UROP Project

Breaking Down Barriers: A Qualitative Study of SLP Literacy Challenges in Schools

literacy, elementary, qualitative, perspectives, SLP

Research Mentor: Ms. Hannah Hudson, She/Her
Department, College, Affiliation: Communication Science and Disorders, Communication and Information
Contact Email: hth14@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor): Ms. Ashley Ippolito She/Her
Research Assistant Supervisor Email: ai24c@fsu.edu
Faculty Collaborators: Dr. Dr. Shannon Hall-Mills
Faculty Collaborators Email: shannon.hall-mills@cci.fsu.edu

Looking for Research Assistants: No
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: communication science and disorders, psychology, reading education, elementary education, special education, education, sociology, social work
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required: FSU bus
Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:

• Day: Tuesday, September 2
  Start Time: 4:00
  End Time: 4:30
  Zoom Link: https://us05web.zoom.us/j/2395003446?pwd=Y96jC3EE8pbA Meeting ID: 239 500 3446 Passcode: g6DH1wTJ7KtrYXf8a5f5VCbX.1
• Day: Thursday, September 4
  Start Time: 4:00
  End Time: 4:30
  Zoom Link: https://us05web.zoom.us/j/2395003446?pwd=Y96jC3EE8pbA Meeting ID: 239 500 3446 Passcode: g6DH1w

Project Description

This qualitative research project explores the barriers to effective literacy instruction as perceived by speech-language pathologists (SLPs). Through a structured survey study, we aim to capture the real-world challenges these professionals face when supporting students’ reading and language development. Particular attention will be paid to systemic obstacles, resource limitations, communication gaps between disciplines, and the needs of diverse learners. By centering the voices of those directly involved in literacy support, this study seeks to identify actionable insights that can inform more collaborative, equitable, and effective literacy practices in school settings.

Research Tasks: Pre-Interview & Recruitment Tasks:
- Assist with IRB application materials (e.g., drafting consent forms or recruitment scripts)
- Identify and compile a list of potential school contacts or participants
- Distribute recruitment emails and follow up with interested participants
- Schedule interviews and maintain a participant tracking spreadsheet

Data Collection Support:
- Prepare interview materials (e.g., protocols, consent forms, Zoom links)
- Take observational notes during interviews (if live or recorded)
- Monitor audio quality and troubleshoot tech issues (e.g., Zoom recording, mic setup)
- Help manage file storage for recordings and transcripts using secure platforms

Transcription & Data Management:
- Transcribe interview recordings accurately and anonymize data
- Clean and format transcripts for coding (e.g., removing filler words, correcting errors)
- Organize transcripts and notes in a shared qualitative analysis database (e.g., Dedoose, NVivo, Excel)
- Assign pseudonyms and remove identifiable information

Data Analysis Support:
- Conduct preliminary read-throughs to identify emerging themes or patterns
- Assist in open coding or memo writing during thematic analysis
- Organize codes into categories or themes collaboratively with the research team
- Help create visual representations of data (e.g., theme maps or matrices)

Dissemination Tasks:
- Draft summaries of key findings or quotes for conference posters or presentations
- Assist with formatting citations, references, or APA-style documents
- Help design PowerPoint slides or research posters
- Review and edit written materials for clarity and cohesion

Professional Development Add-ons:
- Attend lab meetings or debrief sessions to discuss ethical considerations, positionality, and researcher reflexivity
- Co-author conference abstracts or manuscripts (depending on level of involvement)
- Practice presenting findings in mock settings for future dissemination

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Cognitive & Academic Skills:
- Critical thinking – to interpret responses and engage in early theme identification
- Attention to detail – for accurate transcription, data cleaning, and documentation
- Reading comprehension – to understand interview protocols, consent forms, and background literature
- Writing and summarizing – to draft memos, codebooks, or summaries of findings

Communication Skills:
- Professional email etiquette – when contacting participants or coordinating interviews
- Active listening – when observing interviews or reviewing transcripts
- Collaborative dialogue – for sharing insights in analysis discussions or team meetings

Technical & Organizational Skills:
- Familiarity with transcription tools (e.g., Otter.ai, Express Scribe)
- Basic file management – naming, storing, and organizing files securely
- Comfort with digital tools – Zoom, Google Drive, Excel, or qualitative software (e.g., Dedoose, NVivo)
- Time management – to meet deadlines for coding, transcription, or scheduling

