Session 2

Pulsed laser deposition is a method in which atoms and molecules from a select material are broken off from a larger mass using a targeted laser. These particles arrive onto a heated crystal substrate, allowing for the diffusion of particles and the creation of a new thin film crystal atop the heated substrate. The properties of these thin film materials ... Read More

Lighter-than-air airships were once a promising mode of transportation but declined in use due to early material limitations, safety failures, and competition from heavier-than-air aircraft. Despite this historical setback, advancements in material science, photovoltaics, and hydrogen risk modeling warrant a renewed investigation into the feasibility of airships as a method of shipping. This study evaluates the technical and environmental viability ... Read More

During movement, the brain activates at specific frequencies known as beta (12-30Hz) and mu (8-13Hz) bands. Forearm and hand muscles activate in coordinated patterns to control different types of grips. Previous studies have examined the event-related desynchronization (ERD) occurring in the mu and beta bands during voluntary movement and which muscles activate in certain types of contractions, but do not ... Read More

Quantum algorithms offer the hope to potentially solve computationally expensive problems that are too difficult for classical computers. Superposition and entanglement allow these algorithms to use quantum states to better approximate heuristic solutions. However, current hardware limitations face significant challenges from gate noise and short coherence times, forcing optimized circuits to be created. The Fermi-Hubbard model is a system used ... Read More

Beyond the Standard Model (BSM) theories provide possible explanations for current mysteries of the Standard Model such as parity violation and neutrino mass generation. One of these theories, the left-right symmetric model, introduces an SU(2)R gauge symmetry in which two Higgs triplets are generated from symmetry breaking. The left and right Higgs triplets each contain a neutral, singly charged, and ... Read More

The 2x2 Demonstrator is a near-detector prototype developed for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE). DUNE aims to study neutrino properties and help explain the matter/antimatter asymmetry observed in the universe. As a prototype of the DUNE near detector, 2x2 Demonstrator allows researchers to test detector performance and analyze neutrino interactions on a smaller scale. This project focuses on understanding ... Read More

Predictive maintenance is critical for the efficiency and performance of industrial operations, and while conventional predictive maintenance is often expensive and dependent on cloud infrastructure, the project seeks to design and implement a low-cost fault detection system for rotating machinery using TinyML. The proposed system utilizes a resource-constrained microcontroller (Arduino Nano 33 BLE Sense) to perform real-time monitoring of the ... Read More

Acme Industries is a manufacturing company that develops and produces precision components for industrial, aerospace, and consumer applications. During this internship, the primary focus has been the use of computer-aided design (CAD) via SolidWorks to support the company’s manufacturing and design workflow. Over the course of the internship, work has involved converting existing technical drawings and specifications into accurate three-dimensional ... Read More

Current left-right symmetric (LRS) theories predict a doubly charged particle produced via the Higgs mechanism. The LRS model would be more satisfactory than the Standard Model since it provides insight into neutrino flavor oscillations, parity violations, and lepton-quark symmetry in weak interactions. Due to the limited number of Monte Carlo events at the right tail of the background distribution, we ... Read More

Intramembranous bone regeneration is crucial for the healing of orthopedic procedures. Recent studies demonstrate that this is regulated by periostin (Postn). Postn is expressed on the periosteal surface of cortical bone, the dense outer layer of bone. Postn stimulates osteogenesis (bone formation), and its deletion affects Postn-expressing cells (PECs). However, little research has been conducted on the role of periostin ... Read More

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) remains a major global health challenge, particularly in low-resource regions where current treatments are limited by toxicity, high cost, complex administration, and emerging parasite resistance. The continued burden of disease highlights the urgent need for new, safe, and affordable oral therapies. In response, this project builds on the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) hit compound DNDI0003202833 ... Read More

Leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease that is estimated to affect more than 1.6 million people annually. This disease particularly ravages developing regions with limited access to healthcare. Current treatments against this tropical disease result in devastating side effects on patients, including organ toxicity and prolonged hospitalization. They are often limited by poor pharmacokinetic profiles that cannot maintain efficacious antigen ... Read More

