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Meet student researchers advancing computing, AI and more

by | Apr 21, 2025 | Features, Students

Shriya Danekar, an undergraduate environmental engineering student in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University, examines dry dirt in a drainage canal. As a participant in the Grand Challenges Scholars Program research stipend initiative, Danekar is one of many students helping to solve real-world problems through use-inspired research. Photographer: Erika Gronek/ASU

This article is part two of a two-part series highlighting student researchers presenting at the Spring 2025 Fulton Forge Student Research Expo on Friday, April 25, 2025. Read part one and learn more about the expo.

Furthering knowledge for water resource management, speeding up machine learning processes, increasing the efficiency of manufacturing point-of-care health diagnostic tools and exploring new uses for emerging computer memory technology are just some of the ways Arizona State University students are addressing real-world challenges through hands-on research.

Undergraduate and graduate students in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at ASU have several opportunities to conduct use-inspired research that has real-world impact. Through individual projects mentored by Fulton Schools faculty members, students apply their classroom knowledge, build new skills and forge meaningful advances in the research themes of data science, education, energy, health, security, semiconductor manufacturing and sustainability.

In the Fulton Undergraduate Research Initiative, also known as FURI, and the Master’s Opportunity for Research in Engineering, or MORE, programs, participants conceptualize ideas, develop plans and investigate research questions during a semester.

Students participating in the Grand Challenges Scholars Program, or GCSP, can apply for additional funding to conduct research through the GCSP research stipend program. Conducting research is one part of the rigorous GCSP competency requirements designed to prepare students to solve the world’s most complex societal challenges.

These three programs enhance students’ ability to innovate, think independently and solve problems in their communities. They also benefit from the technical and soft skills they gain, which prepare them for their careers and the pursuit of advanced degrees.

Each semester, students who participate in FURI, MORE and the GCSP research stipend program are invited to present their findings at the Fulton Forge Student Research Expo. Learn more about four of the researchers participating in the spring 2025 event.

Meet them and more than 200 other student investigators at the Spring 2025 Fulton Forge Student Research Expo, which is open to the public, on Friday, April 25, from 1 to 3 p.m. in the Memorial Union on the ASU Tempe campus.

Shriya Danekar

Shriya Danekar Photographer: Erika Gronek/ASU

Shriya Danekar

Shriya Danekar, an undergraduate environmental engineering student, used her GCSP research stipend to explore her passion for sustainability. Danekar aims to improve the management of the limited water resources in the western U.S. under the supervision of Margaret Garcia, a Fulton Schools associate professor of civil, environmental and sustainable engineering.

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What made you want to get involved in this program? Why did you choose the project you’re working on?

I have always been eager to gain research experience at ASU in the field of sustainability. As an environmental engineering student, I am passionate about exploring different aspects of sustainability, and this research project in hydrology has provided the perfect opportunity to develop my technical skills. I chose this project, “Assessing the Water Scarcity Problem in the Western United States,” because it involves statistical modeling, an essential skill for analyzing environmental data and one that I was eager to strengthen.

How will your engineering research project impact the world?

This project contributes to advancing knowledge in water resource management and assessing the impacts of extreme weather fluctuations on water availability. The goal is to better understand how weather changes affect water scarcity in the western U.S. and provide insights that can help address this critical issue. The findings have broad implications, including improving access to drinking water, informing water policy decisions and enhancing water infrastructure. In an era where sustainable water management is essential, this research plays a vital role in supporting long-term solutions.

How do you see this experience helping with your career and advanced degree goals?

This project directly aligns with the topics I am studying in my environmental engineering degree program while integrating the statistical modeling skills from my data science minor. It provides the perfect opportunity to apply and strengthen my knowledge in both fields while gaining new technical and analytical skills. Beyond the technical aspects, this experience is helping me develop professional and communication skills, making me a more well-rounded engineer and better prepared for my future career or advanced studies.

What is the best advice you’ve gotten from your faculty mentor?

The best advice I have received from my faculty mentor has been technical guidance. With Dr. Garcia’s deep expertise in hydrology and data analysis tools, she has provided invaluable insights that have helped me navigate this field as a newcomer. Dr. Garcia’s support has been instrumental in helping me understand hydrology in the United States, improve my programming skills and grow both academically and professionally.

Why should other students get involved in this program?

FURI and the GCSP research stipend program are an excellent opportunity for undergraduate students to gain hands-on research experience. It introduces them to a wide range of fields within their major or new areas of interest, helping them discover what they might want to pursue in their professional careers. Additionally, the program fosters meaningful connections with faculty mentors and provides a platform to present research in a professional setting and receive valuable feedback from both academia and industry. It is a great way for students to develop technical skills, build their professional networks and gain insight into potential career paths.

Kyle Hu

Kyle Hu Photographer: Erika Gronek/ASU

Kyle Hu

Kyle Hu, a computer science undergraduate student, joined the spring 2025 FURI cohort because he desired to gain experience working with databases and artificial intelligence, or AI, research. Working under his faculty mentor Jia Zou, a Fulton Schools assistant professor of computer science and engineering, Hu is creating new standards for processes in machine learning, a type of AI, to speed up algorithms’ performance and reduce their power consumption.

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What made you want to get involved in this program? Why did you choose the project you’re working on?

I wanted hands-on, database- and AI-related research experience to build upon my programming skills. This project aligned with my interests in database AI optimization and large-scale data processing challenges.

How will your engineering research project impact the world?

My project benchmarks AI inference databases, helping developers optimize performance, improve efficiency and make informed decisions for real-world AI applications to reduce tremendous energy consumption.

Have there been any surprises in your research?