Research-Specific Skills:
- Understanding of research ethics and confidentiality – especially in school-based or human subjects research
- Qualitative coding basics – recognizing themes, labeling data, and developing category systems
- Reflexivity – ability to consider one’s own biases or assumptions when working with participant data
- Data visualization – helpful for supporting posters or presentations

Interpersonal & Soft Skills:
- Willingness to learn – particularly around school systems, SLP practices, or qualitative methods
- Empathy and respect – when working with sensitive narratives or professional experiences
- Flexibility and adaptability – especially when protocols evolve or data collection timelines shift

AI Agents (Agentic AI), Ocean Search and Rescue (computer vision), AI Retrieval Augmented Generation

MLab, computer vision, AI Agents, RAG

Research Mentor: Dr. Jonathan Adams,
Department, College, Affiliation: Information, Communication and Information
Contact Email: jladams@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor): Mr. Benhur Ravuri
Research Assistant Supervisor Email: bravuri@fsu.edu
Faculty Collaborators: Mr Odin Moja
Faculty Collaborators Email: omoja@fsu.edu

Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 3
Relevant Majors: We prefer students with some technical interest and ability or experience with coding or using a command line interface. Interest in computer systems, artificial intelligence, project planning and publishing basic research are the skills we develop in the MLab.
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required: Yes
Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 6-8, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Not participating in the roundtable

Project Description

The MLab has researched and developed techniques for generating synthetic media. Our research has explored various ways to create ‘deep-fakes’ of objects that are hard to photograph or more often, are not sufficient in number to train a computer vision model. The MLab can generate images, labeled and ready for training. If you decide to apply, and ultimately participate, there are a wide variety of opportunities to explore the use of synthetic media in AI training, or for projects that focus on object classification. Research also relies upon the development of AI Agents to complete some of our work, and as the topic of research..
The lab hosts a variety of students (doctoral, master's and undergraduate) and because alumni of the MLab are welcome to continue working on research we also host some students who have decided to continue after UROP concludes. Interested students should understand that participating in the lab means you are a self-starter who works well in small groups of like-minded students, with graduate students and professors who can assist you with your chosen project.
Working knowledge of Python (or other language) programming language is preferred. One of the primary functions of the lab is to encourage research related to the use of Artificial Intelligence agents, and supporting students who desire to publish their works. Since the beginning of 2020, we have produced 8 student-led research papers that have been accepted by international conferences.
We are interested in coders, CS, Engineering, Statistics, and 3D artists who can model different subjects.


Research Tasks: Every student has the opportunity to plan a project of their choice. For example, MLab teams have written literature reviews, conducted technical studies with AI algorithms, conducted AI performance comparisons, and have sought to understand the relationship between AI tools and their impact on learning. We are looking for ideas as well, and are open to value-added ideas.

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Required: Experience with computer languages, statistics, math, demonstrable ability to learn programming.
Recommended: Communication skills, analytic skills, willingness to take chances.

Strengthening school experiences for refugee young people, families, and their teachers in Tallahassee

refugee education, language, school, families, teachers

Research Mentor: Dr. Celia Reddick, she/her/hers
Department, College, Affiliation: Learning Systems Institute / Education Leadership and Policy Studies, Education, Health, and Human Sciences
Contact Email: creddick3@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor): Dr. Brenda Wawire she/her/hers
Research Assistant Supervisor Email: bwawire@fsu.edu
Faculty Collaborators: Dr. Adrienne Barnes-Story; Dr. Sana Tibi
Faculty Collaborators Email:

Looking for Research Assistants: No
Number of Research Assistants: 6
Relevant Majors: The project may be most suited to students studying Education, Social Work, Political Science, Human Rights and Social Justice, Spanish, French, and Arabic. Given that this is a multilingual project, we also welcome students who have previously studied/speak Kiswahili, Dari and Pashto.
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required:
Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5-10 hours, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:

• Day: Tuesday, September 2
  Start Time: 1:30
  End Time: 2:00
  Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/my/celiareddick
• Day: Thursday, September 4
  Start Time: 1:30
  End Time: 2:00
  Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/my/celiareddick

Project Description

The challenge:
In a recent conversation with a former staff member of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Tallahassee, Wawire learned that resettled refugee students in Tallahassee are facing challenges at school. “They feel that they just don’t fit in,” this stakeholder explained, pointing to issues of language, culture, and academic progress to explain the challenges they face. “There is also bullying, as well as issues related to financial literacy, health insurance, disabilities, and other concerns,” she continued. Refugee young people and their families in Tallahassee are struggling to find their footing in a small city that is very different from the refugee camps where they most recently lived, this staff member recounted.

