Forge new research paths
The FURI Symposium is now the Fulton Forge Student Research Expo! Check out undergraduate and graduate Fulton Schools student research projects at this biannual event.
Forge: to form or make, especially by concentrated effort
For more than 10 years, the Fulton Forge Student Research Expo was known as the FURI Symposium, named after the Fulton Undergraduate Research Initiative, ASU’s signature engineering research program for undergraduate students funded by the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering namesake. In the years since, the event has expanded to include additional undergraduate and graduate research programs and a wider variety of research themes. Its new name is inclusive of the diversity of the students who participate and the spirit of the culmination of their hard work.
The students you meet at the Fulton Forge Student Research Expo have conducted independent research under the guidance of a faculty mentor and present the findings of their work with the community at a semiannual poster session open to the public. These projects are inspired by real-world problems in need of innovative solutions.
Undergraduate and graduate researchers participating in the following three programs are invited to present their work at the Fulton Forge Student Research Expo held each semester.
Fulton Undergraduate Research Initiative (FURI)
The Fulton Undergraduate Research Initiative enhances an undergraduate student’s engineering experience and technical education by providing hands-on lab experience, independent and thesis-based research, and travel to national conferences.
Grand Challenges Scholars Program (GCSP) research stipend
The Fulton Schools Grand Challenges Scholars Program combines innovative curriculum and cutting-edge research experiences into an intellectual fusion that spans academic disciplines and includes entrepreneurial, global and service learning opportunities. Students funded by a GCSP research stipend conduct research in a grand challenges theme and are invited to present their findings at the Fulton Forge Student Research Expo.
Master’s Opportunity for Research in Engineering (MORE)
The Master’s Opportunity for Research in Engineering program is designed to enrich a graduate student’s engineering and technical graduate curriculum with hands-on lab experience and independent and thesis-based research.
Spring 2023 featured projects
Kelly Nguyen
Chemical engineering
Hydrothermal Liquefaction (HTL) of Compost, Analyzing the Effect with Microplastic and Pesticide
Studying the effects of microplastics in combination with pesticides will advance our understanding of soil contamination from microplastics.
Mentor: Shuguang Deng
Program: FURI
Hailey Warner
Electrical engineering
Exploring the Physics of Resistive-Switching Behavior in Emerging Two-Dimensional Hexagonal Boron Nitride (2D h-BN) Memristors
Characterizing h-BN memristor devices will help reveal their prospects within neuromorphic (or "brain-inspired") computing.
Mentor: Ivan Sanchez Esqueda
Program: FURI
Priyanka Ravindran
Electrical engineering
Characterization of Emerging Devices that will Integrate Memristor and Transistor Functions for Brain-Inspired Computing
Characterizing the operation of semiconductor devices will help enhance performance toward neuromorphic computing hardware.
Mentor: Ivan Sanchez Esqueda
Program: FURI
Chayaank Bangalore Ravishankar
Manufacturing engineering
3D Printing of Functionalized Piezoelectric Materials for Sensor Applications
Using lead zirconate titanate at different concentrations in piezoelectric materials will help improve them for use in the biomedical industry.
Mentor: Xiangfan Chen
Program: MORE
Lana Hizon Banzon
Civil engineering
An Investigation on the Effect of Alkali Source on the Properties of Akali-Activated Mine Tailing Blends
Evaluating the effects of different mine-tailing blends as cement mixtures will allow the repurposing of an otherwise toxic waste material.
Mentor: Narayanan Neithalath
Program: FURI
Rohan Nair
Computer science
Global Supply Chains as Predictors of Activity
Studying global supply chains with location and trade data will unveil predictors of legal, environmental, economic and political events.
Mentor: Paulo Shakarian
Program: GCSP research stipend
Zhengbin Chen
Engineering (robotics)
Data Analysis and Modeling for Additive Manufacturing
Building a model to output the estimated probability of satisfying build criteria is essential for medium area additive manufacturing development.
Mentor: Andi Wang
Program: FURI
Daniella Joy Pautz
Biomedical engineering
The Impact of Persuasion Methods on Student Performance and Mental Health in University Setting
The use of persuasion methods by university professors will help engineering students succeed in class and boost their mental well-being.
Mentor: Claire Honeycutt
Program: MORE
Humberto Uriel Delgado
Electrical engineering
Gate Driver Optimization for a Miniaturized Data Center Power Supply
Miniaturizing power electronic converters while increasing their efficiency will better meet energy needs in data centers and other applications.
Mentor: Mike Ranjram
Program: FURI
Sponsored students
Some of our researchers get extra funding through grants, industry and alumni sponsors. To learn more about sponsorship, contact the Fulton Schools Development team.
TSMC
TSMC is a global leader in the semiconductor foundry business. The company’s industry-leading process technologies and portfolio of design enablement solutions help its customers and partners unleash semiconductor innovation. With its recent expansion into Phoenix, TSMC sees the benefit of a strong partnership with ASU faculty and student researchers. TSMC supports the FURI program by providing additional funding for exceptional research projects related to the semiconductor industry. FURI student researchers who pursue a project related to the Semiconductor Manufacturing research theme are eligible for this sponsorship. TSMC-supported FURI students receive a $2,600 stipend and $400 to use for materials. Exceptional research proposals that align with the research theme of Semiconductor Manufacturing will be considered for this additional funding.
W. L. Gore & Associates
W. L. Gore & Associates is a uniquely creative, product leadership enterprise that has served a variety of global markets for 60 years, and provides innovative solutions that its associates stand behind. Gore established funds to support undergraduate students in the Fulton Undergraduate Research Initiative program and graduate students in the Master’s Opportunity for Research in Engineering program, and values student-driven research and developing relationships with students in the programs.
