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Summer research program builds student confidence

SURE saw 66 NSME students, six high schoolers in fourth year

By California State University, Bakersfield

August 20^th, 2024

Whether it was creating biochar from organic waste, studying plastic pollution and invasive species in freshwater ecosystems or designing water piping networks, participants in the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience had their work cut out for them during the four-week program held earlier this summer.

Sponsored by Chevron, SURE gives students the opportunity to conduct hands-on research on real-world topics, working alongside faculty members from California State University, Bakersfield’s School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering. This year, 72 students worked in 10 teams on projects ranging the scientific gamut.

“SURE is always a popular program,” said Dr. Andrea Medina, director of grants and outreach for NSME. “Students get really excited about it every year. Not only are they learning about whatever topic their project covers, but they’re also getting valuable problem-solving skills that will be impressive to future employers. And they are clearly having fun too, which makes it even better.”

For the first time in its four years, SURE invited students from local high schools to apply for the program. Six students from Arvin High School and East Bakersfield High School participated in the program. The university already partners with the two high schools for a peer mentor program as part of a K-16 pathways collaborative.

“Something that is so special about CSUB is the access of research experience to undergraduate students,” Dr. Medina said. “Opening SURE up to high schoolers lets us get them in a lab even sooner. We know how formative research experiences like these can be, so why not help light that spark of inspiration earlier?”

Chevron has sponsored SURE since its inception, originally planned for 2020 and pushed back to 2021 due to the pandemic. Before SURE, the company sponsored its predecessor, Revs Up, a similar research program aimed at teenagers. In total, Chevron has funded summer research programs at CSUB for 18 years.

“Thanks to Chevron’s nearly two decades of support for our summer research programs, hundreds of students have had the chance to see science in action and the impact it can have on our world,” Dr. Medina said. “After 18 years, most of these student researchers have gone on to earn their degrees and find work in the sciences, putting to use the very skills learned in these programs.”

‘I didn’t know what biochar was!’

Before this summer, Giovanni Marquez had never heard of biochar, but after four weeks working on a SURE project, he and his five teammates could not only tell anyone who is interested all about the black substance and what it’s used for, they could even make it themselves in the lab and run experiments adding it to other materials.

“I didn’t know what biochar was!” said Marquez, an electrical engineering student going into his junior year in the fall. The research project “has been fun! The hands-on experience is what I enjoy the most.”

As they learned from working with Dr. Zhongzhe Liu — an associate professor of engineering — biochar is created by “burning” organic waste materials without oxygen, like forest trimmings and agricultural waste. Biochar can sequester carbon for 100 years, making it a valuable tool in carbon neutrality. Alone, biochar can be used as a soil amendment, but Dr. Liu’s team of student researchers wanted to learn how adding biochar to infrastructure materials could be a way to improve the final product’s properties and reduce greenhouse gas emissions too.

Dr. Liu’s students spent the first several days of the SURE program doing literature review and watching demonstrations. From there, they ran pyrolysis experiments in the lab to gain hands-on skills, heating biomass materials without oxygen. One team worked with woody forest waste while the other worked with agriculture waste. After pyrolysis, the teams had three products created from the biomass: gas, liquid and biochar.

Finally, the students used the biochar they created to synthesize new materials, combining the biochar with chemically bonded phosphate ceramics. They then tested the strength of the combined material to see how it stacks against traditional infrastructure materials. If used for repairing potholes, for example, the new material needs to be able to handle the weight of traffic.

“I think they did a great job,” Dr. Liu said of his students. “It’s their first time to touch the renewable energy field. It’s their first time for most of them to touch the material synthesis field.”

For Marquez and his teammate Jason Vasquez, their SURE project with Dr. Liu is their first time doing any research outside of classroom experiments. They both agreed that their introduction to research has been an overwhelmingly positive experience.

“Coming in here, I was nervous because it was my first time ever doing anything like this. I didn’t know if everyone else was experienced and they knew what to do,” Marquez said. “But being here … you build your confidence. I’m not as nervous as I was when I first came here. It’s not as scary as I thought.”

Vasquez, an incoming freshman who will be majoring in computer science, said he enjoyed working with his hands and problem-solving on the project but got even more out of the experience than something to add to his resume.

“It’s been a really cool experience getting to know these people,” Vasquez said of his teammates. “I feel like it’s a really warm welcome to CSUB. It’s giving me an example of what campus is.”

Summer research program builds student confidence

Water pollution and water piping

As current high school students, Nancy Hernandez and Nathalie Gutierrez have already dipped their toes into the waters of scientific research. Both incoming juniors at Arvin High School, the two worked with CSUB biologist Dr. Rae McNeish on a project studying how plastic pollution and invasive species affect the animals that live in freshwater ecosystems.

“My experience in the SURE program was rewarding, especially as a high school student getting to engage in college-level research!” Hernandez said. “It was challenging, but I got to learn a lot from experienced mentors. This opportunity has given me a taste of what college research is like and has inspired me to learn more.”

Hernandez and Gutierrez both heard about the SURE program when CSUB students visited their class to tell them about the opportunity. Both felt it was a worthwhile way to spend their summer.

“My classmates were great company since we all helped each other out,” Gutierrez said. “Having the opportunity to work at college-level research was a great opportunity for me. I was able to explore new things.”

William Lazaro, an electrical engineering major heading into his sophomore year this fall, worked on a project designing water piping networks with engineer Dr. Karim Salehpoor. Lazaro was drawn to engineering because of its potential to improve lives with technology. In the project with Dr. Salehpoor, Lazaro and his teammates used small-scale models to look at ways water could travel through pipes most efficiently.

As Lazaro explained, proper piping networks in households could help reduce excessive water use, lowering water bills and helping drought-prone California save water. Another benefit of efficient piping is in fire sprinkler systems, getting water to the desired location with the right amount of pressure to put out fires.

“I was given the opportunity to act as an engineer, being able to understand not only waterflow, but also, as an engineer, what thought process goes behind building a project,” Lazaro said. He also learned “how to make a whiteboard diagram come to life right in front of you, built and working just as you have planned it out to be.”

Lazaro said he “truly enjoyed” his time working with Dr. Salehpoor and other students on the project. The group ran into issues obtaining necessary supplies, but it taught Lazaro how scientists overcome unexpected delays and find ways to make the best use of their time while they wait. Communication was another important skill he learned from the project, as his group went from a collection of strangers to a team of friends able to work together seamlessly.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better experience than the one I had,” Lazaro said. “All in all, my experience in SURE was beyond satisfactory.”

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Footnotes

Story by Kelly Ardis, communications specialist, School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering (NSME); Photos by Abel Núñez-Guerrero, Outreach & Community College Coordinator for NSME

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FootNotes

Story by Kelly Ardis, communications specialist, School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering (NSME); Photos by Abel Núñez-Guerrero, Outreach & Community College Coordinator for NSME

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Summer research program builds student confidence

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