What are Mountaintop Projects?

Mountaintop projects are interdisciplinary deep dives where faculty, students, and external partners come together and take new intellectual, creative, and/or artistic pathways that lead to transformative new innovations, new expressions, and new questions. We expect students to take radical ownership in their projects, and envision faculty mentors as partners and co-creators striving to propel their projects forward on the journey towards tangible, sustainable impact: impact which builds the skillsets, mindsets, and portfolios of pioneers and change-makers in a rapidly changing world.

 

 

STUDENTS: 2024 Mountaintop applications are now open!

We are pleased to announce the opening of applications for Mountaintop 2024. Applications will be open until the deadline of Friday, April 5th, but may be reviewed on a rolling basis before that date, so get them in as soon as you can. See below for project descriptions and faculty mentors, and other FAQs. 

The application will take 20-30 minutes to complete, and only completed applications will be considered. If you have any questions, write to inmtp@lehigh.edu. 

Click here for the MT application form

2024 Mountaintop Summer projects (for new applicants):

1. An Archive of Queer Care: Virtual Reality, Spatial Design, Immersive Archive Creation

Project Mentor: Prof. Joseph Amodei

Merging virtual reality (VR), spatial design, and archival research to construct a living, immersive archive for the exploration and preservation of queer care, community, and activism. We will develop an innovative theatrical media/video design employing surround projections and animations rooted in archival materials and personal narratives, and create a digital archive that honors / engages with the history and narratives of queer communities.

2. Blockchain System and Application Research

Project Mentor: Prof. Hank Korth

Technology is a continued quest to improve the human condition. Blockchain automates trust between untrusting parties, increasing access to information, finance, etc., unblocked by central authority. There will be a variety of projects within this one, some of which will be highly technical and others more application/user focused.

3. Building a DNA Computing and Storage Platform

Project Mentor: Prof. Mayuresh Kothare

Creating a lab-on-a-chip system that uses open-source software and hardware to manipulate droplets of water containing DNA to process binary information like an electronic computer, but with much higher data density. By sequencing the movement, heating, and cooling of the droplets on a platform called "Purple Drop," we hope to precisely control the hybridization of the DNA strands and process information in the form of bits.

4. Childhood: Environment, Emotions, and Social Engagement

4. Childhood: Environment, Emotions, and Social Engagement

Project Mentor: Prof. Danming An

Integrating multiple levels and facets of data to comprehensively understand early middle-childhood (6-9 years old) children's adjustment in the social world. We seek to understand how the environmental socialization processes contribute to the development of social cognitive and socio-emotional skills during this period, and how those skills are associated with children's psychological, social, and school adjustment.

childhood of the future

5. Childhood of the Future

Project Mentors: Profs. Nandini Deo and Khurram Hussain

Exploring questions of the ever-evolving nature of childhood - what kinds of exposure, challenges, training, stimulation, and education are necessary to create the "future makers." We will integrate insights from speculative science fiction, new-age thinkers, venture capitalists, and others with what is known about child development, neuropsychology, etc. to imagine the childhood(s) of the future.

6. Exploring Active Granular Media

Project Mentor: Prof. James Gilchrist

Discovering new designs / applications for active granular media. Granular media exist in nature (sand, soil) and industry as raw materials and consumer products, and remain a challenge in both physics and engineering. The Gilchrist Lab has developed magnetically responsive microrollers that behave as granular materials, and we are interested in studying the collective behavior of these materials, not just individual particles. 

7. An Integrative Approach to Studying Adolescents Online and Offline Social Lives

Project Mentor: Prof. Sarah Borowski

Updating traditional approaches to studying adolescents' friendship interactions by integrating their "online" experiences with technology and social media with their "offline" experiences with friends IRL.

8. Intelligent Tutoring Systems for K-12 AI Literacy

Project Mentor: Prof. Juan Zheng

Designing and implementing an Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS) that enhances K-12 students' AI literacy by providing personalized and adaptive learning experiences. How should an intelligent tutoring system be designed to effectively improve K-12 students' understanding of AI concepts and principles? 

7. Investigating a Bacterium's Journey across Host Species

9. Investigating a Bacterium's Journey across Host Species

Project Mentor: Prof. Dylan Shropshire

Imagine tiny, invisible houseguests living inside the cells of other organisms, navigating a world where the line between friends and enemies is razor-thin. This is the realm of endosymbionts. Through time, endosymbionts may disappear without a trace, take control of their hosts' evolutionary pathways, or jump ship to team up with new hosts. Our dream is to understand what makes endosymbionts thrive.

