Engineering students participate in undergraduate research symposium

Twelve students represented East Carolina University’s Department of Engineering at the State of North Carolina Undergraduate Research and Creativity Symposium Nov. 23 at Duke University.

A dozen ECU students from the Department of Engineering participated in a statewide undergraduate research symposium. (Contributed photos)

The annual event is designed to showcase undergraduate student research and creative work, while allowing participants in all fields a forum to share the results of their work through posters, presentations, performances and works of art.

Students representing the department and their topics included:

• Jackson Reckord — Fourth Industrial Revolution and its Impact on Hazardous Waste Management, Dr. Arun Aneja advisor
• Owen VanRiper— Alternate Energy Substitution Dynamics Using a Generalized Logistic Growth Model, Aneja advisor
• Mackenzie Wheeler — Mechanical Failure of Human Fetal Membrane Tissues in Premature Birth, Dr. Michelle Oyen advisor
• Jeremiah James —Predicting Controlled Drug Release from Hydrogels, Oyen advisor
• Thomas Albanese, Mariah Mook, Natalie Bell and Liam Pyle —The Threshold of Human Hearing in Complex Outdoor Environments, Dr. Teresa Ryan advisor
• Julian Quintero, Caleb Barber, Quichawna Bryant, Alyssa King —Acoustic Transmission Loss in Complex Outdoor Environments, Ryan advisor

The event typically includes around 1,000 participants and more than 400 presentations. Started in 2003 for undergraduate students at three universities in the Triangle, it has since expanded to include public and private colleges and universities from throughout the state. Usually taking place in November, the symposium rotates sites each year. ECU is scheduled to host the event in 2020.