Three UM students were selected to receive grants to carry out student-driven projects as part of the 2012 ACC-IAC Fellows Program in Creativity and Innovation.  The ACCIAC Fellowships support undergraduates involved in student-driven projects at each of the ACC member campuses. This program directly connects undergraduate students to core ACC university missions of creativity and innovation and represents the conference’s excellence in, and commitment to, quality undergraduate education.

Ian Ergui – Genetic Modification of Archaea for Industrial Bioleaching
Ian Ergui and his student team will receive a grant to genetically modify one strain of archaea for industrial bioleaching and enter the project in the 2013 International Genetically Engineered Machine (IGEM) Competition. Modern copper mining is an environmentally unfriendly and inefficient affair. Froth flotation, smelting, roasting, and electro refining - all modern methods of copper extraction from ore - leave behind vast mountains of waste rock and low grade copper and contribute to air pollution. While humans have not found ways to use this waste rock, fast replicating archaea (bacteria that live in extreme conditions) have found ways to thrive in it, converting the mining byproducts into usable copper. The existence of these bacteria has lead to the formation of a new leaching technique called bioleaching, in which heaps of these archaea are dumped onto piles of mining runoff and the usable copper (in liquid form) is collected at the bottom of the heap. While this process is environmentally friendly, it is terribly inefficient, because the archaea used require very specific, highly acidic conditions, and they replicate very slowly. Therefore, bioleaching is currently much less profitable than conventional mining practices. Ian and his team propose to genetically modify Thiobacillus ferooxidans with the hope of developing a faster-reproducing, cost-effective version of the naturally occurring archaea.

Amith Ravindar – Electronic Medical Record System for the Developing World
Amith Ravindar plans to build, test, and deploy an inexpensive, durable, energy-efficient electronic medical record system that can be utilized in the developing world. Medical diagnoses are not made in a vacuum, but rather through an amalgamation of patient information and treatment history. The assessment of such a patient profile is greatly improved with digital technology, specifically electronic medical record systems (EMRs). While EMRs are available in many Western hospitals, the technology has yet to penetrate the developing world.  Amith’s project will use innovative, readily available consumer products to create and implement a pilot EMR system for the developing world. He hopes this technology will enhance the accuracy of diagnoses and facilitate the provision of timely treatment in environments that serve high volumes of critically ill patients.

Tatayanna Cox-Taylor – F.A.C.E.  Female African-Americans Committed to Excellence in Engineering
Tatayanna Cox-Taylor will use the ACC-IAC grant to implement Female African-Americans Committed to Excellence in Engineering (FACE), a program she designed to bridge the achievement gap among African-American females in engineering fields.  The program will provide an introduction to engineering careers and college preparation workshops to young women at her alma mater in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  Through presentations by engineers, teachers, Westinghouse alumnae and hands-on activities, FACE participants will increase their knowledge of careers in engineering and their opportunities to attend college.