Project Teams

[001] Hydroponic spinach system: Design a nutrient formulation and seeding device for hydroponically grown spinach.

Hydroponic agricultural systems are potentially viable for high-value or sensitive crops, like tomatoes and spinach.  These systems may be especially useful in urban areas in order to produce local vegetable crops.  There are many opportunities to improve on the sustainability of hydroponic systems including, but not limited to, developing strategies to recycle nutrients, testing improved seeding materials and methods, and coupling hydroponics with aquaculture.  This is project uses spinach as a model crop because it grows rapidly.  Students interested in this project will have opportunities to couple biological engineering with plant science.

[002] Building a better intestinal model

The intestinal tract serves as a primary vehicle for exposing humans and other animals to their surroundings.  Technically, the length of the GI tract is outside the body and therefore has many mechanisms of both interacting with and protecting against the outside world.  Research in understanding the GI tract and the microorganisms that live along its length is limited to animal and very simple in vitro models.  This project will work on building a more realistic intestinal model, complete with the peristaltic motions that allow intestinal content to move through the body and that also serve to protect the host from bacterial invasion. Students with interests in mechanical models, the computer/model interface and intestinal biology should consider applying.

[003] Combating Phylloxera on grape roots

There are over 1,043,000 acres of bearing grapes in the United States (National Agricultural Statistics, 2012).  With the exception of approximately 67,000 acres being grown in Washington state, the vast majority of the remaining >900,000 acres don’t grow on their own roots; they are grafted onto rootstocks that are either tolerant or resistant to Phylloxera vastatrix – a microscopic insect related to aphids that feeds on the roots of most commercially-grown grapevines.  We are trying to determine the factors that play into selection of grapes by phylloxera.  Students with interest in chemical ecology or interspecies communication should consider applying.  Our focus will be on first understanding then manipulating crosstalk between phylloxera and their hosts.

[004] Determining flood risk on the shores of Lake Ontario

On January 1, 2017, after 16 years of scientific study, public engagement, and governmental review, the International Joint Commission (IJC) – a U.S./Canadian commission charged with the management of trans-boundary water bodies – instituted a new lake level management plan for Lake Ontario. “Plan 2014” was designed to support coastal ecosystems by reintroducing some of the natural variability in lake levels that was eliminated under the previous lake management plan. However, the increased variability comes at the cost of heightened flood risk in coastal communities due to more frequent high lake levels. This flood risk is most prominent on the south shore of Lake Ontario in New York State.

In this project, a team of M.Eng students will use this database to help develop a quantitative flood risk assessment tool for shoreline communities. Specifically, students will use the survey responses to test whether flood inundation can be predicted using a simple model of flood risk. The students will collate existing data, such as lake level monitoring data and LIDAR elevation data for individual land parcels across the southern shore of Lake Ontario. Using ArcGIS and simple data analysis tools in MATLAB or R statistical software environments, they will determine if these two data sources can be used to predict actual inundation extent on individual land parcels, as documented by the images and survey responses. Students will then couple extreme value analyses on lake level, storm surge, and wave height data with shoreline elevation data to develop models of flood risk for the region. Students will document model development and prediction accuracy for key case study communities along the shoreline in a final project report. The results of this analysis will help NYSG understand whether an accurate flood damage evaluation tool can be developed using existing remotely sensed and gaged-based datasets.

[005] Microsystems engineering for algal blooms

The occurrence of harmful algal blooms(HABs) has been increasing due to nutrient enrichment of  waters by the  run-off from urban, agriculture and industrial development. HABs are caused by sudden growth of cyanobacteria, that secret toxins causing severe health problems and endangering aquatic systems. Current assays for studying HABs are large scale, experimental ponds or test tubes, they are not designed to study multiple environmental cues on the growth of cyanobacteria.

As a result, there is limited understanding for the onset condition of HABs. This project will introduce students to use nano- micro- technology to study single cell growth under well-controlled complex environmental conditions. The goal of the project is to find a sustainable solution for the management of HABs. Students who have either microfabrication or microbiology background is strongly encouraged to apply.

