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Graduate Student Pitch Competition winner Flaviyan Jerome Irudayanathan with judge Craig Marcinkowski from Gryphon Sensors.

The College of Engineering and Computer Science celebrated student innovation at the annual Research Day luncheon. The focus of the recent event is on the importance of bringing research to a broad audience and presenting it in a way that is accessible to people learning about the topic for the first time.

90 undergraduate and graduate students showcased posters explaining their research areas, and 16 Ph.D. students made three- to five-minute pitch presentations to a panel of judges. The competition was designed to mimic real-world situations where a researcher might only have a few minutes to convince a business or investor that his/her concept was worth pursuing.

Biomedical and Chemical Engineering (BMCE) graduate student Flaviyan Jerome Irudayanathan won the pitch competition with a proposal he hopes will help find a cure for Alzheimer’s Disease. He presented his research on “Molecular Transport Through Blood-Brain Pores” and how it may be possible to deliver small amounts of prescription drugs to areas of the brain that are difficult to access. His research proposal also won the biomedical and chemical engineering poster competition.

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) graduate student Matt Rushby ’16 took second place with a proposal to reduce carbon emissions from power plants. His research was titled “Oxygen transport membrane for oxy-fuel combustion and carbon capture purpose.”

There was a tie for third place. Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) student Yiou Xiao G’11 won for his presentation on “Prediction of Biological Functions by Histone Modification Patterns Profiling.” Pranay Sharma, also an EECS student, won for his presentation on “Inferring Communication Network Topology via Transfer Entropy.”

MAE student Andrew Welles G’09 won the overall poster competition for his work on “CFD Analysis of Distributed Propulsion Systems for Vertical Takeoff and Landing.”

Hang Yin G’15 won the MAE poster competition for research focused on “Modified Artificial Potential Field for UAV Formation Generation and Changing.”

Graduate student Omar Youssef El Masri’s research on “A Cost-Effective Method to Retrofit Steel Girders” won the Civil and Environmental Engineering poster competition.

Yiou Xiao and Diksha Shukla tied for the best poster in the BMCE poster competition. Yiou Xiao’s poster explained his research on “Prediction of Biological Functions by Histone Modification Patterns Profiling,” and Diksha Shukla’s poster focused on how “Your Smartphone Security is at Risk!”

Research Day was organized by Gurdip Singh, associate dean for research and doctoral programs, and Yoanna Ferarra, director of research, graduate programs and corporate relations.