E-SEARCH

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Partnering in Research and Mentoring

mentoring program participants

Research and mentoring are critical aspects of a student’s experience.

The UC Davis College of Engineering is pleased to support E-SEARCH, a program launched in 2023 for undergraduates who are considering graduate study or careers in engineering research by linking them with engineering graduate students who are conducting research projects. The program aims to broaden participation in engineering advanced study, introduce students to new career paths, demonstrate the real-world impacts and applications of engineering research, and provide graduate students with teaching and mentoring opportunities.

This cohort-based program invites current students to participate in program activities for one quarter. Participants will engage in program elements including research experience, mentoring from current graduate students, and support for preparing application materials for graduate study.

View our poster presented at the 2023 Scholarship of Teaching & Learning Conference to learn more about what we are learning from participants! (Credit: Mandeep Singh Basson, Ph.D. and former Mentor)

E-SEARCH event with two people engaged in discussion by a poster

E-SEARCH Opens Doors to Higher Education

The new research-focused mentorship program unlocks the potential to pursue academic careers in engineering for undergraduates
Read Article

 

E-Search Mentors

Mentors (Doctoral Students)

Current UC Davis doctoral students enrolled in the College of Engineering are eligible to apply to be a Mentor. Mentors will meet regularly with their mentee to discuss shared interests and goals. The mentoring pair will also identify a short-term research experience that can be completed by the end of the quarter. Additional mentoring activities include:

  • Face-to-face check-in with mentees on a regular basis 
  • Introducing mentees to how academic research is conducted
  • Share experiences to illustrate their own journey to graduate school

In order to best match mentors with mentees, applicants for Mentors will be asked to share general information on their research efforts, faculty advisors, previous mentoring experience, and motivation.

Mentor applications for Fall 2024 have closed.

The next cohort will commence Spring 2025

E-SEARCH Mentee

Mentees (Undergraduate Students)

Engineering undergraduates who are in good academic standing and have a 2.500 or better GPA are eligible for participation. Working with a Mentor, mentees will gain insights into graduate study in engineering. The mentoring pair will also identify a short-term research experience that can be completed by the end of the quarter. Additional mentoring activities include:

  • Regular meetings, in person, with your mentor 
  • Hands-on research experience
  • Guidance on applying for graduate study

Factors such as shared interests with a mentor will also be considered in the selection process. Space is limited.

 
Mentee applications for Fall 2024 have closed.

The next cohort will commence Spring 2025

 

Project Archive

Each project was devised by a mentee and mentor pair. Future participants will have the opportunity to design their own projects through collaborative efforts.

  • Fall 2024
  • Read Project Abstracts Here

    Team 001  |  Sacramento County Freight Network Vulnerability to Natural Hazards
    Kristen Wojciechowski, Daniel Orlando Rivera Royero

    Team 002  |  Advanced Multimodal Cognitive Impairment Stage Classification for Alzheimer's Disease Using Cross-Modal Vision Transformers
    Liza Tinku Jose, Aditya Krishnan

    Team 003  |  Smart Home Central Control for Price-Response and Capacity Management
    Shriya Sawant, Afshan Qamar

    Team 004  |  Optimizing Downstream Processing: Ammonium Sulfate Precipitation in Plant-Based Protein Purification
    Ashley Nicole Ou, Anindya Karmaker

    Team 005  |  Enhancing Orchard Management with Deep Learning: Tree Segmentation Using Geospatial SAM2 Model and NAIP Aerial Imagery
    Sarbani Kumar, Mohammadreza Narimani

    Team 006  |  The Nat Signal
    Natalie Kuang, Hari Venugopalan

    Team 007  |  Computer Vision Recognition for Bouldering Assistance
    Jonathan Wang, Sophie Quynn

    Team 008  |  Understanding a critical zika virus-host protein interaction through molecular simulations
    Jeremy Yang, Vardhan Peddamallu

    Team 009  |  Framework to quantify greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) emissions from road network in the United States
    Tian Doong, Iyanuoluwa Filani

    Team 010  |  Computational Model of Local Calcium Concentration on Stability of CaM/CaMKII Complex
    Nithmi Jayasundara, Grace Jeng

    Team 011  |  Cotton Candy Conversion and Manufacturing: A Process Engineering and Economic Perspective
    Hillary Vo, Aatam Gajjar

    Team 012  |  Investigating the Effects of Belt Grinding Parameters on Swarf Morphology for Additively Manufactured Cobalt Chromium
    Dhruv Gullapalli, Felicia Fashanu

    Team 013  |  Real-Time Drowsiness Detection Using Machine Learning
    Rithika Krishna Perugupalli, Momtanu Chakraborty

    Team 014  |  Neural Insights into the Correlation Between Music and Emotion: A Machine Learning Approach to Predicting Emotional Responses from Brainwaves
    Sarayu Mummidi, Jayneel Vora

    Team 015  |  Seasonal CO2 Flux at Uvas Reservoir: Influence of Water Quality and Meteorology Parameters
    Kinsey Kwan-Liu, Corrin Clemons
  • Summer 2024 Projects
  • Read Project Abstracts Here

    Team 001  |  Organic Semiconductors: Can we quantify disorder using INS?
    Rachel Long, Toulik Maitra