This project focuses on developing the 1502 Cleaning Supplies Website, a digital system designed to improve how cleaning materials are organized, tracked, and accessed in the 1502 RC Office. While the current housekeeping process functions adequately, students often experience difficulty locating supplies or determining what materials are available. These inefficiencies can slow daily routines and create confusion among residents. The ... Read More

The Center for Artificial Intelligence at the Illinois Math and Science Academy primarily serves as the main objective of IMSA’s Vision 2033 and works to bring AI to the community, hoping to spread its powerful applications and tools. My role as the entrepreneurship intern included organizing competitions to spark business ingenuity centered on AI skills, bringing together Illinois’s brightest minds ... Read More

The IMSA Center for Artificial Intelligence continues to advance Theme 1 of IMSA’s Vision 2033 10-year plan: “Build curricular and lab space capacity on the Aurora campus to support the growth and experimentation of artificial intelligence and its applications.” In collaboration with the AI team leads, computer science faculty, the IN2 Innovation Center, IMSA’s Outreach and Public Affairs & Development ... Read More

Traditional aerodynamic optimization has relied heavily on the use of computationally expensive methods, requiring hundreds to thousands of Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations and data to produce optimal designs, often taking days to weeks to complete. This study presents a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) to optimize this process by generating candidate airfoils that are compared with real airfoil data (gathered from ... Read More

Modern machine learning models that have access to images also have access to information about real individuals who are vulnerable to privacy leakage from these models. Diffusion models, a powerful class of image generation models, are now used widely in privacy-sensitive fields such as medicine and consumer tech, yet differential privacy, the standard mathematical framework that provides rigorous privacy guarantees, ... Read More

Currently, the most accurate model at describing observations in particle physics is the Standard Model. However, there are many phenomena that it fails to explain. To explain these phenomena, many theories extend the Standard Model. Some of these theories, like left-right symmetric models, type-II seesaw models, 331 models, and the Zee-Babu neutrino mass model, predict the existence of a new ... Read More

The foot and ankle joint create a rocker mechanism, or roll-over shape (ROS), during walking that reduces vertical body motion and allows for efficient forward movement. In able-bodied individuals, the radius of the ROS stays consistent across different walking speeds because of adaptive ankle joint stiffness. However, prosthetic feet have a constant stiffness, so the ROS radius varies with walking ... Read More

Antiretroviral drugs have significantly improved treatment outcomes for people living with HIV. However, long-term exposure to certain antiretroviral therapies (ARTs) has been associated with detrimental effects on bone metabolism. Our objective is to investigate how exactly the exposure to commonly used antiretroviral drugs influences osteoclast activity. CD14+ monocytes were isolated from human blood and then differentiated into mature osteoclasts. These ... Read More

This project examines the alignment between artificial intelligence credentialing programs and the practical application of AI across major industries, including education, healthcare, technology, transportation, finance, manufacturing, agriculture, and energy. As AI tools become increasingly integrated into professional environments, the demand for standardized training and certification has grown significantly. However, a potential gap may exist between the skills these programs advertise ... Read More

Neuroblastoma is the most common extracranial pediatric tumor, and high-risk MYCN-amplified disease remains difficult to treat. These tumors maintain an undifferentiated state through epigenetic repression by DNMT-mediated DNA methylation and EZH2/PRC2 activity. While tazemetostat reactivates some genes, persistent compensatory DNA methylation suggests combining it with the DNMT inhibitor decitabine may improve gene reactivation. To test this approach, MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma cell ... Read More

The left-right symmetric model says that the doubly charged Higgs boson should exist, and we are searching for it. To prove its existence, we need to be able to differentiate it from other four lepton-producing processes. Drell-Yan may be one of the most important backgrounds for the search but has very low efficiency along with a large cross section. As ... Read More

