision medicine

About the lab:
Students interested in biomedical imaging, circuits and devices (See https://engineering.virginia.edu/faculty/nathan-swami for details).

Prerequisites:
Any one of the following: image analysis, circuit design ad cell culture.

Specific project(s) available:
Microfluidic cell culture, Mitochondrial image analysis

Web site:
https://engineering.virginia.edu/faculty/nathan-swami; https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=iS12HRMAAAAJ&hl=en

Department:
Environmental Sciences

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Ecology and Remote Sensing

About the lab:
Drone-based remote sensing of forests and plants; Measure photosynthesis using a gas-exchange system.

Prerequisites:
Intro to ecology

Specific project(s) available:
N/A

Web site:
http://ecors.evsc.virginia.edu/

Department:
Psychology (Neuroscience)

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Behavioral and Sensory Neuroscience

About the lab:
Undergraduate students in my lab participate in a number of different projects, using behavioral, functional, and anatomical methods to study how songbirds learn to hear the structure in song so they can imitate it and communicate with other birds.

Prerequisites:
A strong background in biology and/or computer skills is preferred.

Specific project(s) available:
N/A

Web site:
http://meliza.org/

Department:
Physics

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Condensed Matter and Materials Physics

About the lab:
In our lab, we grow materials that have the potential to be used in applications such as in spintronic and electronic devices.
The research involves the characterization of thermodynamic properties under electric and magnetic fields, pressure and strain, and determination of their atomic and magnetic structures using X-rays and neutron techniques.

Prerequisites:
The student may either be a Physics major or an Engineering major. Useful if the student has been exposed to quantum and classical mechanics.

Specific project(s) available:
The student will be involved in materials synthesis and characterization. She/he will be exposed to various techniques for synthesis i.e. solid state, sol gel, bridge man method, and will be trained in X-ray diffraction and analysis.

Web site:
http://www.phys.virginia.edu/People/personal.asp?UID=dl4f

Department:
Physics

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Experimental particle physics

About the lab:
My research focuses on analyzing the data collected by the CMS experiment operating at the Large Hadron Collider, looking for evidence of new forms of matter.

Prerequisites:
Primary requirement is curiosity about how the universe works. Completion of introductory physics sequence for physics majors and familiarity with computer programming -- being able to program in C or python -- are both essential. Familiarity with Linux is valuable. Using data analysis software package like ROOT is valuable.

Specific project(s) available:
Performing a search for Higgs boson production using simulated CMS data samples.

Web site:
http://galileo.phys.virginia.edu/~ccn4g/

Department:
Physics

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Quantum optics and quantum computing

About the lab:
Depending on preparation, projects are very flexible and cover a wide range, from experimental research in optics and/or electronics (in the service of our research in quantum optics and quantum computing) to theoretical research in quantum computing

Prerequisites:
Knowledge of intro physics is expected. Advanced physics (eg, quantum) a plus but not required!

Specific project(s) available:
We constantly have evolving projects: examples are servo control loop of lasers, temperature controls, optoelectronics by amplitude and phase/frequency modulation, quantum (photon-number) detection, laser propagation in nonlinear crystals, advanced knowledge of optics, electronics, or laser physics a plus but not required.

Web site:
http://faculty.virginia.edu/quantum/