DPI Research Scholars
DPI Research Scholars is a new program to place junior and senior engineering, computer science, data science or data analytics students from UIC, UIUC, and Illinois Tech into teams of 3-5 to work on specific projects identified by the DPI Science Teams.
The student teams will engage in research and development activities around a project and produce a set of deliverables, typically a written research report and a presentation, video, or demo. Students will work remotely on their project 20 hours per week.
Students in the program will enroll in a three-credit-hour course that promotes the exploration of R&D that is infused with the spirit of entrepreneurship, facilitates interaction among students and student teams, and introduces applied research topics, Chicago tech speakers, and cutting-edge technology applications.
The DPI Science Teams will benefit by having students work on technical challenges and getting new perspectives to bring solutions from ideation to reality.
Students benefit by working on team projects that address real-world issues and by developing technical skills while earning an hourly rate. Students will see first-hand how research projects are formulated and will contribute directly to realizing solutions. Work products can be used to demonstrate the student’s ability to build innovative solutions and could even propel them toward a career in R&D.
Examples of Science Team Projects in Spring 2022 and Fall 2022
The Bridge Deck and Pavement Rapid Assessment team is working on using machine learning tools to determine the condition of bridge deck materials, the need for maintenance/replacement, and the overall safety of the structure. The team is using vibration-based assessment techniques using accelerometers, applying machine learning methods to classify material health, and create an augmented reality application for mobile phones to transmit this performance to the on-site observer of the bridge deck.
This project will advance the development of a system that enables clinicians to search, filter, and retrieve clinical, organizational, and personal information at the point of care. The team is using a wide variety of website development, elasticsearch, and software development skills and tools to simplify the diagnosis and treatment decisions and improve patient and clinician experiences as well as patient outcomes.
The ability to detect and mitigate the spread of misinformation via the World Wide Web is perhaps the enduring challenge of the 21st Century and has profound implications for how science and other factual information is received and accepted. This project strives to use data science, AI, machine learning, and natural language processing to produce a ready-to-use product that labels misinformation independent from (but in consultation with) social media platforms in real time.
Combating climate change requires a massive scale-up of renewable energy usage in our lives. The goal of this project is to use intuitive data visualization panels to help local and regional stakeholder groups improve the adoption of renewable energy in transportation and other fields. This project uses a digital twin framework to digitally simulate activities and determine the impacts of urban planning strategies. Specifically, this project is looking at determining the optimal placement of EV charging stations in a specific neighborhood of Chicago.
Students accepted into the DPI Research Scholars Program candidate pool will participate in a zoom call to learn in more detail about the Science Team projects. Students will fill out a preference form for any project on which they would be willing to work, including a skills and interest inventory. This information will be used to match students with a Science Team project. Once matched, students will work with their student team, their Science Team Advisor, and the DPI Program Administrator to create a solution to address their assigned Science Team Project.
Questions?
Please email your questions to jalva1@illinois.edu or check out the frequently asked questions (FAQ) here.