Variational quantum classifiers (VQCs) are a leading approach for near-term quantum machine learning, but explaining their specific decisions remains a growing challenge. Classical ML has established tools for self-explanation, such as gradient-based heatmaps. However, quantum circuits trained on real hardware cannot use classical backpropagation, requiring quantum-native methods instead. This study applies one such method, the parameter-shift rule, to compute input ... Read More

Antimicrobial resistance is a growing public health challenge in which bacteria evolve the ability to survive antibiotic treatment. As antibiotics become less effective, new strategies are needed to fight bacterial infections. One promising approach is the use of antimicrobial nanoparticles - extremely small materials (< 100 nm) that can interact with bacteria in multiple ways and disrupt important cellular processes. ... Read More

Neuroblastoma is a common and aggressive cancer in young children, with survival rates below 50% in high-risk cases. Many aggressive tumors are driven by MYC family oncogenes, especially MYCN amplification, which promotes rapid tumor growth. Designed Synthetic Transcriptional Repressors (dSTR) are engineered molecules that mimic the MYC binding partner MAX and block MYC from activating genes involved in cancer cell ... Read More

Skin functions as the first line of defense against pathogens and has a paramount role in maintaining numerous bodily functions. This independent study explores the anatomy of the skin and the underlying mechanisms of dermatological diseases. The following categories of conditions were studied: cancerous lesions, infections, autoimmune disorders, genetic diseases, and eczemas, with three representative conditions analyzed for each category. ... Read More

Acute stress can have mental and physiological ramifications, affecting cognitive performance and learning outcomes. This study investigated how short-term stress can be identified through forearm surface electromyographic (sEMG) signal analysis in academic and social situations. Participants underwent the Trier Social Stress Test and were exposed to contrasting high-stress and low-stress conditions involving time pressure and evaluation cues. Stress-inducing circumstances include ... Read More

Multiple Sclerosis, MS, is a chronic and immune-mediated disease affecting 2.8 million people worldwide, and current therapies are incapable of halting disease progression. This study employed PandaOmics, a computational analysis and identification platform, alongside gene expression analysis and literature review, identifying novel molecular targets for MS. Two candidates were prioritized: Arachidonate 15-lipoxygenase type B, or ALOX15B, which was identified to ... Read More

A stroke can damage the brain and cause hemiparesis, which is weakness on one side of the body. Many people with hemiparesis have difficulty walking. Their steps may be uneven, slower, and require more energy than typical walking due to muscle weakness, reduced coordination, and altered neural control. Testing every possible treatment directly on patients is difficult, so computer simulations ... Read More

Cemcon LTD is a civil engineering and land development consulting firm that specializes in site development and land surveying. The company provides essential design, analysis, and permitting services for residential and municipal projects, supporting both private and public developers. This project focuses on documenting and mapping the complete internal workflow of a typical engineering project to create a unified map ... Read More

The City of Chicago, and various overlapping agencies collect vast amounts of money in property taxes. However, the burden of these taxes, like so many others, is not distributed 42 equally. With some Chicago Wards paying more than 30 times as much in property taxes per year than others, study of the property tax distribution is in order. I prepared ... Read More

This internship focuses on supporting the maintenance and improvement of the IMSA website while developing practical skills in web development and digital accessibility. The project’s primary goal is to help ensure that the website remains accurate, organized, and accessible to all users. Through tasks such as updating web pages with basic HTML, organizing media content, and conducting quality checks, this ... Read More

BMP9 (Bone morphogenetic protein 9) is a potent inducer of stem cell osteogenesis differentiation, however, it does not naturally contain heparin-binding (HB) domains which is essential for extracellular matrix (ECM) interaction, intercellular signaling and localized growth. In contrast, although BMP2 exhibits relatively lower osteogenic potency, it possesses an inherent N-terminal HB domain that facilitates optimal ECM anchoring. Thus, gene editing ... Read More