Despite the pressing needs of refugee young people and their families, there is little data about this population in Tallahassee. Even identifying how many refugees live in Tallahassee has been a challenge: while one source claims that there are approximately 90 refugee families in the city (Tallahassee Refugee Connection, 2024), an informal conversation revealed that as many as 450 additional refugees were slated to arrive in Tallahassee in 2024 (Personal communication, January 25th, 2025). Neither our contacts at refugee-serving organizations nor our initial conversations with contacts at the Department of Education could help us pinpoint the total number of refugees in the city or schools, nor which schools they attend. We are in the process of identifying key personnel in the Leon School department who can provide a clear picture of the school-aged refugee population in Tallahassee. What we do know is that refugee newcomer families are supported to access housing, school, and low-wage work by organizations like the International Rescue Committee (IRC, 2025), and that community volunteers and local organizations from the city offer translation and tutoring services (Personal communication, January 19th, 2025). Nonetheless, refugee young people are facing significant headwinds to learning and belonging at school, likely made even more difficult by the knowledge that, for the time being, no further refugee families will be welcomed to the U.S. (The White House, 2025).

Research intervention:
Given these challenges, we seek to understand the lived and educational experiences of refugee families and their teachers in Tallahassee, as well as the experiences of their long-term resident peers. This spring, we have initiated a nested research project, conducting a landscape analysis of educational opportunities and challenges for refugee families and their teachers in Tallahassee, alongside an intervention to build bridges between refugee young people and their peers who have spent longer periods in the school system, responding to initial reports of bullying and social exclusion. The long-term objectives of our research are twofold: 1) to gather vital data about the number, place of origin, and school experiences of refugees in Tallahassee in order to enhance educational support for refugee families in the city, and 2) to pilot-test an intervention model that seek to address the social and relational needs of refugee young people and their peers. The following questions guide this research project:
● How do refugee young people and their families experience school in Tallahassee? How do these experiences vary from those of long-term resident young people attending school in Tallahassee?
o What opportunities and challenges do they each face? How, if at all, do they work to overcome these challenges?
o How can collaborative, arts-based research act on these challenges for refugees and their peers?
● How do stakeholders at the school level (e.g., teachers and principals) navigate their work with refugee learners within the mainstream system? What opportunities and challenges do they face in the context of diverse classrooms, and how do they work to overcome these?
● How do broader dynamics of refugee resettlement in Tallahassee influence children’s and teachers’ educational experiences?

Research and Intervention Methods. We have begun to undertake a comparative case study (Bartlett & Vavrus, 2017), looking across scales to examine education for refugee young people in Tallahassee. This project involves interviews at the family level, with refugee young people and their caregivers; at the school level, with principals, teachers, and peers in classrooms; and at the city level, including with DOE, IRC, and the Tallahassee Refugee Connection, among others. We have begun interviews with Kiswahili and French with families from the Democratic Republic, and in Arabic with families from Syria. We will soon begin interviews wtih Afghan families in Dari and Pashto, and with Venezuelan families in Spanish.

We will also conduct an arts-based project with refugee children and their peers. During the intervention, students will collaboratively undertake a project to examine, analyze, and share their lived experiences through one of three options: video/photography, a visual representation such as painting/mural, or a book project. The project will be implemented over 3 days this August. During the course of this project, we will collect observational data and data related to the artifacts young people create.


Research Tasks: Research tasks include:
- Conducting interviews wtih refugee families
- Transcribing interviews with refugee families
- Conducting interviews with teachers in Tallahassee schools
- Transcribing interviews with teachers in Tallahassee schools
- Conducting literature reviews about refugee resettlement and education in the US
- Conducting qualitative coding of interviews and thematic analysis
- Supporting a showcase of students' artwork

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: We welcome research assistants with any of the following spoken and/or written language skills: Arabic, Spanish, Kiswahili, Dari, Pashto, French (recommended). There is also work to be done in English, so if you do not have these language skills, you are still welcome to apply.

