Research Topic: Accessing Impact on Sea Level Rise
Student Name: Fadhel Barakat
Division: Engineering
Working with Professor Samer Madanat’s research team, Fadhel Barakat worked on a project centered around accessing the impact of sea level rise on New York’s transportation infrastructure. By categorizing New York’s precincts based on their coastal proximity and borough affiliations, Barakat laid the groundwork for subsequent simulations.
Using applications like MATSim,a traffic simulator software, the Class of 2023 student demonstrated how the changing landscape could lead to shifts in traffic flow and potential congestion hotspots. Barakat’s research could be used for devising adaptive strategies to ensure the continued functionality of transportation networks in the face of evolving environmental conditions.
“(Through the PPTO program), I was able to expand on my knowledge in the field, and take on many challenges that will grant me familiarity with the industry, as well as transition to graduate school in a fluid manner in the future,” Barakat said.
Research Topic: Community-engaged research identifies genetic histories, basis of malaria resistance, and evolution of shorter stature in lower-altitude Himalayan populations
Student Name: Rita Fahmy
Division: Science
Rita Fahmy and the team conducted community-engaged research to generate, merge, and analyze genetics from 4,000 individuals living in lower-altitude regions of Tibet, Bhutan, and Nepal.
Results from this study will help elucidate patterns of evolution and adaptation across the largely under-studied Himalaya, and furthermore, have profound social and health-based impacts for populations for whom genomic research and its benefits have been limited.
Most of the genomic studies conducted in the Himalayas, which have been limited in scope, have exclusively studied high-altitude populations. The lower-altitude regions which are homes to over 200 ethnolinguistic groups have remained underexplored and underserved by genomics.
Fahmy will be continuing this project as part of her post-graduation research fellowship with the CGSB.
Research Topic: Urban Leisure, Belonging, and Environment in Abu Dhabi's Public Spaces
Student Name: Emma Olivia Anderson
Division: Arts and Humanities
Emma Anderson worked on a project exploring Abu Dhabi's urban spaces to examine the tensions between the design of public spaces and their accessibility.
Anderson focused the team’s research to understand the way in which city spaces are being used. Additionally, they looked into how social factors shaped access to these spaces by taking into account nationality, race, class, and gender.
Primarily using ethnographic methods for the research, Anderson experimented with the use of creative writing, photography, film, drawing, mapping, and soundscapes. Anderson observed neighborhoods and activities that exemplify Abu Dhabi’s historical transformations, particularly how the summer heat shifts residents’ relationships to outdoor and indoor environments.
Research Topic: The autobiographical memories of young adults excluded from school
Student Name: Sonia Claudia Catinean
Divison: Social Science
Sonia Catinean’s summer research project explored the memories of young adults who have been excluded from school in England. The project aimed to raise awareness about the psychological and social impact of school exclusion on young adults and inform educational institutions and governments about the importance of supporting young adults’ well-being and reintegration into education and society.
Interviews were conducted to explore the impact school exclusion had on young adults’ lives and to give voices to their experiences of school and perceptions of the education system. Socio-cultural influences, such as family backgrounds, peer interaction, and broader societal factors were also taken into consideration. Besides assisting in the data analysis of the autobiographical interviews, Catinean also wrote and contributed to specific sections in the research paper.