Ovarian cancer is often classified as a cold tumor due to its low tumor mutation burden (TMB) and limited neoantigen expression, which results in poor responses to immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. One possible strategy to increase neoantigen production is to disrupt the fidelity of protein translation. The tRNA modification N6-threonylcarbamoyladenosine (t6A) plays an essential role in maintaining translation accuracy by ... Read More

Maura Hirschauer is the Representative of the 49th district which includes towns in the West Chicago and Bartlett area for the Illinois House of Representatives. The focus of this internship was to learn more about the process of how legislation is passed in Illinois, and how a congressional office runs. Over the course of 6 months, I learned from the ... Read More

During proton therapy treatment planning, a 2.5-3.5% range uncertainty margin is often applied distal and proximal to the target volume to account for inaccuracies in the conversion to relative stopping power. However, this uncertainty margin is generalized throughout the body. Factors such as treatment region, beam range, gender, and age varies for each individual. Consequently, the use of a general ... Read More

A neuromuscular junction is a specialized cell system in our body where neuronal signals from the brain innervate muscle fibers responsible for flexion and extension. Repetitive muscle contractions lead to a depletion of calcium storage, causing muscle fatigue. Understanding SR release, SERCA pumping (moving calcium ions back to the SR), buffering, and the role played by calcium cycling is critical ... Read More

Current prosthetic technology is focused on translating biological signals into mechanical movement. The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between the surface EMG (sEMG) and inertial signals obtained during forearm and wrist movements. Specifically, this study was aimed at fine and coarse motor control using signal analysis and inertial sensors, using MATLAB. Ongoing research aims to improve ... Read More

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), including Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis, is characterized by chronic intestinal inflammation. Although anti-TNFα therapy is commonly used to treat patients who do not respond to standard treatments, up to 40% of patients fail to benefit from this therapy. One potential factor contributing to this resistance is the accumulation of neutrophils in the inflamed mucosa, a ... Read More

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects nearly 57 million individuals worldwide. An effect of the disease is characterized by a disruption in the signal from the production of Nitric Oxide (NO), which highly contributes to negative symptoms that AD patients experience. In neurons, nitric oxide is mainly produced by a compound called neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS). ... Read More

A hallmark of Neurodegenerative diseases is protein aggregation. Aggregates of different proteins can lead to brain damage and loss of nerve cells. The 1988 Amyloid-β Oligomer hypothesis proposes that these soluble, ligand-like AβOs instigate brain damage that leads to Alzheimer’s. The Klein lab observations of fibril-free synthetic preparations of AβOs being potent neurotoxins show that they could rapidly inhibit long-term ... Read More

This study builds on prior work optimizing Fiji (ImageJ), a widely used image-processing tool in cell and molecular biology, and develops a standard protocol to identify and quantify cardiomyocyte subtypes. The primary objective is to analyze different microscopy images of differentiating iPSC cultures using Fiji. This study will address the current challenges of accurately measuring cardiomyocyte differentiation efficiency, manual cell ... Read More

Understanding how carbon moves through Earth’s ecosystem is essential for predicting climate change. However, about 20-30% of the carbon emitted each year remains unaccounted for in global carbon cycle models, which is often referred to as the “missing carbon sink.” Although resolving the missing carbon sink requires large-scale observations and global modeling efforts, smaller regional investigations can provide insight into ... Read More

Stair descent is one of the most biomechanically demanding and unstable gait patterns encountered in daily life. Despite this, comprehensive data integrating multiple physiological markers for this task remains scarce. This study will utilize high density surface electromyography (sEMG) and force plate technology. This study quantifies stair ambulation in healthy adults during stair ambulation. The specific aim is to establish ... Read More

Traditional game AI architectures, including Finite State Machines (FSMs) and behavior trees, face significant scalability limitations as game environments grow more complex, requiring developers to manually script each behavioral state and transition. Goal-Oriented Action Planning (GOAP) introduced declarative planning to games but brought computational overhead and complex authoring requirements. This project proposes an ABL-style (A Behavior Language) reactive planning system ... Read More