10. Multi-Factor Investing

Project Mentor: Prof. Patrick Zoro

Creating a comprehensive portfolio management and modeling tool that addresses the complexities of modern financial markets. By leveraging advance quantitative techniques, we aim to provide portfolio managers with a robust framework for decision-making. The ultimate goals is to empower portfolio managers with a cutting-edge tool that facilitates informed decision-making and enhances investment outcomes in today's dynamic financial landscape.

11. NeuroSalon

Project Mentor: Prof. Julie Miwa

Exploring the tremendous capacity of the brain for growth, plasticity, and creativity. Through various art forms, we seek to lower the barriers to scientific understanding and convey our belief that creativity is within everyone's reach. We create dance, music, and art to illustrate the beauty and power of the brain, and hold workshops and "artshops" to engage the audience in play and creation, all to foster brain health and well-being.

12. Organoid Sorting by Multiplex Image Machine Learning

Project Mentor: Prof. Yaling Liu

Creating a machine-learning guided on-chip platform for rapid formation, intelligent categorization, and on-demand sorting of Patient-Derived Tumor Organoid (PDTO) models for downstream multiscale phenotypic quantification.

PA 100 Index

13. PA 100 Index

Project Mentor: Prof. Patrick Zoro

Designing a user interface to track all of Pennsylvania's publicly traded companies, showcasing economic trends alongside indexes such as those that aid in understanding private market investment, thus granting access to individuals who traditionally lack such resources. We aim to condense the index creation process from months to weeks, paving an innovative path and ensuring the PA 100 index's success in the wider world.

12. Sparking Student Motivation for High-Impact Opportunities

14. Sparking Student Motivation for High-Impact Opportunities

Project Mentors: Dr. Eric Obeysekare and Michelle Spada

High-impact opportunities (research, internships, etc.) have proven positive outcomes for students and are effective at leveling the playing field for underrepresented students. Why is every student not participating in high-impact opportunities? What are the barriers to participation? We will explore how technology can overcome those barriers and increase student access to high-impact opportunities at the university level.

15. Self-Driving Cars in Urban Environments with Traffic

Project Mentor: Prof. Cristian Vasile

Creating a hardware testbed to evaluate the safety of controllers for self-driving cars that account for traffic. Will involve designing the urban environment, developing the software to create, deploy, and collect data from scenarios, and integrating and developing the Robotic Operating System 2.0 compatible software to detect signage, markings, and lights in the environment. Potential for impact on autonomous driving research.

16. STEM Visualizations

Project Mentors: Profs. Srinivas Rangarajan and Joseph Menicucci

Improving the course content of engineering classes through tools that enhance the learning outcomes from students and enable personalized learning. We envision creating computational modules as pedagogical tools to teach complex engineering concepts through the concept of Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL). 

17. Understanding the Transmission of White Nationalist Beliefs from Parents to Children

Project Mentor: Prof. Debbie Laible

Examining (leading to publishable research) how White nationalist beliefs are passed from one generation to the next. We want to understand how parenting practices, coupled with White nationalist beliefs, lead to adolescents adopting similar extremist views, with the ultimate goal of understanding the processes of intergenerational transmission of racist / nationalist attitudes to develop programs that could eliminate or disrupt this transition.

For Students

The Mountaintop Summer Program (MTSP) runs for 10 weeks (2024 program dates are June 3rd-August 9th). At this time, the program is in-person for all students – no virtual participation will be part of the program this summer. Some Associates may be able to work remotely with program leader and faculty project mentor approval. All project teams will be given a dedicated or shared “home” working space, although we understand that some teams will have to conduct some or most of their work at other locations on campus or in the surrounding community.

Mountaintop Fellows are expected to continue working on their projects in the Fall 2024 semester through the CINQ 389 course. Enrollment information will be provided to these students at a later time. CINQ 389 is a variable-credit course (1-6), but we have a strong preference for 2 or 3 credits of enrollment.