We welcome research assistants with the following previous experiences (recommended): conducting interviews; transcribing interviews; analysing interviews; working with children and adolescents across cultures

Urban Big Data Analytics and Visualization for Smart Cities

Big Data, AI, Visualization, Smart Cities

Research Mentor: Guang Wang,
Department, College, Affiliation: Computer Science, Arts and Sciences
Contact Email: guang.wang@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:

Looking for Research Assistants: No
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: Open to all majors

Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required: No, the project is remote
Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 10, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Not participating in the roundtable

Project Description

This project aims to harness the power of large-scale, diverse, and real-time urban data to address critical challenges in city planning, sustainability, mobility, and public services. As cities become increasingly digitized, massive volumes of data, ranging from traffic flows, environmental sensors, social media, utility usage, and public transit records, offer unprecedented opportunities to understand and improve urban systems. However, effectively analyzing and visualizing these heterogeneous data sources to support timely and effective decision-making remains a significant challenge.

This research project will develop a comprehensive urban big data analytics and visualization framework that integrates spatiotemporal data mining, machine learning, and interactive visualization techniques to support smart city applications. Specifically, the project will:

Design scalable data pipelines to collect, clean, and integrate multimodal urban data streams;

Develop advanced analytics models to detect patterns, predict urban dynamics, and identify anomalies in domains such as mobility, energy consumption, housing, and public health;

Create intuitive, user-centered visualization tools that enable policymakers, city planners, and community stakeholders to explore insights, simulate scenarios, and support evidence-based decision-making.

Research Tasks: Literature Review: Conduct a comprehensive review of recent advancements in urban informatics, smart city initiatives, big data analytics, and interactive visualization tools.

Data Collection: Gather and curate diverse urban datasets, including transportation logs, air quality data, social media feeds, utility usage records, census information, and IoT sensor data.

Data Analysis: Apply statistical and machine learning methods to discover patterns, trends, and anomalies in urban dynamics (e.g., traffic congestion, pollution hotspots, energy usage patterns).

Visualization Design and Implementation: Design user-friendly, interactive dashboards and visual analytics tools tailored to different user groups (e.g., city officials, community leaders, researchers).

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Data collection and analysis skills are required.
Experience in Python is required.
Familiar with ArcGIS (recommended).

Neighborhood STEM Fair Project - connecting low-income community with free STEM enrichment programs

Education, Community Outreach, STEM education, Stem Education for All, Summer Camps

Research Mentor: Ilya Litvak, He/Him
Department, College, Affiliation: Magnet Lab, N/A
Contact Email: litvak@magnet.fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators: Malathy Elumalai
Faculty Collaborators Email: melumalai@magnet.fsu.edu

Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: Open to all majors. The following majors are especially encouraged to apply:
FSU Teach, FSU-Teach, Secondary Science or Mathematics Teaching,
Biochemistry, Biological Science, Biomathematics, Cell and Molecular Neuroscience, Chemical Science, Chemistry, Mathematics, Engineering,
Environmental Science, Geology, Meteorology, Physical Science, Physics,
Medical Sciences, Nursing, Public Health, Social Work
Project Location: National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, 1800 E. Paul Dirac Dr.
Research Assistant Transportation Required: Dogwood, Live Oak; Innovation
Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 8, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Not participating in the roundtable

Project Description

Neigborhood Camp Fair project aims to connect K-12 population from low-income areas of Tallahassee with free STEM education opportunities. Launched in 2018, the project has seen
over 450 K-12 students attend our annual community events where public can find free or subsidized summer camp programs. 60-70% of attendees come from local Title I schools.
The intern will join our small team which organizes Neighborhood Camp Fair events.

This project is operated in collaboration with the Tallahassee Scientific Society.

Research Tasks: 1. Propose, implement, and evaluate strategies to engage with target community
2. Publicize the project and its benefits to local residents through social media, flyers, direct engagement, and other means
3. Publicize the project and its benefits to STEM program providers
4. Study the impact of the camp fairs on STEM awareness among K-12 students

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Required:
1. Organizational skills
2. Presentation skills
3. Written and oral communication skills including writing articles, emails, making phone calls, etc.
It may significantly benefit the project if the applicant had exposure to challenges faced by target communities through their work- or volunteer-related, or personal experience.

