Chapman Engineering Students Present Innovative Research to University Community

Fowler School of Engineering students presented their research to the Chapman University community during the Fall 2024 Student Scholar Symposium. This bi-annual event is hosted by the Center for Undergraduate Excellence – a department on campus dedicated to undergraduate success. 

During oral and poster presentations, engineering students showcased their research on topics like machine learning, fiber optics, identifying biases in large language models, and so much more!  

Students took advantage of the many research opportunities available at Fowler Engineering through funding and faculty mentorship.  Each student worked with their faculty advisor to pursue a research topic related to their interest in engineering. 

December 4, 2025 

Oral Session I:

Student(s): Maha Bhatti 

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Emad Arasteh 

Research: Early Performance Prediction for Loosely-Timed Contention-Aware Models of GoogLeNet”

Oral Session II: 

Student(s): Alexandra Fomina, Quillan Gee, Laurel Latt 

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Trudi Qi 

Research: Personalized Virtual Reality Gait Training System for Full-Body Obstacle Avoidance Using Real-Time Motion Analysis 

Oral Session III:

Student(s): Ponthea Zahraii 

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Nasim Estakhri 

Research: Machine Learning for Photonic Applications: Optical Forces and Beyond 

Student(s): Max Randall 

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Mark Harrison 

Research: Fiber Optic Polarimetric Stress Sensor for Characterizing Biomaterials 

December 5, 2024

Poster Presentation I: 

Student(s): Jaime Song, Hannah Bauer 

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Franceli Cibrian 

Research: Advancing Holographic Interactivity: Design Principles and User Engagement in HoloMind 

Student(s): Yanelly Mego 

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Franceli Cibrian 

Research: Using Wearable Sensors to Improve Feedback Given to Dance Students 

Student(s): Isaac Browen 

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Trudi Qi 

Research: Creative Insights into Motion: Enhancing Human Activity Understanding with 3D Data Visualization and Annotation  

Student(s): Miles Milosevich 

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Yuxin Wen 

Research: Privacy-Aware System Failure Prediction Through Joint Longitudinal-Survival Modeling 

Student(s): Nikhil Ahuja, Gabe Davidson, Caden Goodwin 

Faculty Advisor: Jon Humphreys 

Research: Using VR and AI to Enhance Fire Evacuation Training: A Study of Human and AI-Optimized Decision-Making 

Student(s): Gabriel Davidson, Nikhil Ahuja, Caden Goodwin 

Faculty Advisor: Jon Humphreys 

Research: Mitigating the Risks of Fire Evacuations Through Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence 

Student(s): Sarah Fieck 

Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. LouAnne Boyd, Dr. Chelsea Parlett-Pelleriti 

Research: Measuring Bias Towards Women and People with Disabilities in Large Language Models 

Student(s): Diego Murillo 

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Franceli Cibrian 

Research: Evaluating A WhatsApp Tool for Tracking Developmental Milestones in Young South African Children  

Student(s): Matthew Shugarte 

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Nicole Wagner

Research: Analysis of Lattice Structures through Fused Deposition Modeling Manufacturing of Thermoplastic Polyurethane and Finite Element Analysis 

Student(s): Kourtney Barbour, Leeor Oshri, Miles Milosevich 

Faculty Advisor: Tony Lemus 

Research: A Wearable Knee Alignment Correction Device for Real-Time Monitoring and Feedback 

Student(s): Neil Azimo 

Faculty Advisor: Adam Borecki 

Research: Software Implementations and Analyses of the Emotional Impact of Various Binaural Beat Classifications Layered into Music 

Student(s): Hatte Hamilton, Anne Marie Santich 

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Andrew Lyon 

Research: Exploring the Mechanical and Physical Properties of Ultra-Soft Colloidal Microgels 

Student(s): Joshua Abuyog, Abby Caine 

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Andrew Lyon 

Research: Synthesis and Fluorescence Imaging of Dye-Labeled Microgels and their Incorporation into Microgel Pastes 

Student(s): Megan Hicks 

Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. Andrew Lyon, Dr. E. Daniel Cárdenas-Vásquez, Elif Narbay 

Research: Rheological Insights into Microgel Behavior: Modeling Velocity Profiles and Flow Characteristics 

Poster Presentation II:

Student(s): Paige Caskey, Spencer Au, Joshua Vaysman, Rhea John, Jack DeBruyn, Briana Craig, Gage Kizzar, Johny Dabbous 

Faculty Advisor: Dr. LouAnne Boyd 

Research: Welcome to the Disco: Developing Celebratory Technology to Reduce Social Stigma in College Students 

Student(s): Luke Valerio 

Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. Nasim Estakhri, Dr. Nooshin Estakhri 

Research: Genetic Algorithm Guided Design of Low Power Plasmonic Nanotweezers 

Student(s): Lupe Torres 

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Nasim Estakhri 

Research: Using Archytas Robot for Controlled Movement of Antenna Probes 

Student(s): Mason Li, and Tiffany Le 

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Yuxin Wen 

Research: Tensor-Based Multi-modal Data Fusion 

Student(s): Connor Caruthers 

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Nooshin Estakhri 

Research: Coherent Backscattering in Finite Disordered Structures 

Student(s): Olivia Chilvers 

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Franceli Cibrian 

Research: Design Implications for Montessori Education Applications 

Student(s): Ellie Nguyen 

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Franceli Cibrian 

Research: HarmonicThreads: A Computer Musical Interface that Supports Accessibility

Student(s): Daniel Mattar 

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Andrew Lyon 

Research: Atomic Force Microscopy Imaging of Ultra-Low Crosslinked Microgel Paste Arrangement and Dynamics 

Student(s): Marion Harper, Hatte Hamilton 

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Andrew Lyon, Elif Narbay 

Research: Microgel Paste Thin Films as Sacrificial Supports in 3D Printing