Student research opportunities
New opportunities for undergraduate research at SFIS
SFIS launched an Undergraduate Research Fellows program in Fall 2017, designed to give undergraduate students a chance to engage in research projects on science & society topics, working closely with SFIS faculty mentors.
Engaging in research projects as an undergraduate is a great way to broaden your ASU experience. You’ll get the chance to develop critical skills in how to gather reliable data, how to analyze this information, and how to present your findings to others in a clear and compelling way. These skills can prove very useful in the workplace. Research experience can also help you decide whether you’re interested in graduate school – and, if you are, it can significantly increase your chances of getting accepted.
Students participating in the SFIS undergraduate research program can apply to receive a stipend ($1,200 per semester) or to receive research credit (2 credits per semester). You will be expected to spend 5-7 hours per week as a Research Fellow, including attending a weekly meeting with your faculty mentor and a series of Masterclasses on research and professional development (online Masterclass options will be available). You will also be expected to present your research at an end-of-semester symposium. Subject to student interest and faculty approval, students may participate in this program over multiple semesters.
Applications for the Fall 2023 research program will be open from November 18th through November 30th at 11:59 a.m. Fall research projects will ideally start the week of January 9, 2023. If you would like to apply for a research position, please complete the online application.
For questions, please contact Elisha Thompson ([email protected]).
| Faculty advisor | Project title | Available for stipend | Available for credit | Pre-requisites required |
| Kirk Jalbert | Building Educational Resources for Public Understanding of Pipelines | Yes | Yes | No |
| Beza Merid | Anti-Racist Digital Health Futures | Yes | Yes | No |
| Emma Frow and Dalton George | Biological containment in the age of synthetic biology | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Kathleen Vogel | Human Trafficking in Cuba’s Foreign Medical Missions Program | Yes | Yes | No |
| Lauren Ruffin | Ancestral Technologies for Contemporary Digital Spaces | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Kathleen Vogel | Chemical and Biological Weapons Assassinations in France’s Security Services | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Full project descriptions
1. Building Educational Resources for Public Understanding of Pipelines
Faculty advisor
Kirk Jalbert – Asst Professor, School for the Future of Innovation in Society
Research project overview
This goal of this project is to produce educational resources for the public such that content consumers can better understand and engage with oil and gas pipelines and their risks. In a prior phase of this project, we assembled a library of information on pipelines in collaboration with a local community, the Pipeline Safety Coalition, and the Livelihoods Knowledge Exchange Network (LiKEN). In this next phase, SURF fellows will assist in transforming these resources into a set of web-based and print-based knowledge guides for broader public use.
Any pre-requisites needed?Not required, but students with prior experience with web design, graphic design, and/or digital content creation preferred.
Research available for stipend? ($1,200/semester): Yes
Research available for course credit? (2 credits/semester): Yes
Research opportunity available to ASU Online students? Yes
2. Anti-Racist Digital Health Futures
Faculty advisor
Beza Merid – Asst Professor, School for the Future of Innovation in Society
Research project overview
This project explores how structural racism is a barrier to adopting innovative digital health technologies. In response, we will imagine what explicitly anti-racist digital health futures should look like. Students participating in this project will learn about community-engaged research methods and focus on the technologies, expertise, and values that should constitute this anti-racist work. Outputs for this project will include drafting literature reviews and annotated bibliographies, cataloging data about digital health technologies, and collaborative writing to produce academic journal articles and public-facing essays.
Any pre-requisites needed? Not required, but experience with literature reviews and annotated bibliographies is preferred.
Research available for stipend? ($1,200/semester): Yes
Research available for course credit? (2 credits/semester): Yes
Research opportunity available to ASU Online students? Yes
3. Biological containment in the age of synthetic biology
Faculty advisor
Emma Frow, Assistant Professor, School for the Future of Innovation in Society
Dalton George, Postdoctoral Researcher, School for the Future of Innovation in Society and School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering
Research project overview
Since the early days of recombinant DNA research in the 1970s, scientists have worked on approaches for keeping genetically modified organisms “contained” – with intentions of keeping researchers safe and preventing genetically modified organisms from surviving and spreading in the environment in unintended ways. As part of a project funded by the National Science Foundation, we are researching the history of containment strategies with the aim of understanding how ideas of containment might (or might not) apply to cutting-edge synthetic biology technologies. We are looking for SURF Fellows to assist with conducting a historical review of how US regulatory agencies evaluate products containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and to develop a small number of in-depth case studies of GMO-containing products that showcase different aspects of containment. SURF researchers will also contribute to producing accurate and accessible summaries for synthetic biology research and policy communities. *Please note all meetings for this project will be over Zoom.*
Any pre-requisites needed? Applicants should have taken one or more university-level courses in molecular biology or related fields, and be willing to work systematically through policy and scientific jargon.