Ahmad Family Fulton Undergraduate Research Initiative Fund
Jalal U. and Syeda F. Ahmad and their children — Jaheen N., Raisa N. and Nafisah N., all of whom attended the Fulton Schools — established a fund to give back and support undergraduate students in their pursuit of knowledge and the advancement of research. Their endowment, which funds a materials science, mechanical, biomedical or electrical engineering student, was created to help more students have the life-changing experience of conducting research through FURI.
Spring 2023 snapshot
In Spring 2023, 109 students participated in individual research projects.
FURIprojects
FURImentors
MOREprojects
MOREmentors
GCSP research stipendprojects
GCSP research stipendmentors
Research themes
Students work on projects related to seven different themes that represent the Fulton Schools’ core research disciplines.
Semiconductor Manufacturing
Semiconductor devices are part of our everyday lives and the demand for techniques and processes to promote them continues to grow. Fulton Schools researchers are driving innovation forward through advances in areas such as power electronics, wireless and mixed-signal circuit design, memory devices and architectures, solar energy and batteries, advanced packaging and new semiconductor materials. Expansive industry collaborations and unique facilities at ASU center Arizona as a hub for the American semiconductor revolution.
Data
In an increasingly digital world, data collection is growing at a rapid pace. Fulton Schools faculty and student researchers are devising innovative approaches and tools that will help us better process, analyze, use, manage and access data. New computational tools, algorithms and data analysis techniques, including hardware and software approaches, machine learning, data analytics, data-driven decision-making and more will help advance scientific discoveries and collaborations across multiple fields where data use and capture is ubiquitous.
Education
We are engaged in advancing the ways we educate engineering students. The Fulton Schools’ research focuses on learning methods, cognitive theory and best teaching practices, as well as the integration of engineering concepts in K-12 educational programs to engage students early and educate our community about the impact engineering has on everyday life.
Energy
The urgency to discover and deploy new forms of carbon-reducing energy technologies has become an indispensable part of our economic and environmental landscape. The Fulton Schools’ research in renewable and alternative energy sources is multifaceted with efforts in solar and photovoltaic energy, biotechnology, low- and high-power energy storage, power electronics, electric power systems, batteries and hydrogen fuel cells.
Health
The Fulton Schools’ efforts in health innovation range from understanding the causes behind Alzheimer’s disease and improving methods for predicting epileptic seizures to developing advanced biosensors, bioassays and lab-on-a-chip devices for clinical diagnostics. Additional areas of research exist in novel biological materials, neural engineering, biomedical informatics, drug-delivery systems, health care systems analysis and modeling, health monitoring devices and human rehabilitation technologies.
Security
As technology develops at a faster rate, there is a growing need to develop engineering systems to keep people and infrastructure secure, including securing cyberspace, developing secure communications, developing self-healing systems resilient to attack and identifying, monitoring and reducing threats. Fulton Schools researchers — faculty and students — are addressing issues of national defense, homeland security, border security, cyberwarfare and more, devising technology solutions as well as legal, policy and social implications.
Sustainability
The central thrust behind sustainability is the capacity of metropolitan areas to grow and prosper without destroying or depleting natural resources. The Fulton Schools’ research focuses on restoring and improving urban infrastructure, access to clean water and air, advanced construction techniques and management, environmental fluid dynamics, transportation planning, as well as geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering.Spring 2023 project count
Featured mentors
Fulton Schools faculty members guide students through the research process in their role as FURI and MORE research program mentors.
Nicholas Rolston, featured FURI mentor
Nicholas Rolston is an assistant professor of electrical engineering who joined the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering in the spring of 2022 and first began mentoring FURI student research projects in 2023. His research group focuses on understanding the materials and mechanisms needed to manufacture the next generation of renewable energy technology.
Read more
Xiangfan Chen, featured MORE mentor
Xiangfan Chen is an assistant professor of manufacturing engineering who has been mentoring FURI and MORE student researchers since the spring of 2020. In addition to manufacturing engineering, he also teaches aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering and materials science and engineering. His research interests include additive manufacturing technologies and 3D printing for a variety of applications, including photonics (a branch of optics that deals with light), energy and biomedical engineering. Read more
What FURI and MORE alumni are saying
Research opportunities like FURI and MORE help students build valuable skills, learn about themselves and succeed in their future endeavors. Learn more about what our FURI alumni go on to do after they finish the program
FURI gave me a glimpse into the work that I do now. My project was centered around travel demand forecasting and trip user modificated based on the introduction of high-speed rail on the West Coast. While I do not directly work on projects related to high-speed rail design and construction, the methodology, research methods and engineering judgement I developed during the project is very applicable to my daily tasks at work. I am thankful for the opportunity to work on my FURI project, which helped give me exposure to research, earn transferrable knowledge for my career and develop technical engineering skills.
Amanda MinutelloFURI Fall ’19, civil engineering Spring ’20, graduate traffic engineer at AECOM
FURI gave me experience with a self-led project where I got to set my own goals and schedule. This experience prepared me for working on a team where I’m given a task with little other guidance.
Daniel KosednarFURI Spring and Fall ’19, aerospace engineering, Fall ’21, conceptual design engineer at Lockheed Martin Advanced Development Programs
FURI gave me experience with a self-led project where I got to set my own goals and schedule. This experience prepared me for working on a team where I’m given a task with little other guidance.
Mounika KakarlaMORE Summer ’21, materials science and engineering Fall ’21, lithography process engineer at Intel
FURI and GCSP instilled in me the skills to research and understand the problem and come up with an innovative way to solve it. I started to understand in depth the core of the problem before providing a solution.
Kartik GuptaFURI Fall ’18, GCSP Fall ’19, computer science Fall ’20, software engineer at Salesforce