SURI 2026 Mentors
MEET THE MENTORS
Dr. Jennifer Ackerman
Effects of Mentorship on Intercollegiate Athletes
Keywords: Student-Athlete, Peer Mentoring, Academic Outcomes
This qualitative, semi-structured study examines how peer mentoring relationships influence Division III student-athletes’ academic performance, leadership development, and confidence at Farmingdale State College, with the goal of informing a future, data-driven mentoring model.
Dr. MaryBeth Apriceno
Perceptions of the Elderly on Young Adult's Climate Change Actions
Keywords: Ageism, Climate Change, Intergenerational Solidarity
This follow-up study examines whether videos depicting intergenerational solidarity in climate change action influence older adults’ ageist attitudes toward young people and their perceptions of young adults’ roles in addressing climate change.
Dr. Michael Fraina
Effects of Mentorship on Intercollegiate Athletes
Keywords: Student-Athlete, Peer Mentoring, Academic Outcomes
This qualitative, semi-structured study examines how peer mentoring relationships influence Division III student-athletes’ academic performance, leadership development, and confidence at Farmingdale State College, with the goal of informing a future, data-driven mentoring model.
Dr. Bruno Kamdem
Commodity Price Evolution and Real-world price volatility by Geopolitical Events
Keywords: Economics, Profit-Sharing, Game Theory
This project develops a stochastic differential game model to examine strategic profit-sharing and decision-making between sovereign governments and transportation firms operating in multinational transport corridors under volatile commodity price conditions.
Dr. Jobeda Khanam
Disease Prediction Using Machine Learning
Keywords: Machine Learning, Healthcare, Data-Driven, Disease
This project introduces students to data-driven disease risk prediction through hands-on use of structured health datasets, emphasizing data preparation, exploratory analysis, and the implementation and interpretation of basic machine learning classification models.
Dr. Kevin Kucharczyk
Heat of Semiconductor Devices using COMSOL Multiphysics
Keywords: Semiconductor Thermal Modeling, Heat Transfer
This project engages students in modeling heat generation and thermal management in semiconductor devices using COMSOL Multiphysics, combining steady-state simulations with MATLAB-based data analysis to build both conceptual understanding and practical computational skills.
Dr. Michelle Morales
Social Anxiety and AI Mobile App
Keywords: Mental Health, Social Anxiety, Exposure Theory
This project centers on the design and prototyping of Soft Steps, a structured digital therapeutic intervention for college students with social anxiety, grounded in cognitive-behavioral and exposure-based principles and exploring the optional role of AI-mediated reflective support.
Dr. Antigoni Papadimitriou
AI Integration in Industries and Expectations for AI Fluency in New Graduates
Keywords: AI, Workforce Development, Digital Transformation
This project examines how individual AI fluency and organizational AI capabilities act as microfoundations for digital diversification and new organizational forms, using cross-industry employer and employee data to understand workforce expectations, ethical governance, and responsible AI integration.
Dr. Peter Park
Using Clay Decoy Caterpillars as a Window into the World of Animal Biodiversity on the FSC Campus
Keywords: Biodiversity, Experiential Ecology, Predation Monitoring
This project designs and implements a campus-based biodiversity study using clay caterpillar decoys to measure predation activity, while also supporting the development of student laboratory activities and validation of predator bite marks.
Dr. Shannon Sarantakos
Data Visualizations as Boundary Objects
Keywords: Data Visualization, Communication, Genre Theory
This project investigates data visualizations as rhetorical boundary objects, using genre theory to analyze how different visualization forms mediate meaning and enable negotiation among experts, policymakers, and public audiences.
Dr. Khosro Shirvani
Machine Design in Robotics Systems
Keywords: Mechatronics, Robotics, STEM Education
This hands-on, project-based mechatronics experience introduces high school and early college students to mechanical engineering, electronics, and robotics by guiding them through the iterative design, virtual modeling, and construction of functional robotic systems.
Dr. Kenneth Sossa
Assessment of metabolic flexibility by RER in the Gromphadorhina portentosa
Keywords: Ectothermic Metabolism, Respiratory Exchange Ratio
This project uses respirometry to assess metabolic flexibility in the Giant Madagascar hissing cockroach by measuring Respiratory Exchange Ratio (RER) across varying conditions, including temperature, diet, exercise, and biological factors, to determine additive versus synergistic metabolic effects.
RAM program
Greenley Hall, Lower Level
934-420-5403
RAMprogram@farmingdale.edu
Monday-Friday 8:30am-4:30pm