CS4760 & CS5760 Scientists and App Ideas
Below is the list of scientists and their potential applications for collaborative CS4760 & CS5760 teams.
Sachin Fernades – Cloudflare Developer
Contact Information
Email: fernandes.sachin at gmail.com
Phone:
Office:
Cloudflare
San Francisco, CA
App Idea: Scam Detector
Coming Soon!!!!!
.
Initial Meetings
First Team-Scientist Meeting: January 14, Wednesday, 1/14/2026, 4 pm EST (1 pm PST)
Second Team-Scientist Meeting: January 21, Wednesday, 1/21/2026, 4 pm EST (1 pm PST)
By Zoom, make and email Zoom link
Greg Waite – Professor, Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences
Contact Information
Email: gpwaite at mtu.edu
Phone: 906-487-3554
Office: Dow 428
Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences Department
Michigan Technological University
https://www.mtu.edu/geo/department/faculty/waite/
https://www.pages.mtu.edu/~gpwaite/
App Idea: Citizen science driven volcano monitoring
Volcan de Fuego in Guatemala, is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. Its small explosive eruptions draw hundreds of tourists from around the world to view it every day. While these small eruptions pose little risk, conditions can change rapidly and lead to large flows of material down the volcano’s flanks. A large eruption in 2018 killed over 400 people who were caught off guard by the rapid escalation of the activity. This app will take advantage of the many tourists who climb the neighboring Acatenango volcano to view Fuego’s eruptions to give scientists a better understanding of the relationship between conditions at the summit and changes in eruption style. A small stand will enable people to take photos of the volcano with the same field of view, which they can then upload to our database using the app. Each new photo will be added to a timelapse showing the evolution of the summit that the participants can view, and will allow us to track changes in the morphology over time. In addition, the app will allow the volcano tourists to learn more about the volcano through an informational page
Initial Meetings
First Team-Scientist Meeting: January 13, Tuesday, 1/13/2026 at 3:30 pm
Second Team-Scientist Meeting: January 20, Tuesday, 1/20/2025 at 3:30 pm
In person, Dow 633
Michael Walker – Assistant Professor, Computer Science
Contact Information
Email: miwalker at mtu.edu
Phone: 906-487-3392
Office: Rekhi Hall 212
Michigan Technological University
https://www.mtu.edu/cs/department/people/faculty/walker/
App Idea: Video Recorder
Researchers often record experimental trials on video and then annotate critical events (e.g., stimulus onset, behavioral responses, pauses) with temporal markers. This process is time-consuming but essential for transforming unstructured recordings into analyzable datasets suitable for hypothesis testing and statistical analysis. This application will enable users to upload trial videos, temporally tag event labels and notes during playback, and export the resulting codings as a CSV file for downstream quantitative analysis. Tagged events should be interactive, allowing users to click on any entry to immediately jump to the corresponding video segment. By consolidating these functions within a unified interface, the tool aims to enhance collaborative analysis within a research team.
Initial Meetings
First Team-Scientist Meeting: January 13, Tuesday, 1/13/2026 at 4 pm
Second Team-Scientist Meeting: January 20, Tuesday, 1/20/2026 at 4 pm
In person, reserve a room.
Isaac Flint – Assistant Professor, Human Factors, Safety and Social Sciences
Contact Information
Email: FLINTI at erau.edu
Phone:
Office:
Department of Human Factors, Safety and Social Sciences
Embry-Riddle University
https://faculty.erau.edu/Isaac.Flint
App Idea: Obstacle Avoidance Task
Being able to engage in online motor corrections and alter muscular movement, in response to unexpected stimulus, is a critical component of collision avoidance when movement paths are diverted, or the path of movement is obstructed. Failures to engage in these behaviors can lead to real world collisions (such as road collisions, pedestrian collisions, etc.,) that result in injuries or death. This obstacle avoidance app is being developed to provide a metric for individuals’ abilities to make effective online motor corrections in response to unexpected visual stimulus. In the program, participants will use a mouse to move a cursor to a start position, and then, when cued, move the cursor between two rectangular obstacles in order to reach a target on the other side of the screen. On experimental trials the obstacles will unexpectedly shift horizontally putting the movement path in collision with one of them and triggering an online movement correction in the participant. On control trials there will be no unexpected changes in the obstacles’ location. With this measure we can compare how well individuals complete online movement corrections to other abilities like cognitive control, cognitive processing speed, and psycho-motor speed to better understand how these variables, and other variables that affect them, impact individuals’ ability to successfully engage in online motor correction. The data would be helpful in improving safety measures and understanding the impact of age on tasks like driving.