Students selected as Mountaintop Fellows are paid a stipend of $5,000 for undergraduates, or $6,000 for graduate students, for the summer. These stipends are paid in five biweekly installments beginning mid-June and ending mid-August. Projects typically have two, or at most three, Fellows. Fellows make a full-time commitment to their projects for the 10 weeks of the program, and are not allowed to take summer courses or have jobs, internships, or vacations that would substantially take them away from their project work. Fellows are also expected to continue working on their projects through the Fall semester (and possibly beyond) by enrolling in the CINQ 389 course. Fellows are expected to be in attendance at all relevant presentations, workshops, meetings with Innovators in Residence, and other program opportunities, throughout the summer.

Mountaintop Associates are not paid a stipend, and make a part-time commitment (typically 10 hours per week) to their project. Associates are invited and strongly encouraged to attend all relevant presentations, workshops, meetings with Innovators in Residence, and other program opportunities, throughout the summer. Associates are strongly encouraged to continue working on their project through the CINQ 389 course in the Fall semester and beyond. Associates who have high financial need may inquire about financial assistance which may be available.

Lead faculty project mentors can utilize up to $500 in project expenses. These funds are not tracked by the Office of Creative Inquiry, and faculty may use them as they choose as long as they are relevant to the project. However, the intention of these funds is to help disseminate the work of the project (through conference registration fees and the like) and/or to supplement (or in some cases support) project expense budgets. If students incur project expenses during the summer, there is a system for providing reimbursement from project accounts, which will be handled by program leadership.  **NOTE:  These funds are subject to adjustment or change if unexpected budgetary constraints arise**

Additional project expense budgets beyond the allocated $500 (for needed equipment, supplies, reagents, resources, etc.) will be considered as requested.

 

Mountaintop applications usually open in early-mid March and typically there is a 2-3 week open application period. The application link will be posted on the top of the Mountaintop home page once applications have “gone live.”

The application form will include a list of available projects, and applicants list their top three project choices. After the application period closes, faculty mentors will be given applications for those students who indicated an interest in their project and will typically contact those students for a brief interview. The Office of Creative Inquiry does not assign students to specific projects; those decisions are entirely at the discretion of the faculty lead mentor(s).

Demonstrating a high work ethic, dedication to and support for the goals of the project, and strong collaboration skills are usually more important selection criteria than specific technical knowledge or skill sets, although those can be noted on applications as well. Fellows usually require a broader set of skills and mindsets, whereas Associates may be assigned to specific parts of the project, so technical skills may become important in those cases.

Faculty mentors will inform the Office of Creative Inquiry of their selections within two weeks after applications close, and students will be informed in early-mid April.

Faculty mentors are welcomed and encouraged to recruit students to their own projects. Those students will need to fill out an application form to the program, but can be automatically accepted based on faculty recommendation / request.

 

While the primary focus of the summer will be making progress on projects and taking a deep dive of exploration and achieving deliverables, MTSE offers ongoing developmental, informational, and practical opportunities to students. In addition, we will invite an array of subject matter experts, working professionals, and potential partners as “Innovators in Residence,” many of whom will offer broad-topic master classes, all of whom will meet with selected individual project teams who might benefit from their expertise. Fellows are required to attend sessions with Innovators in Residence if invited; Associates are expected to attend unless they have a compelling conflict.

At regular intervals, student teams will present their work to one another and/or to public audiences. Toward the end of the summer, we will likely be hosting a Summer Expo, where projects will be presented in poster format (unless other formats are negotiated) alongside projects from the STEM-SI summer program and various REUs.

 

The Mountaintop Summer Experience does not arrange student housing. Students are on their own to arrange their housing situation, whether on-campus or off-campus, for the summer.

Fellows who receive a stipend may request arrangement for on-campus housing fees to be deducted in equal amounts from each stipend "paycheck" throughout the summer, rather than having to pay housing costs up front as is usually the case. Fellows interested in this arrangement should contact program leadership as soon as they are accepted.

For Faculty

Proposals for 2024 Mountaintop Summer Program projects must be submitted by the faculty member who will serve as lead mentor for the project. Staff members may submit proposals with approval from their department or stem leadership. Submit proposals in a PDF document, attached to an email sent to wrw210@lehigh.edu, with the subject line "Summer 2024 Proposal: <Project Title>."

Proposals will be reviewed on a rolling basis beginning February 15th, 2024. Final deadline for all proposals is February 29th, 2024 - therefore the 2024 deadline is now closed.

