Habitat for Humanity in Wayne County
Advisors: Dr. Brooke Krause (Economics), Dr. James Burnell
Team: Tabitha Skornik-Hayes, Will McCullough
The team analyzed budgets, expenditure receipts, and housing data to evaluate the financial and social impacts of the Habitat affiliate’s operations across Wayne County. Positive impacts were observed in local construction spending and housing value spillovers.
Benefits Cliff II
Advisors: Dr. Bas van Doorn (Political Science), Cameron Maneese
Team: Stachal Harris, Michael Nahhas, Timothy Cotter
The goal of the AMRE Benefits Cliff II project was to research and recommend policy solutions on the local and state level to reduce the impact of a benefits cliff, as well as give an update on the current rules and eligibility for public benefits. The team collaborated with local non-profits, various state and local elected oficials, and government agencies to determine challenges and solutions, especially under COVID-19. The team developed a four-pronged approach to address benefits cliffs in Ohio, which they presented to a variety of state and local agencies, organizations, and elected officials.
AMRE SDS
Advisors: Dr. Rob Kelvey, Dr. Jillian Morrison
Team: Brendan Dufty, Sky Gill, Bang Nguyen, Ariel Xie
The AMRE Statistical and Data Sciences team was tasked with analyzing retention and persistence within STEM fields and determining how best to help underrepresented (UR) students thus establishing where the STEM Success Initiative (SSI) should invest their resources for best success.
Arts & Culture District
Advisors: Dr. Timothy Freeze (Music), Dr. Brooke Krause (Economics)
Team: Brandon Charles, Katie Harvey, Andreas Xenofontos
This project aimed to produce preliminary ideas for an arts and culture district in Downtown Wooster. Through conversations with member of the Wooster community and arts and culture district representatives from across the country, the team compiled a list of development opportunities. The findings addressed economic impact, retail and residential opportunities, annual district programming, management oversight, and COVID-19 considerations.
Wooster Tree Ring Lab Project
Advisors: Dr. Greg Wiles (Geology)
Team: Srushti Chaudhari, Mazvita Chikomo, Wenshuo Zhao
The AMRE Tree Ring team worked with a variety of clients such as Dr. Ben Gaglioti of University of Alaska Fairbanks, Dr. Vargo a Wooster alum and a glaciologist studying in New Zealand, TRAYLS, Secrest Arboretum and many others. The focus of the program was to conduct a dendrochronological analysis of the tree ring series of Mountain Hemlock, Western Hemlock, European Larch, and White Oak trees. The team updated analyzed past climate data in Alaska and northeast Ohio to examine the climate response of these trees to various environmental factors. The team used data analysis to provide reports for their various clients. This work was funded by the Sherman Fairchild, Luce, and the National Science Foundations.
humbly LLC
Advisors: Dr. John Ramsay (Mathematics)
Team: Salim Dohri, Zhen Guo
Humbly LLC is a technology company based in Philadelphia, whose primary business is website domain reselling and issuance. The AMRE project included two components of the business: one data analytics project and one software engineering project. The data analytics work was to build a pricing model for humbly’s domain auction business. The software engineering work was to develop a web application to do URL shortening.
United Titanium
Advisors: Marian Frazier, Nathan Sommer
Team: Quan Nguyen Hien, Pavithra Brahmananda Reddy, Kien Le
The team designed a database to store specifications for the parts manufactured at United Titanium. Further, they built a graphical application that allows employees to modify the database and retrieve relevant information from it. The database stores information about the product type, size, material, and other important details. Using the GUI, a user can insert and retrieve entries from/to the database, search for, and update an existing record.
Women’s Empowerment in Tanzania
Advisors: Dr. Grit Herzmann (Psychology), Dr. Brooke Krause (Economics)
Team: Rita Chiboub, Stacey Park
The “Women’s Food Security Program for Impoverished Maasai Households” project aims to increase food security through a more diversified income through program implementation over the course of five years (2015-2020). By incorporating programs such as entrepreneurship and business skills training and women’s focus groups, researchers were able to gather data on the relationship between women’s empowerment and food security. The team was tasked with cleaning and conducting data checks on the quantitative data and researching information relating to program implementation in Tanzania. The team also organized and conducted interviews with NGO partners to add detailed information regarding the program implementation process.