Neurotechnologies to Help the Body Move, Heal and Feel Again

Supported by NSF award #1650536 (REU site), #1757949 (IUCRC BRAIN REU Supplement), #1827769 (PFI REU Supplement), #1932734 (CBET REU Supplement)

Interested in gaining research experience in engineering?
Spend ten weeks this summer performing research in emergent neurotechnologies to help people with disabilities in the Cullen College of Engineering at UH — and earn a $5,000 stipend!

The Cullen College of Engineering (CCoE) at the University of Houston will host a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) programs in the summer of 2021. The program is designed to inspire bright and motivated undergraduates to pursue graduate education and careers in science and engineering research. In the REU Neurotechnologies Program, participants will work closely with leading neural engineers and neuroscientists at the NSF BRAIN Center at CCoE and contribute to the development of innovative medical devices including diagnostics, neural interfaces, medical robotics and other ongoing cutting-edge research in neural, cognitive and rehabilitation engineering.

For more information on the REU program, click on the links on the top left of each web page.

Basic Application Requirements

1. U. S. Citizen or Permanent Resident status
2. GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 GPA scale
3. Completed application, including an essay, received by April 5, 2021.
4. Completed letter of recommendation received by April 5, 2021.
5. Current unofficial transcript or transcripts received by April 5, 2021.

In the ten-week REU program:

• Build research laboratory skills.
• Develop written and oral presentation skills.
• Gain training in safety and ethics.
• Establish a professional network.
• Learn to use state of the art neuroscience instrumentation.
• Explore social activities in Houston!

Mediated Virtual Research Projects offered by the IUCRC BRAIN Center faculty:

• Design of Mobile brain-body imaging (MoBI) technology for Recording in the 'Wild'
  Mentors: Jeff Feng, Ph.D., Associate Professor 
  Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture & Design;
  Jose L Contreras-Vidal, Ph.D., Fellow IEEE, Cullen Professor
  Director, Noninvasive Brain-Machine Interface Systems Lab
• Towards Enhancing Human Performance: Electrodermal Activity and Human Performance Under Cognitive Stress
  Mentor: Rose T. Faghih, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
  Director, Computational Medicine Laboratory Assistant Professor
  Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Developing virtual reality software for visualizing brain vasculature
  Mentor: David Mayerich, Ph.D., Associate Professor
  Director, STIM Laboratory: Scalable Tissue Imaging and Modeling
  Co-PI, NSF IUCRC BRAIN
  Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Deep learning for three-dimensional cell segmentation
  Mentor: David Mayerich, Ph.D., Associate Professor
  Director, STIM Laboratory: Scalable Tissue Imaging and Modeling
  Co-PI, NSF IUCRC BRAIN
  Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Matlab Simulation and Control: using path derivatives to improve performance of a magnetic microswimmer (tiny robot)
  Mentor: Aaron Becker, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
  Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Matlab Simulation and Control: using flow information to improve performance of a magnetic microswimmer (tiny robot)
  Mentor: Aaron Becker, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
  Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
• The Neural Basis of Neuroaesthetics (Your Brain on Art)
  Mentor: Jose L Contreras-Vidal, Ph.D., Fellow IEEE, Cullen Professor
  Director, Noninvasive Brain-Machine Interface Systems Lab.
  Director/PI, NSF IUCRC BRAIN (http://brain.egr.uh.edu/)
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) driven interactive art: neural dynamics style transfer in real-time
  Mentor: Jose L Contreras-Vidal, Ph.D., Fellow IEEE, Cullen Professor
  Director, Noninvasive Brain-Machine Interface Systems Lab.
  Director/PI, NSF IUCRC BRAIN (http://brain.egr.uh.edu/)
• NeuroExo: A brain-computer interface for stroke rehabilitation
  Mentor: Jose L Contreras-Vidal, Ph.D., Fellow IEEE, Cullen Professor
  Director, Noninvasive Brain-Machine Interface Systems Lab.
  Director/PI, NSF IUCRC BRAIN (http://brain.egr.uh.edu/)
• Accuracy and reliability of a novel multimodal wearable neuroimaging system
  Mentor: Luca Pollonini, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
  Director, Optical Bioimaging Lab
  Co-PI, NSF IUCRC BRAIN
  Department of Engineering Technology
  Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Real-time software for 3D functional hemodynamics
  Mentor: Luca Pollonini, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
  Director, Optical Bioimaging Lab
  Co-PI, NSF IUCRC BRAIN
  Department of Engineering Technology
  Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Enabling Light-Driven Microfluidics with Laser Streaming
  Mentors: Jiming Bao, Ph.D., Professor
  Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering;

  Dong Liu, Ph.D., Professor
  Department of Mechanical Engineering

Completed applications will be reviewed on a first-come-first-served basis. We encourage you to send application materials early. Each complete application will be acknowledged via email, and all applicants will be notified in April as to their status.

Stipend: $5,000

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Drs. Jose L Contreras-Vidal and Stuart Long // reu_brain [at] egr.uh.edu