How to Use Machine Learning to Automate Aligning Optical Components in Experiments
Mentors Project Description The goal of this project is to develop a machine learning-based approach for automated laser beam alignment using mirrors. By leveraging optical simulations, we aim to train algorithms that can optimize mirror adjustments to achieve precise beam positioning. This project will explore various ML techniques, such as reinforcement learning and gradient-based optimization […]
Integrated Sensing for a Soft Robot used in Minimally Invasive Procedures
Mentors Project Description Soft robots have shown promise as guiding systems for procedures inside the beating heart. One particular robot, the Stacked Balloon Actuator (SBA), has been used to delivery pacemaker leads inside in-vivo models though a minimally invasive approach. While the performance of this system has shown great promise, there is much work to […]
Designing a Soft Bioinspired Grasper for Underwater Manipulation
Mentors Project Description The Morphable Biorobotics Lab at Boston University is developing a bioinspired soft underwater gripper for grasping delicate marine samples. This technology is key to ensuring adaptability in unpredictable environments without inflicting damage to the sample, the environment or the robot itself. This REU project aims to design a soft gripper that encloses […]
Advancing Early Alzheimer’s Detection with Biosensing
Mentors Project Description Our research lab, in Boston University Photonics Center’s Business Innovation Center, is focused on the development of new diagnostic tests to support personalized therapeutic strategies for patients suffering from neurological conditions. Given the increasingly decentralized nature of healthcare and clinical trials, there is a need for easy-to-use, cost-effective remote monitoring tools in […]
Engineering Microenvironment-triggered Self-reporting Immunotherapy
Mentors Project Description Precision medicine has a transformative impact in managing heterogeneous disorders, including cancer, metabolic, and neurological diseases. At the living interface of precision engineering and health, the Hao laboratory develops molecular and cellular tools to precisely track and control disease biology in intact organisms. The specific research interests include (1) noninvasive disease detection […]
Thermocapillary Manipulation of Liquid Optical Waveguides
Mentors Project Description The overall goal of this project is to explore how light can be guided and manipulated inside a thin liquid film, turning it into an optical waveguide with real-time dynamic control over its functionality. If a liquid film is suspended within an immiscible liquid environment, it will maintain uniform and smooth surfaces, […]
Hardware Programming for Nano-Electro-Mechanical Systems
Mentors Project Description The student will conduct background research on hardware programming and will build an all-electrical setup for precision measurement of an electro-mechanical resonator. The student will be provided with relevant hardware and software, including FPGA (field programmable gate arrays) boards, their corresponding IDEs (integrated development environment), and other pieces of electronics. The student […]
Multimaterial 3D Printing of Multifunctional Materials
Mentors Project Description The Additive Assembly Laboratory (AAL) at BU has a variety of active projects that focus on multimaterial 3D printing of multifunctional materials, ranging from 4D printing (3D printing materials that change shape over time in response to a stimulus – time being the fourth axis), 3D printed optics, robots, soft electronics, and […]
Vanessa Moran
Vanessa attends the University of Massachusetts Amherst, majoring in Microbiology with a minor in Spanish. Her time as an REU at Boston University was her first research experience beyond the classroom, and wants to pursue a graduate degree following undergrad. Engineering microenvironment-triggered self-reporting immunotherapy: Vanessa’s project, working alongside Liang Hao in the Hao lab, was […]
Enhancing Cardiac Microbundle Stability for Improved In-Vitro Force Measurement
Mentors Project Description Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, yet breakthroughs in cardiac research remain challenging. Animal models fail to fully replicate human heart physiology, while studying live human hearts is ethically restrictive. Cardiac Microbundles (CMBs), composed of human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) and cardiac fibroblasts (CFs), offer a promising in-vitro […]