Matthew Aguirre, a senior in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Texas A&M University, placed second at the Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium Poster Session. He was among more than 100 undergraduate researchers from the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) and the Undergraduate Summer Research Grant (USRG) program.
Dr. John Criscione, assistant dean for graduate programs, presenting Matthew Aguirre with the second place award.
At the session, Aguirre presented his poster entitled, “Point of Care Device Analytics for Proactive Epileptic Seizure Alert,” which is based on a research project he participated in through the USRG program.
Under the guidance of Dr. Satish Bukkapatnam, a professor in industrial and systems engineering, Aguirre monitored variations in electroencephalogram signals and used statistical modeling to detect and predict the occurrence of seizures in those with epilepsy. This knowledge will ultimately be used to design a wearable, noninvasive early warning device.
“I liked exploring the biomedical applications,” said Aguirre. “Through this research experience, I was able to look at the problem from an industrial engineer’s point of view.”
Aguirre plans on continuing to participate in this research project in the upcoming year. He said he expects this experience will help him in his goal to pursue a doctorate in industrial engineering from Texas A&M.
Aguirre has been part of Bukkapatnam’s research group for the past year. He has been involved in a project funded by the National Science Foundation and an Aggie Challenge project.
“I am proud of the work that Matthew has done in my lab,” said Bukkapatnam. “He is dedicated to research in industrial and systems engineering, and this award is well deserved. It is also pertinent to acknowledge Texas A&M University for providing the USRG program and other marvelous enrichment opportunities for talented students."