Initial Meetings
First Team-Scientist Meeting: January 13, Tuesday, 1/13/2026 at 3:30 pm
Second Team-Scientist Meeting: January 20, Tuesday, 1/20/2026 at 3:30 pm
By Zoom, make and email Zoom link
August Miller – Software Developer, Epic
Contact Information
Email: augustamiller77 at gmail.com
Office Phone:
Office:
Epic
App Idea: Recipe Builder
Managing a kitchen often results in food waste and the challenge of deciding what to cook that fits both your dietary needs, and the food you currently have on hand This project involves building a recipe and pantry management application that combines AI agents with traditional software development. The goal is to create a robust solution that simplifies meal planning by generating recipes based on ingredients currently on hand, and automating grocery lists for future shopping trips.
Initial Meetings
First Team-Scientist Meeting: January 14, Wednesday, 1/14/2026, 9 am EST (8 am CST)
Second Team-Scientist Meeting: January 21, Wednesday, 1/21/2026, 9 am EST (8 am CST)
By Zoom, make and email Zoom link.
Erika Hersch-Green – Associate Professor, Biological Sciences
Contact Information
Email: eherschg at mtu.edu
Phone/Text: 906-487-3351
Office: Dow 730
Biological Sciences
Michigan Technological University
https://www.mtu.edu/biological/people-groups/faculty-staff/faculty/hersch-green/
App Idea: Berry Invasive Species Detector
Wild berries are important for the way of life in the Upper Peninsula and Northwoods regions. Berries are used for food, are part of many cultural practices, and support and attract tourism. Berries are also important for wildlife. However, a fruit fly, the spotted winged drosophila (SWD), which is a huge agricultural pest, may be negatively impacting berries in these ecosystems by causing premature decay and yield losses. SWD has been detected in these regions but in general we have very little information on its presence and host range in natural areas.
The intent of this app will be to better document SWD presence in wild forested regions where we have little knowledge of the host range and level of infestation. Users will identify the common berry species found in the Upper Peninsula (with pictures and information provided of berry species), document the location of the berry species (with a GIS map), and document whether SWD is present or absent (using a simple method that will be included on the App). App will also collect users’ email. Data will be provided to App Owner as an excel sheet with input email, date, berry species, GIS location, and presence/absence of SWD. Public users of the App if they indicate can get general information on berry and SWD presence information.
Initial Meetings
First Team-Scientist Meeting: January 14, Wednesday, 1/14/2026, at 1 pm
Second Team-Scientist Meeting: January 21, Wednesday, 1/21/2026, at 1 pm
In person, need to reserve room.
Leo Ureel – Assistant Professor, Computer Science
Assistant Professor, Psychology and Human Factors
Contact Information
Email: ureel at mtu.edu
Phone/Text:
Office:
Rekhi Hall 209
Computer Science Department
Michigan Technological University
https://www.mtu.edu/cs/department/people/faculty/ureel/
https://pages.mtu.edu/~ureel/
App Idea: Socratic Tutor
This is a prototype role-playing simulation where the user tutors a library patron through a technology learning or troubleshooting session. The simulation provides training for Socratic Tutoring techniques and a way to learn how to work one-on-one with students. The scenario focuses on a specific patron, Cindy, with defined background, skills, goals, and challenges related to email, requiring the user to employ effective Socratic Tutoring techniques to help her achieve her objectives and resolve her immediate question, while also accounting for potential real-world complications with her device. The simulation ends when the user has successfully guided Cindy to a point where she feels confident in her ability to send emails with attachments, organize her inbox, and understand basic email safety related to her initial question and goals. Once the simulation concludes, the user receives advice focusing on the effectiveness of their teaching approach and areas for potential growth. An important aspect that needs to be developed is the ability to save and load conversations.
Initial Meetings
First Team-Scientist Meeting: January 13, Tuesday, 1/13/2026, at 3:30 pm
Second Team-Scientist Meeting: January 22, Wednesday, 1/22/2026, at 3:30 pm
By Zoom, make and email Zoom link.