John will be a senior in Electrical Engineering this coming Fall and he is also a philosophy major. He is using mathematical modeling to develop a framework to better understand how mesenchymal stem cells move through artificial tissue. The goal of this research is to use these models to provide additional insight in the development of artificial tissues for articular cartilage replacement – an important topic in regenerative medicine.

Chloe is a first year student pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Engineering, mechanical concentration and a degree in computer science.  She is tracking the movement of mesenchymal stem cells to develop a better understanding of their migration characteristics. Stem cells are used to repair tissue and keep it healthy. This research supports the development of artificial tissue for the repair of articular cartilage found within joints such as the knees, hips, shoulders, and fingers.

Sommer is researching the biomechanics of Osgood-Schlatter disease, a painful condition that causes swelling and inflammation of the patellar ligament near the knee joint.

In 2022-2023 Sommer, as a first year student in Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology, conducted research with our group. She developed a portion of an irrigation system that will be used to water indoor plants including the electronic detection of soil humidity.  She presented her work at the National Conference for Undergraduate research in Eau Claire Wisconsin.