Neutrinos are one of the most abundant subatomic particles in the universe, yet they interact with matter very infrequently. They oscillate between three flavors: electron, muon, and tau neutrinos, with these oscillations depending on neutrino energy. Determining neutrino energy is therefore vital to studying neutrino behavior. The focus for this research was to use machine learning to model neutrino interactions, ... Read More

Neurotoxic amyloid-beta oligomers (AβOs) accumulate in Alzheimer’s Disease patients, driving cognitive decline and dementia. Determining their size and distinguishing them from benign or beneficial oligomers via Western Blots (WB) could help in the development of targeted therapeutics. However, this analysis is particularly challenging for AβO aggregates, given their inconsistent accumulation and tendency to dissociate upon exposure to detergents such as ... Read More

Type 1 Diabetes is a chronic illness that affects a large population of people in the world today. MTS1 is a gene associated with Type 1 Diabetes and has been identified as a high-importance 63 target for treatment. The gene is pertaining to degradation of the amount of insulin secretion taking place within the body. Inhibiting the MST1 gene would ... Read More

As conservationists preserve natural spaces in Illinois, knowing what plants and animals inhabit them enables better land management decisions. LaSalle county is home to a wide range of unique ecosystems like ravines, wetlands, and prairies that are being protected to preserve natural history and communities. To better understand how to effectively conserve these ecosystems, I am partnering with the Conservation ... Read More

Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) is a severe inflammatory lung condition characterized by disruption of the pulmonary endothelial barrier, leading to vascular leakage and respiratory failure. Although endothelial dysfunction is central to ARDS progression, the molecular regulators that maintain endothelial barrier stability during injury remain scarcely understood. This study investigates the role of End Binding Protein 3 (EB3), a microtubule-associated ... Read More

The left-right symmetric model (LRSM) restores the left-right symmetry broken by parity violation in the weak interaction of the Standard Model (SM) and predicts the existence of a doubly-charged Higgs boson (H++ ). Our analysis calculates limits on the production cross section of the doubly charged Higgs boson using an unbinned likelihood fit. Since the extracted limits depend on the ... Read More

In order to treat urethral stricture disease, the narrowing of the urethra, substitution urethroplasty procedure has to be completed. The procedure causes a buildup of scar tissue, leading to the blockage returning and increasing the risk for patients with various health issues. A graft, a piece of tissue or plant material that is transplanted from one part of the body ... Read More

The perovskite crystal structure is a structure of the form ABX3, where A, B, and X are elements in a 1:1:3 ratio. Oxygen-deficient perovskites are a variant of this structure with less Oxygen than normal, causing their structure to be complex and uniquely useful to fields such as catalysis and fuel cells. Four compounds of the Oxygen-deficient perovskite class were ... Read More

Computer vision models are algorithms that classify and interpret images, typically through neural networks trained with machine learning. One common application of computer vision is in drones, which are being used for surveillance, defense, and traffic monitoring. Computer vision models can often be vulnerable to adversarial patches attacks. Adversarial patches are created to deceive object detection systems into causing objects ... Read More

The brain’s medial habenula (MHb-IPN) pathway has been shown to be significant in regulating both nicotine intake and withdrawal. Within this pathway are calcium-permeable AMPA receptors which are activated by Glutamate binding. When these AMPA receptors are open, their is an influx of Calcium ions within the cell that can activate downstream processes such as Long-Term Potentiation, activation of Protein ... Read More

This project investigates how machine learning and computer vision can be used to recognize human hand gestures and translate them into control signals for a prosthetic or robotic hand. Using a webcam and computer vision tools such as MediaPipe, a program was developed to track hand landmarks and collect gesture data in real time. These landmark positions are used to ... Read More

To investigate theories beyond the Standard Model, Monte Carlo simulations are utilized to model particle collisions and gain information about theoretical particles. In our dual search for the dark photon and doubly charged Higgs boson, we need to validate the accuracy of our Monte Carlo simulations to ensure correspondence with Standard Model particles. We achieve this by generating hundreds of ... Read More