Improvements of the field quality for resistive and resistive-superconductive hybrid magnets

NMR, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Ultra-High Magnetic Field, Field Homogeneits, Passive shims

Research Mentor: Ilya Litvak,
Department, College, Affiliation: Magnet Lab, N/A
Contact Email: litvak@magnet.fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:

Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 1
Relevant Majors: Physical Sciences, Engineering, including but not limited to: Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics,
Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering
Project Location: National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, 1800 E. Paul Dirac Dr.
Research Assistant Transportation Required: Dogwood, Live Oak; Innovation
Remote or In-person: In-person
Approximate Weekly Hours: 8-10, During business hours
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Not participating in the roundtable

Project Description

National High Magnetic Field Laboratory houses seven world-record magnets at its Tallahassee location. Some applications, such as NMR and MRI require high uniformity of the magnetic field across the sample, in addition to high field. A student with a strong interest in scientific instrumentation will work with a team at NHMFL to support and improve user operations. The student will help develop, build, and test various designs, and develop techniques to improve the field quality of the world record 36 tesla high-resolution magnet. The project will involve using specialized equipment and techniques to map and correct the field of the magnet.

Research Tasks: The student will help develop, build, and test various designs, and develop techniques to improve the field quality of the world record 36 tesla high-resolution magnet. The project will involve using specialized equipment and techniques to map and correct the field of the magnet. The project may also involve performing calculations of magnetic field for different patterns, and coding for data processing. Part of the work will be performed around strong magnetic fields.

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Required: Adherence to safety
Recommended: comfortable with Excel, math background

A Political Machine: Expanding the Cold War Through Propaganda

History Cold War International Affairs

Research Mentor: Ms. Madeleine Stout, She/Her
Department, College, Affiliation: History, Arts and Sciences
Contact Email: mestout@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:

Looking for Research Assistants: No
Number of Research Assistants: 1
Relevant Majors: History
International Affairs
Political Science
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required: No, the project is remote
Remote or In-person: In-person
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:

• Day: Friday, September 5
  Start Time: 4:00
  End Time: 4:30
  Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/7820384803?omn=98423532751

Project Description

The Cold War is traditionally thought to take place from 1946-1989. When World War II ended the international stage focused on a fight against United States democracy and Soviet communism. As the Allied Powers split Germany into different zones they also tasked themselves with reshaping how the world would be postwar. The Cold War was more than militarized border control of the Iron Curtain and proxy wars. The world was flooded with pamphlets, posters, and broadcasts arguing whether communism or capitalism was a better economic and political system. I argue that when scholars analyze propaganda in the 1940s-1960s they engage with a battle that began in the 1920s. As such when we look at the Cold War through the lens of propaganda materials and messages we see that the Cold War began in the 1920s and not the 1940s.

Research Tasks: Data collection - I.E. posters, pamphlets, newspaper advertisements, radio transcripts
Literature Review

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Writing - skills in Microsoft word
Organization - skills in Microsoft excel/spreadsheets to create a list/database
Research - ability to navigate databases and Strozier library to collect information
Creative/Critical Thinking - to question and analyze images

Health Management; Medicaid and Medicare & Market competition & Hospital financial sustainability

Hospital management, Market competition, Medicaid, Medicare, Hospital financial sustainability

Research Mentor: Hyunji Christine Kim, She
Department, College, Affiliation: Askew School of Public Administration and Policy, Social Sciences and Public Policy
Contact Email: hk22a@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:

Looking for Research Assistants: No
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: Public health, Public policy, Public administration, Business, Other relevant social science
Project Location: Zoom and email
Research Assistant Transportation Required: No, the project is remote
Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 6 hours per week, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Not participating in the roundtable

Project Description

This study examines whether hospitals can financially benefit from a greater reliance on public insurance programs, specifically Medicaid and Medicare, by analyzing how the relationship between the proportion of Medicaid/Medicare reimbursement and hospital financial sustainability varies under different structural conditions. The independent variable is the Medicaid/Medicare payer mix, measured as the percentage of total revenue or discharges from these public insurers, and the dependent variable is hospital financial sustainability, captured through metrics such as operating margin, net income, or days cash on hand. Two key contextual moderators are considered: market competition, assessed using the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI), and geographic location, categorized as urban or rural. The first hypothesis (H1) examines whether a higher Medicaid/Medicare payer mix is positively associated with hospital financial sustainability. Building on this, H2a proposes that this positive association is stronger in markets with lower competition, while H2b suggests the relationship is more favorable for hospitals located in rural areas. By testing these interactions through a moderated regression model, the study challenges the prevailing view that public payer reliance undermines financial health and instead argues that, under the right structural conditions, hospitals can strategically benefit from serving more publicly insured patients—providing important insights for health system leaders and policymakers seeking sustainable and equitable healthcare delivery models.

