Summer Research Award Winners Announced at MERIT Fair

Amon Ducao earned first prize in the RITE category.

Student summer research project winners were announced at the Maryland Engineering Research Internship Teams (MERIT) annual Fair on Friday, August 22, 2005. MERIT is an 11-week summer program that offers top undergraduate engineering students from around the country the opportunity to engage in cutting-edge, team-based, cross-disciplinary research projects at the University of Maryland. The MERIT Fair in August marks the culmination of the students' research efforts, rewarding the best undergraduate student research projects, and offering students the opportunity to present their work to the wider public. Their efforts are scrutinized by a panel of judges selected from academia, industry, and government laboratories.

In the Power and Energy Electronics Research (PEER) category, the first place winner was Victor Huang from the University of Maryland, who worked with Dr. Michael Fuhrer and Dr. Alma Wickenden at Army Research Laboratories on “The Role of Metals in Achieving n-Type Carbon Nanotube Field-Effect Transistors." The second place winner was Frederick Housel from the University of Southern California who worked with Dr. Ken Jones, Dr. R.D. Vispute and Dr. Shiva Hullavarad on “High Temperature Capping Layers of AIN & BN for Development of SiC Based Power Devices."

In the Research Internship in Telecommunications (RITE) category, the first place winner was Amon Ducao (pictured) from the University of Maryland who worked with Dr. Rama Chellappa on "Recognition Through 3D Face Models.” The second place winners were William Eisenhower (pictured below, to the right) from the University of Delaware and Scott McMichael from Case Western Reserve University, who worked with Dr. Pamela Abshire and Dr. Timothy Horiuchi on “Biometrics and Robot Control.”

A total of 25 students participated in the MERIT program this summer. MERIT students receive a $4,500 stipend and food supplement plus on-campus housing at the University of Maryland in College Park. More information can be found at: http://www.ece.umd.edu/merit/.

See MERIT Fair Photo Gallery

Published August 16, 2005