Proposals should not exceed two (2) pages in length and should include the following:

DEMOGRAPHICS:

•       Project title (will be used in program communications and marketing materials)

•       Name of lead faculty mentor (also the primary faculty contact)

•       Names of partnering faculty/other mentors if applicable

•       Names of students already committed to the project, if any

•       Types of students who would be ideal for this project…majors, skill sets, competencies, interests, etc.

•       Ideal location for conducting your work on campus, or another location?

•       Special equipment or setup you anticipate needing for your project

 

DREAM and IMPACT:

•       What is the dream?

•       How will you pursue this dream?

•       What is the topic/question/possibility/mode of inquiry you will employ?

•       What is the project’s potential for impact? What might your impact look like? What disciplines, fields, or spheres will your work influence?

•       How is this project collaborative, and what communities of practice would be involved in seeing it through, evaluating its progress, assessing its importance?

 

PROJECT SCOPE:

•       What are you inspired by, what are you building on, and how are you standing on the shoulders of giants?

•       What is the new intellectual/creative pathway you are taking?

•       Why is this a game-changer?

•       Who cares and why? What communities of practice are you contributing to, and calibrating against?

All Mountaintop projects are expected to continue, at a minimum, through the Fall semester, and priority consideration will be given to projects that are good fits for the Impact Fellowship programs.
 
Faculty do not have to be physically present during the summer to mentor a Mountaintop project. We expect, however, that faculty mentors will be able to sync up (remotely or in person) with their students at least weekly.
 

Faculty project mentors at Mountaintop are not expected to “teach” in the normal sense. Students drive the work and can learn what they need in a just-in-time manner. Faculty mentors, along with program leadership, will help connect students with the resources that they need to get up to speed in order to make appropriate progress on their project. In Creative Inquiry, students take “radical ownership” of their projects and are expected to make substantive intellectual contributions that could lead to co-authorship on publishable research articles, presentations at professional conferences, patent applications, etc.

The most successful MTSP students are those who demonstrate self-efficacy, an execution-focused mindset, strong teamwork skills, openness to learning new skill sets and mindsets, and a comfort level with open-ended questions and problems. The primary roles of the faculty mentor are to provide advice, resources, and guidance syncing up with the team on a regular basis (at least weekly) to monitor progress. 

Faculty are not compensated monetarily for mentoring a Mountaintop project. Projects should be part of a faculty member's research agenda or impact agenda.

Each project is given a baseline budget of up to $500 for summer expenses. Expenditure of these funds should be done through program leadership. If additional project budget funding is needed, a request should be made to program leadership as soon as possible. Additional funds are not guaranteed.

Faculty members are always welcome in person Monday through Friday each week while the program is in session. Faculty are also welcome and encouraged to attend any presentations, public or internal, that may occur throughout the summer.

Accepted projects are given two Mountaintop Fellowships (compensated at $5K for undergraduates and $6K for graduate students). Faculty can petition for additional Fellows, although they are not guaranteed and will be granted based on budgetary availability.

We encourage recruiting Mountaintop Associates to your project teams (Associates are not paid a stipend) but will cap the number of Associates at 5 per project. Again, faculty may petition to increase that number if necessary. Additional Associates will be granted based on their potential for contributing to project outcomes.

Faculty mentors select their own teams based on applications received. Students who apply are given the opportunity to indicate their top three (3) project choices, and faculty mentors will receive the applicants who indicated an interest in their projects specifically.

Student applications will open in early-mid March and are typically open for a 2-3 week time frame. Faculty will have about two weeks to interview and make your selections.
 
Faculty typically interview students who they are interested in selecting, particularly for Mountaintop Fellow positions which are much more selective and competitive. Please note: Mountaintop Fellows are not allowed to take summer courses nor have other summer employment or internships, and should not have any significant absences scheduled for the duration of the program. Student Associates make a part-time commitment to their projects (~10 hours per week) and are allowed to have other summer commitments. 
 
All students are expected to be in-person and on-campus this summer, although some exceptions for Associates can be made.

2023 Mountaintop Summer Experience Projects

 

 
2022 Mountaintop Summer Projects

*Projects are listed in alphabetical order.

GSIF/LVSIF/CSIF projects can be found on their respective pages; these projects are part of one of the Impact Fellowship programs in addition to participating the mountaintop summer program. For more information see: go.lehigh.edu/gsif | go.lehigh.edu/lvsif | go.lehigh.edu/csif.

