FDR Winners Circle

Read abstracts of successful FDR proposals here to assist you in formulating your ideas. Faculty from all disciplines can apply. Read the guidelines and write your proposal today!

Start It Grant, $1,500, Greg Boyce, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Stereo determination of Natural Products from the Extremobiosphere through Synthesis

This proposal seeks funding to acquire lab supplies for the first total synthesis of australindolone A. A natural product isolated from a deep-sea exhibition in Antarctica that possess a unique oxindole core structure. If funded, this summer would begin in the summer 2024 with two undergraduate research students.

Grow It Grant, $4,000, David Mazure, Art + Media + Design and Carrie Maloney, Sociology, Social Work and Criminal Justice, Pyrrhic Defeat, an Internal and External Interdisciplinary Collaboration

Artist Mark Loughney was released from prison in July 2022 after serving a ten-year sentence. While in prison, he drew a series of 800 portraits to raise awareness of mass incarceration in the US. In an effort to increase awareness of issues stemming from mass incarceration, we are inviting highly-acclaimed artist, Mark Loughney to exhibit his series of portraits, provide a gallery talk, and participate in panel discussions at ESU. The first-ever interdisciplinary collaboration between ESU entities and external agencies including: Art + Media + Design dept., Sociology, Social Work and Criminal Justice dept., ESU International Office, Student Research & Creative Activity Symposium Committee, and the Pocono Arts Council has been formed to help make these events as successful and accessible as possible. The exhibition and panel discussions will have great impact on Art + Media + Design and Sociology, Social Work and Criminal Justice students, as well as faculty, staff, and other students across campus.

Finish It Grant, $1,500, Xue Dong, Art+Media+Design, Presenting a Paper at 15th International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomic (AHFE 2024)

This proposal is requesting $1500.00 from the ESU Finish It Grant to support the presentation of the research paper, "Effective Approaches of Interdisciplinary Collaboration in the Foundation Design Course," at the 2024 International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (AHFE). The conference, encompassing various academic activities, provides a platform for showcasing observations on interdisciplinary approaches within design projects. This paper presents the researcher's observations of the different interdisciplinary approaches to identifying and understanding the outcomes within course projects. The paper recognizes the ongoing discourse on interdisciplinary collaboration and proposes potential extensions to collaborate with external stakeholders.

Finish It Grant, $1,500, Md. Minhaz Chowdhury, Computer Science, AI and Cybersecurity

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is improving Cybersecurity but also causing new vulnerabilities to be opened in Cybersecurity. AI’s role in cybersecurity will become increasingly complex and multifaceted as AI continues to evolve. Organizations must navigate this landscape with a balanced perspective, recognizing AI as both a powerful ally in enhancing cybersecurity and a potential threat vector that needs to be guarded against. AI's integration into cybersecurity represents a dynamic and evolving landscape. The first part of the research explores the central question is: Is AI in cybersecurity a friend, a foe, or perhaps both? The study further delves into a specific facet of AI—natural language processing (NLP)—with a focus on its application in generating cyber attack content (the second part of the research). NLP use in AI has become specifically prevalent in companies such as OpenAI and Google. With their ChatGPT and Bard models, they have made intelligent and social AI models that can mimic human speech and conversation. While talking to these AI models, people can gain vast knowledge by communicating with them. With it being so easy, malicious hackers have started to use it to streamline their attacks. Both companies have tried to put restrictions to help increase the security of their product. However, there are ways to get around it by using different wording that might sound less harmful. This second part of the study shows evidence from experimentation with both Google Bard and ChatGPT. The grant application is for a travel grant request. The research was completed and two papers were accepted in a conference. The conference date is 18th and 19th March 2024.