    Team 002  |  Automated Image Stitching for Stereomicroscopic Assessment of Inflammatory Bowel Tissue in Crohn's Disease Mouse Models
    Chun-Ho Chen, Aditya Krishnan

    Team 003  |  Introducing Flow to Improve Patterning Resolution of Semiconducting-Polymers
    Nix Gandham, Joaquin Mogollon Santiana

    Team 004  |  Influence of cortical neural cell-secreted soluble factors on glioma cell proliferation and morphological changes
    Elias Guzman, Allison Pickle

    Team 005  |  Twice-Coverage Path Planning for Field Harrowing
    Justine Ellery, Yuankai Zhu

    Team 006  |  Global Vegetation and Climate Insights Portal (GVCIP): A Google Earth Engine-Based Monitoring Tool
    Nicholas Richmond, Mohammadreza Narimani

    Team 007  |  Predicting Leaf Nitrogen Content Using Spectral Reflectance: A Machine Learning Approach
    Mandelina Chokry, Parastoo Farajpoor

    Team 008  |  Optimizing pH Conditions for BSA Adsorption onto a Cationic Ion Exchanger Using Bradford Assay
    Issac Lara, Ece Goktayoglu

    Team 009  |  Development of an Image Analysis Protocol to Understand Thrombi Composition
    Jadine Rodriguez, So Youn (Emily) Lee

    Team 010  |  Physics-Based Modeling of Lettuce Transpiration Rates in Greenhouse Environments
    Neydi Palacios, Abir Ahsan

    Team 011  |  Equity Impacts of Sustainable Transport: Who is Affected and Where?
    Edgar Cruz Mendoza , Weijing Wang

    Team 012  |  Low-Cost Automated Estimation of Almond Leaf Area Using Computer Vision and Artificial Intelligence Techniques
    Rithika Krishna Perugupalli, Momtanu Chakraborty

    Team 013  |  Exploring the Temporal Variability of Diffusive Methane Flux Rates in Uvas Reservoir
    Carly Wolf, Corrin Clemons

    Team 014  |  Dynamics of Coffee Roasting
    Zaina Alnahlawi, Laudia Anokye-Bempah

    Team 015  |  Molecular Gymnastics: Exploring Ion-Induced Folding Variations in Alpha-Lactalbumin Using AI-Based Protein Modeling
    Jennie Kim, Grace Jeng

    Team 016  |  Evaluating Denoising Diffusion Probabilistic Models: A Comparative Analysis of Generative Model Metrics
    Kyle Luo, Jayneel Vora

    Team 017  |  Analyzing the Most Cost-Effective Materials for Storing Hydrogen
    Jessica Dong, John Cadiz

    Team 018  |  Uncovering the Mechanisms of Delayed Graft Function (DGF) in Human Kidney Transplants Using Single-Cell Spatial Transcriptomics
    Aashka Jhaveri, Yongheng Wang

    Team 019  |  Enhancing Coffee Research through Data-Driven Tools and Insights at Roastpic, Inc.
    Andrew Chen, Alice Dien
     
  • Spring 2024 Projects
  • Full project abstracts are available here

    Team 001  |  Hot Wheels Wind Tunnel
    Ivan Leung, Daniel Rivera

    Team 002  |  Get Started with Python: Processing and Visualizing Census and Geospatial Data
    Victoria Lam, Weijing Wang

    Team 003  |  Enhancing Wildfire Monitoring through Remote Sensing with Sentinel-2 Satellite Imagery and Python Programming
    Quynh Tran, Mohammadreza Narimani

    Team 004  |  Vernacular materials for construction and building: an overview
    Xiang Gu, Patrick Cunningham

    Team 005  |  Numerical Simulation of Passive Suspension Systems: Investigation of the Impact of Vehicle Type, Road Roughness, Dampers, and Springs
    Anthony Castellanos, Maziar Mivehchi

    Team 006  |  Nonlinear Effects of Gravity Loads on Irregular Frame Structures under Earthquakes and Wind
    Betty Choy, Arka Maity

    Team 007  |  Dynamical Inference of Nonlinear Latent Structures in iEEG data during Decision Making
    Angela Zhou, Logan Peters

    Team 008  |  Unsupervised Model for Depth Estimation
    Doai Ngo, Katherine Cheng

    Team 009  |  Evapotranspiration Rate Measurement for Lettuce Cultivation in Closed System Environment
    John Haugseth, Abir Ahsan

    Team 010  |  Does data augmentation teach deepfake detectors a clearer worldview?
    Carly Wolf, Jayneel Vora

    Team 011  |  Side-Channel Analysis using STLINK V3PWR: Enhancing Hardware Security through Attack Simulation and Performance Monitoring
    Donggeon Kim, Kevin Immanuel Gubbi

    Team 012  |  An Exploration of Water Quality and Greenhouse Gas Dynamics in an Aerated versus a Non-Aerated Reservoir
    Genevieve Imboden, Ruth Thirkill

    Team 013  |  Criteria to screen liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs) for coupling with direct isopropanol fuel cell (DIFC)
    Shrishti Chezhian, Siddharth Sonti

    Team 014  |  Autophagy Behavior in Neuronal Cells: Quantifying Morphological Cell Profiles
    Elle Defensor, Neil Adia

This program is supported through the Next Level Education initiative.