Mentors: Wendy Johnson

Partner: North Carolina Department of Transportation

Location: Virtual and offsite (NCDOT visits 3-5 p.m. Mondays)

Requirements: Completed MAT-171 with a C grade. Preference is given to students enrolled in MAT-172.

Description: The North Carolina Department of Transportation maintains the second-largest roadway system in the country, and the agency has many engineering units that work together. The Photogrammetry unit uses various technologies to get 3D data, and the Locations and Survey Unit acquires specific locations needed to begin a road design project. Then, the Roadway Design unit uses data to create the road layout, which also brings in the Hydraulics Unit to add to the design to disperse stormwater runoff and keep the road clear for safe travel.

Students partner with these four units to help design a roadway project.

Mentor: Dr. Thusheeta Sivayogan

Partner: Appalachian State University (Dr. Adam McKay)

Location: Virtual

Requirement: Coding knowledge

Description: Comets are "fossils" left over from the formation of the solar system 4.6 billion years ago. This makes them valuable time capsules that can be used to study the solar system's earliest stages. Comets are rich in icy material, making them important for understanding the origin of icy material in the solar system and the delivery of key ices such as water to the early Earth.

Students analyze narrow-band optical imaging of comets, used to determine their level of activity and composition. This research gives students experience in basic astronomical data reduction and photometry (measuring the amount of light observed from astronomical objects), the starting point for any student interested in observational astronomy.

Students should have a background in physics and an interest in astronomy.

Mentor: Melinda Gibbs

Location: Southern Wake Campus

Description: Students explore the aquatic environments on Southern Wake Campus, including the stream, retention ponds and the forested riparian buffer. Projects can explore biodiversity, plants and pollinators, invasive species, water quality, stormwater management, soil erosion or human impacts like road construction and pollution.

Students also contribute to citizen/community science beyond this project and participate in a stream clean-up event in the spring.

Mentor: Dr. Melanie JP Fraites

Partner: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Location: Scott Northern Wake Campus

Requirement: Preference is given to students who have completed BIO-111.

Description: The Mohlke lab at UNC-Chapel Hill identifies potential genetic sequences associated with human disease susceptibilities, such as diabetes and obesity. Students help lab staff with subcloning guideRNA (gRNA) sequences, which involves biotechnology techniques such as the use of restriction enzymes, PCR and gel electrophoresis, as well as microbiology procedures.

The gRNAs produced by this project would be used by the lab in CRISPR-based inhibition to knockdown regulatory element activity within a human liver cell line to determine the effect on the expression of a nearby gene. The results would help determine the mechanisms by which these genetic sequences affect genes that may lead to disease.

Mentor: Dr. Greg Johnson

Partner: North Carolina State University

Location: Scott Northern Wake Campus and N.C. State

Requirement: Preference is given to students who have completed or are enrolled in BIO-110, -111, -175 or -275.

Description: Students search for potential antibiotics by screening organisms that live in the soil. The soil is a very competitive environment for bacteria, and some develop the ability to produce substances that impede the growth of other bacteria. Included in the scope of this project, students search for these antibacterial-producing soil organisms, identify their species and even isolate the compound they make.

From the Small World Initiative website: "(A)ddress a worldwide health threat – the diminishing supply of effective antibiotics – by tapping into the collective power of many student researchers concurrently tackling the same challenge, living up to its motto 'crowdsourcing antibiotic discovery.'"

Mentor: Dr. Kumudu Peiris

Location: Scott Northern Wake Campus

Requirement: Completed or enrolled in CHM-151

Description: Antioxidants play a vital role in the human diet by neutralizing free radicals and oxidized compounds that can contribute to cellular damage. Previous research conducted by our team identified green tea as having one of the highest natural antioxidant capacities. We successfully optimized the release of antioxidants from tea samples using microwave-assisted extraction. The antioxidant potential was measured using the Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) assay.

Building on these findings, the current project aims to develop an enhanced green tea formulation with maximized antioxidant content. This involves blending green tea with herbal additives such as cinnamon, turmeric, chamomile and others to identify the most effective combination. The goal is to create a novel green tea product with superior health benefits.

Mentor: Jessica Kelley

Location: Southern Wake Campus (2:30 - 3:30 p.m. Mondays) and a weekend field trip to the Gray Fossil Site

Requirement: Completed or enrolled in GEL-111

Description: Students have a unique opportunity to delve into the rich paleontological history preserved at the renowned Gray Fossil Site in northeast Tennessee, which is known for extraordinary preservation and concentration of fossils. By studying fossil finds and scientific publications from this site, students gain valuable insights into the diverse ecosystem that thrived in the region during the early Pliocene epoch (approximately 4.9 million to 4.5 million years ago).

Mentor: Sara Rutzky

Partner: North Carolina State University

Location: N.C. State University

Requirement: Either GEL-111 or BIO-111

Description: Students work with a researcher at N.C. State University on her research into marine plankton or marine sediments.

Mentor: Kalpana Kanwar

Location: Scott Northern Wake Campus 

Requirement: Completed or enrolled in MAT-171

Description: Students explore how career choices affect income, taxes, retirement savings and home affordability. They calculate take-home pay, compare multiple careers and research real homes they could realistically afford. The project culminates in a poster presentation, helping students develop practical financial literacy skills for their future.

Mentor: Katie Lovin

Location: Southern Wake Campus and virtual

Requirement: Basic algebra skills

Description: There are many recreational math books available, such as "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea." Students select and read a recreational math book. As they read and discuss the book, they solve related math problems and discuss how to present the topics in plain language.

Mentor: Jessica Chestnut

Location: Virtual

Description: This project is a bibliometric approach and focuses on qualitative case study research. Students pick a STEM topic of their choosing and research people who have made significant contributions to STEM. Students learn how to conduct library database searches and synthesize their findings in a literature review.