Yes. I’m doing research that is the first of its kind. There is no precedent, as existing benchmarks didn’t fully fulfill real-world inference workloads. I’m innovating a new comprehensive benchmark for the AI era.

How do you see this experience helping with your career or advanced degree goals?

It strengthens my understanding of database systems, programming skills, benchmarking methodologies and performance optimization, preparing me for research or industry roles.

Why should other students get involved in this program?

It provides hands-on research experience, technical growth and mentorship, allowing students to contribute to cutting-edge AI technology and database optimization and more, depending on your field of interest.

Megan Murphy

Megan Murphy Photographer: Erika Gronek/ASU

Megan Murphy

After receiving encouragement from Jennifer Blain, a Fulton Schools electrical engineering professor, biomedical engineering master’s degree student Megan Murphy applied to join MORE. Blain now serves as Murphy’s faculty mentor for her project, in which she investigates how to make the manufacturing process of point-of-care health diagnostic devices more efficient, increasing health care access.

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What made you want to get involved in this program? Why did you choose the project you’re working on?

It was my mentor who encouraged me to look into the MORE program, and I’m so glad she did. I saw that it could provide an opportunity to continue my research with additional resources and support while engaging with a larger research community at ASU. I chose this project because of my interest in point-of-care diagnostic devices and biomedical device manufacturing. This project is a great example of how engineering principles can directly impact health care by improving the design and production of medical devices.

How will your engineering research project impact the world?

Rapid and accurate disease diagnosis is the first step in effective treatment. Point-of-care diagnostics make testing more accessible by providing fast and cost-effective results outside of traditional clinical environments. For example, if you suspect you have COVID-19, the first thing you’ll likely do is take a quick COVID test at home before seeking treatment. My project focuses on automating a critical step in the production of diagnostic chips made in the lab. The goal is to streamline manufacturing to make diagnostics more widely available and ultimately improve health care accessibility.

Have there been any surprises in your research?

One of the biggest surprises I’ve encountered in my research was realizing how small design choices can dramatically impact the performance of my device. This experience has emphasized the importance of precision and continuous refinement in engineering design. It has also taught me to approach design challenges with a more detail-oriented mindset.

How do you see this experience helping with your career and advanced degree goals?

This experience has strengthened my skills in biomedical device manufacturing and process engineering, areas I want to pursue in my career. Through this research, I have gained hands-on experience in prototyping, troubleshooting and optimizing engineering systems, all of which are valuable skills for both industry and academia. Taking a project from concept to implementation has given me a deeper understanding of the design process and is a valuable experience for anyone interested in pursuing engineering.

Why should other students get involved in this program?

Participating in the MORE program has given me the chance to work closely with faculty mentors and collaborate with peers while gaining hands-on research experience. For other master’s degree students looking to get involved in research, this program is a great opportunity to develop relevant skills and contribute to meaningful advancements in their field. Additionally, having the ability to present my research and engage with a broader academic community at ASU has helped with my communication skills and potentially opens doors for future collaborations and career opportunities.

Andrew Rubio

Andrew Rubio Photographer: Erika Gronek/ASU

Andrew Rubio

After gaining research experience and learning about semiconductor devices throughout his time at ASU, electrical engineering undergraduate student Andrew Rubio decided he wanted to participate in FURI to push the boundaries of what’s possible with microelectronics. Rubio works under Ying-Chen “Daphne” Chen, a Fulton Schools assistant professor of electrical engineering, to further understand how a type of memory device known as resistive random access memory, or RRAM, works to unlock new applications for its use.

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What made you want to get involved in this program? Why did you choose the project you’re working on?

Through my involvement in the Semiconductors and Device Research Lab as well as my studies of physical electronics, I’ve had the great opportunity to learn from professors and students who ignited my own passions through theirs. I’ve had the opportunity to explore the work of other researchers and witness what discoveries they have been able to achieve. Though unconfident at first, I began to ask questions that allowed me to apply what I had learned in my studies. With each question I had asked, my mentor as well as fellow students began to encourage me to consider research as a path. Their encouragement gave me a whole new sense of confidence in my abilities as an engineer, which led me to join FURI.

How will your engineering research project impact the world?

My project aims to understand how RRAM, an emerging memory device type, operates. In increasing our knowledge of RRAM, we are able to find new and amazing ways to implement it into the future of integrated circuits, also known as semiconductors or microelectronics. I believe my research project has the potential to consider a whole new way of making computing cost-efficient and sustainable.

How do you see this experience helping with your career and advanced degree goals?

This experience with FURI means a lot to my future in electrical engineering. I’ve found that with each test, discovery and new understandings of my topic have contributed heavily toward my goal to continue research in my professional life. With these experiences, I feel much more ready to tackle additional research that I plan to conduct for my graduate degree.

What is the best advice you’ve gotten from your faculty mentor?

The best advice I’ve received from my faculty mentor is that research is a giant elephant that we can’t see. We see the bigger picture, though we don’t know exactly what the picture of the elephant looks like. It’s okay to feel like we don’t understand everything about the problems we aim to solve. Our job as researchers is to take what we comprehend and share these experiences to create new and innovative understandings of the bigger picture.

Why should other students get involved in this program?

I believe other students should get involved in this program, as it can lead to experiences they never thought would be tangible. It truly allows them to apply what they know while understanding what it’s like to discover something new and exciting. Aside from how intimidating it may appear at first, this program truly has the potential to instill a confidence that all engineers need to succeed.

About The Author

TJ Triolo

TJ Triolo is a marketing and communications project coordinator in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. He's a 2020 graduate of ASU's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. After starting his career in marketing and communications with a car wash company in Arizona, he joined the Fulton Schools communications team in 2022.

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