[006] Building a Crowdsourced Food Properties Knowledge Base

Food and agricultural products have many physical, chemical and biological characteristics (properties) that determine their acceptability, quality and safety. We propose to build the data infrastructure and a web-based tool that will easily provide food property data for decision making for any food to anyone, anytime and anywhere. Measured data from the literature, supplemented by mathematical prediction models that estimate properties when measured data is unavailable, will populate the tool. The tool will be crowd-sourced for users for both submission and retrieval. This knowledge base should reduce the time and resources in product development. In academia; students will graduate with a more robust understanding of food materials, making them more efficient developers of new products/processes. The MEng student will need to have background in PHP and SQL. A prototype of the software is already developed and the student will be adding features to it and improving the structure as needed.

[007] Building Educational Food Safety and Risk Simulations for Engineers and Scientists

The overall mission of the project is to enhance teaching and learning through the use of simulation. We are working toward enhancing food safety (and quality) education by developing multi-disciplinary (predictive microbiology, engineering, risk analysis), multi-level, quantitative, simulation-based learning modules that are easily incorporated into existing courses. The MEng student will develop Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)-based and the software R-based simulations of processes. The student will need knowledge of and interest in engineering simulations and applications to food processes.

 [008] Developing more biocompatible catheters

Catheters are thin tubes that are inserted in the patient’s body for various therapeutic and diagnostic purposes. They are typically made of medical grade plastics or silicon rubbers. The global market for catheters was estimated around $9 billion in 2015, and is expected to reach $15 billion by 2022. The biofouling and fibrosis of catheters are well known challenges. For example, the catheters used in insulin pumps worn by many diabetic patients often need to be replaced every 3-5 days because of the biofouling. In this project, we aim to develop a new class of catheters that have reduced biofouling and can last longer in patients.

[009] Developing more comfortable contact lenses

Many different types of biomaterials have been used for contact lenses, but there are still challenges. For example, silicone elastomer is highly permeable to oxygen and therefore provides minimal interference to corneal respiration. However, its hydrophobic surface must be treated to allow comfortable wear. Hydrogel lenses (e.g. HEMA based hydrogels) have a high water content and are more comfortable. However, for hydrogel-based lenses, oxygen permeability is low, much lower than the silicone lenses. Another type of contact lenses are the silicone-hydrogel hybrid ones (such as AerGel, a co-blocked silicone-hydrogel with water content of over 40%, Bausch & Lomb), but their manufacturing becomes more complex and expensive. Furthermore, the silicone hydrogels still have lower water content than traditional hydrogel materials. In this project, we aim to develop a new class of contact lenses that have both high oxygen permeability and high water content or wear comfort. The design will also prevent dehydration of the tear film.

[010] Thermal modelling of aquaponic greenhouse structures

Thermal modelling of heat balances on greenhouses is a site specific problem. Project will use existing thermal models and adapt them for general application to client site locations around the world.  Heat balances are necessary to predict operating costs of the greenhouse on a year round basis.

[011] Stormwater Infrastructure: Flood Risks and Ecological Connectivity

Flood risks in the northeastern US are an acute and growing concern. Widespread flooding from recent hurricanes Irene and Lee as well as Super-Storm Sandy have garnered national and international attention. However, many more localized flash flood events have peppered the region with perceived increasing frequency. Projections of more frequent large or high intensity rainfall events, combined with expanded development of currently rural landscapes, suggest the flood risks will continue to escalate.

Students will work in teams to collect stormwater infrastructure data and analyze the existing capacity of the system. Stormwater infrastructure refers to road culverts but may also include road ditches, stormwater catch basins and pipes, stormwater retention structures, and green infrastructure (e.g., bioswales). The capacities through the stormwater system will be compared to estimates of storm runoff under recent and projected climate conditions as well as current and projected land uses. All data and analyses will be incorporated into a regional database for use by communities and municipalities in prioritizing stormwater upgrades. In addition, a final report will be prepared for each watershed-based team and uploaded to the Internet. Students will also receive formal training in the North Atlantic Aquatic Connectivity Consortium (NAACC) protocols for assessing potential aquatic barriers. These protocols will be used in field data collection and the data will be added to the regional NAACC database.