The Vertically Integrated Projects (VIPR) program follows a national model and aims to offer a research structure that supports collaborative, interdisciplinary research teams that include undergraduate researchers, their faculty mentors, and other scientists such as graduate students, postdoctoral associates, and faculty collaborators.
Agricultural Robotics VIPR Team
The primary goal of this VIPR team is to empower students by equipping them with practical skills and cutting-edge theoretical knowledge in the field of agricultural robotics. Through hands-on research, students will delve into concepts, algorithms, and technologies, which they will then apply to real-world agricultural problems. The concepts and technologies initiated by the students […]
Agrivoltaics: Land-Centered Solutions for a Sustainable Energy Transition
Rapid climate change associated with the burning of fossil fuels has stimulated a global transition towards renewable energy sources. However, the lower “energy density” of clean energy sources such as photovoltaics (solar power) means that large areas of land are needed to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. Agrivoltaics provides a potential win-win for landowners […]
Perception & Preparedness: Healthcare Seeking Behaviors Before, During & After a Pandemic
This project aims to immerse undergraduate and graduate students in an in-depth analysis of healthcare decision-making behaviors as captured through a series of public opinion polls conducted by the Center for Health Risk Communication and Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases. Focusing on critical issues like vaccine acceptance, this endeavor seeks to unravel the […]
Developing Techniques & Devices for AI Enabled Earth-Observing Small Satellites VIPR Team
With the proliferation of satellites in space, low Earth orbit traffic becomes “jammed”, making it necessary to be more efficient in space-based data collection and downlink. From the perspective of Earth observers, the way to accomplish this efficiency goal is twofold: 1) Use small satellites (CubeSats), which have shorter mission lifetimes and more easily satisfy […]
GlycoSTEM Discovery VIPR Team
GlycoSTEM Discovery is an interdisciplinary VIPR team focused on harnessing stem cell biology and glycobiology to develop new disease models and therapeutic approaches for treating rare diseases. Approximately 30 million individuals in the United States are living with a rare disease, which by definition have a prevalence of 200,000 or fewer cases in the United States. […]
Metabolomics & Systems Biology VIPR Team
Systems Biology is big data in biology. It often refers to large “omics” datasets that are modeled and analyzed for biological insight. Increasingly, machine learning and AI are important tools in this analysis. The Edison lab specializes in metabolomics, which is one of the major components of systems biology. These technologies are important in many […]
SPREE: Social Psychology of Research Experiences and Education Team
The SPREE team studies undergraduate research experiences, including the impacts of embedding research into courses and expanding the pool of research undergraduate research mentors to include graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. This team designs and conducts qualitative and quantitative studies to understand how different forms of research experiences influence students’ educational and career trajectories—for example, by […]