Research Tasks: literature review, data collection, and sorting and organizing the literature

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Basic idea about literature review and understanding of APA reference style required
No other specific skills required but punctuality and respect, if we can call these skills as well

PFAS Contamination and Transport

Environment, Experiment, PFAS, Measurement, Pollution

Research Mentor: Dr. Youneng Tang, He/him
Department, College, Affiliation: Civil and Environmental Engineering, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
Contact Email: ytang@eng.famu.fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor): Dennis Ssekimpi He/him
Research Assistant Supervisor Email: ds21k@fsu.edu
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:

Looking for Research Assistants: No
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: Environmental Engineering; Civil Engineering; Chemical Engineering
Project Location: FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
Research Assistant Transportation Required: Yes
Remote or In-person: In-person
Approximate Weekly Hours: 7, During business hours
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Not participating in the roundtable

Project Description

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of synthetic chemicals that have attracted significant public attention due to their toxicity, widespread use in commercial and consumer products, and recalcitrance to degradation in the environment. PFAS is ubiquitous in solid waste. To prevent solid waste in landfills contaminating groundwater and air, landfills are usually contained by bottom liners and covers. The objective of this project is to determine the PFAS transport characteristics through the bottom liners and covers such as the breakthrough time. We welcome one or two UROP scholar to participate in this research project. Professor Tang and his graduate student will supervise the UROP scholar. The graduate student will provide most of the direct supervision.

Research Tasks: The UROP scholar is expected to:
1) Complete a few lab safety training sessions.
2) Shadow the graduate student.
3) Review the literature to understand PFAS and their contamination.
4) Learn the method based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for measuring one type of PFAS.
5) Use the measurement method to determine the PFAS transport characteristics in diffusion cells.
6) Summarize and discuss the research results in a poster and a white paper.

After the UROP project is completed, there may be an opportunity for the UROP scholar to further study PFAS through undergraduate or graduate research assistantship.


Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Required: Lab safety training
Recommended: Strong interest in experiments

multiple

experimental economics, research including contests, public goods, land assembly

Research Mentor: Prof. Mark Isaac,
Department, College, Affiliation: Economics, Social Sciences and Public Policy
Contact Email: misaac@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:

Looking for Research Assistants: No
Number of Research Assistants: 3
Relevant Majors: Economics Majors or minors preferred
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required:
Remote or In-person: In-person
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Not participating in the roundtable

Project Description

I am a faculty member (actually, the senior scholar) in the experimental social sciences research cluster (XS/FS). In the coming year, I hope to be working on projects on land assembly, public goods provision, and market contests.

Research Tasks: 1 ) Following the pandemic, we (our research cluster, XS/FS) have noticed that traditional e-mail solicitations are falling short in our goals of getting undergraduate students to sign up through our ORSEE subject recruitment system. We would like to expand our outreach to include things like tabling on Wednesday, posting (legally) flyers, putting out and removing sandwich boards, and so forth.
2 ) There is some possibility of doing "coding" --- not computer coding, but text coding --- of some experiments this term; we don't know how much of this will be able to be handled by AI.
3 ) Having someone to proofread papers and check references would be very helpful.
4 ) FSU IT has been talking for years about abandoning the "myweb" hosting system. If they do, I will need a great deal of help in transitioning to a new system. I need a GoogleSites page in principle, but in practice GoogleSites may not be ideal for transitioning the links and info on my site.

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: REQUIRED: Because our research is controlled by the FSU Human Subjects Committee, we have very strict parameters about interacting with potential subjects. A UROP student would need to understand this and have excellent judgment, integrity, and character reflecting the international principles of human subjects protection. In fact, one of my first requirements would be that the students go through student CITI training for human subjects protection.
RECOMMENDED: Being tech savvy as in a typical "stem"-oriented undergrad.