Research available for stipend? ($1,200/semester): Yes
Research available for course credit? (2 credits/semester): Yes
Research opportunity available to ASU Online students? Yes
4. Human Trafficking in Cuba’s Foreign Medical Missions Program
Faculty advisor
Kathleen Vogel, Professor, School for the Future of Innovation in Society
Research project overview
International observers and former participants reported Cuban government officials force or coerce individuals to participate and remain in the Cuban government’s labor export programs, particularly the foreign medical missions program, managed by the Unidad Central de Cooperación Médica and Ministry of Health. The Cuban government has not taken action to address its exploitative and coercive policies in these missions, which are clear indicators of human trafficking. Observers note Cuban authorities coerced some participants to remain in the program, including by: withholding their passports and medical credentials; restricting their movement; using “minders” to conduct surveillance of participants outside of work; threatening to revoke their license to practice medicine in Cuba; retaliate against their family members in Cuba if participants leave the program; or impose criminal penalties, exile, and family separation if participants do not return to Cuba as directed by government supervisors. In early 2020, the Cuban government sent more medical professionals to assist countries to respond to the global COVID-19 pandemic under unclear financial arrangements. This project will examine various literature and data sets and summarize findings. that exist related to human trafficking in Cuba’s Foreign Medical Missions program.
Any pre-requisites needed? Not required but prior research experience is a plus and Spanish language skills would be a plus.
Research available for stipend? ($1,200/semester): Yes
Research available for course credit? (2 credits/semester): Yes
Research opportunity available to ASU Online students? Yes
5. Ancestral Technologies for Contemporary Digital Spaces
Faculty advisor
Lauren Ruffin, Associate Professor, School for the Future of Innovation in Society
Research project overview
Social media platforms and digital communities are experiencing an upheaval. Unethical and inequitable design, lack of thoughtful regulation, and unfettered capitalist goals have rendered many large digital platforms unsafe and barely usable. This particularly impacts intentionally exploited communities (Queer, Black & Indigenous, Disabled, Youth, etc.) that rely on these platforms for connection, education, and income. What can we learn, and ultimately build, from the radical communal technologies and ways of thinking developed by oppressed communities in the United States and around the world? In this project, students will identify and synthesize rituals, books, articles, videos, music, performances, and other media created by these communities with the goal of devising better means of building, onboarding, moderating, and operating joyful, equitable digital spaces.
Any pre-requisites needed? Students must be strong writers with experience synthesizing qualitative and quantitative data from various sources, have Experience analyzing media from a design justice/antiracist lens, and have completed humanities and cultural diversity in the U.S. general studies coursework.
Research available for stipend? ($1,200/semester): Yes
Research available for course credit? (2 credits/semester): Yes
Research opportunity available to ASU Online students? Yes
6. Chemical and Biological Weapons Assassinations in France’s Security Service
Faculty advisor
Kathleen Vogel, Professor, School for the Future of Innovation in Society
Research project overview
The project will examine historical instances of the use of chemical and biological agents (radioactive isotopes, poisons, chemicals, pathogens, and toxins) in the assassination of political opponents, leadership rivals, dissidents, defectors, and other “enemies of the state” by France’s security services. The project will consist of short translations (from French to English) of existing archival documents and also items found through online searching of relevant news and other historical items, and also the listening and translation of interviews/documentaries in French about these historical assassinations. The deliverables will involve short written summaries of the materials translated from French to English and a final poster presentation at the end of the semester. Students must possess advanced French language fluency to work on this project.
Any pre-requisites needed? Students must have advanced fluency in French to be able to read and translate a variety of French language documents and videos.
Research available for stipend? ($1,200/semester): Yes
Research available for course credit? (2 credits/semester): Yes
Research opportunity available to ASU Online students? Yes