D4I projects can be found on the D4I page, although they also partcipate in the Mountaintop Summer Project. For more information see: go.lehigh.edu/d4i

1. Air Quality Initiatives in Almaty

Faculty Mentors: Prof. Dinissa Duvanova (International Relations)

2. Autonomous Driving for Underwater Drones

Faculty Mentor: Rosa Zheng (Electrical & Computer Engineering)

3. Beyond Bars

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Bill Whitney (Office of Creative Inquiry)

4. Creative Solutions to Improving Quality of Life through the Clean and Safe Neighborhoods Initiative

Faculty Mentor: Prof. Jennifer Swann (Biological Sciences)

5. Design of Lehigh-Based interface with Web3.0

Faculty Mentor: Prof. Patrick Zoro (Finance)

6. Diagnosing Autism in Sierra Leone

Faculty Mentor: Prof. Kristi Morin (Special Education)

7. Echo Hawks

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Nathan Urban (Academic Affairs); Prof. Khanjan Mehta (Creative Inquiry)

8. Environmental Pollution and Asthma Effects

Faculty Mentor: Prof. Hyunok Choi (College of Health)

9. Factor Models and Portfolio Management

Faculty Mentor: Prof. Patrick Zoro (Finance)

10. Financial Equation and Machine Learning

Faculty Mentors: Prof. Patrick Zoro (Finance)

11. Flying Swarms: Designing, Constructing, and Programming Autonomous Robotic Blimps

Faculty Mentor: Prof. David Saldaña (Computer Science and Engineering)

12. Food Carbon and Water Footprint

Faculty Mentors: Prof. Don Morris (Earth & Environmental Sciences)

13. Food Products to Fight Malnutrition and Stunting in Sierra Leone

Faculty Mentors: Prof. Lori Herz (Bioengineering)

14. Interpretability of a supervised learning-based trading strategy

Faculty Mentor: Prof. Patrick Zoro (Finance)

15. Lehigh Night Hawks

Faculty Mentors: Prof. Jennifer Swann (Biological Sciences); Chief Jason Schiffer (LUPD)

16. Lehigh RiVR Immersive Learning

Faculty Mentors: Prof. Al Bodzin, (College of Education); Prof. David Anastasio (Earth and Environmental Sciences); Prof. Tom Hammond, (College of Education)

17. Machine Learning for Advanced Micro-Fabrication and Cell Manipulation

Faculty Mentor: Prof. Yaling Liu (Bioengineering / Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics)

18. MindFull

Faculty Mentors: Prof. Khanjan Mehta (Creative Inquiry)

19. NeuroSalon

Faculty Mentor: Prof. Julie Miwa (Biological Sciences)

20. PA 100 Index of Companies

Faculty Mentors: Prof. Patrick Zoro (Finance)

21. Parent-Adolescent Discussions about Race and Racism

Faculty Mentor: Prof. Debbie Laible (Psychology)

22. Pennsylvania Asthma Syndromic Surveillance

Faculty Mentors: Prof. Hyunok Choi (College of Health)

23. PlasTech Campus – Decontaminating Lehigh’s Recycling stream

Faculty Mentors: Prof. Ganesh Balasubramanian (Mechanical Engineering); Brian Slocum (Wilbur Powerhouse Design Labs)

24. PlasTech Ventures – Empowering Women by Recycling Plastic to Produce High Value Products

Faculty Mentors: Prof. Ganesh Balasubramanian (Mechanical Engineering); Brian Slocum (Wilbur Powerhouse Design Labs)

25. Practical Training and Research in Computer-Aided Drug Discovery

Faculty Mentors: Prof. Wonpil Im (Bioengineering)

26. Regional LGBTQ Archives

Faculty Mentors: Prof. Mary Foltz (English)

27. Reinforcement Learning and Interpretability

Faculty Mentors: Prof. Patrick Zoro (Finance)

28. Replacing Independent Directors

Faculty Mentors: Prof. Jesus Salas (Finance)

29. Research Integrity in Kazakhstan

Faculty Mentors: Dr. Bill Gaudelli, Dean (College of Education); Prof. Dinissa Duvanova (International Relations); Prof. Khanjan Mehta (Creative Inquiry)

30. Save Tuba

Faculty Mentors: Prof. Khanjan Mehta (Creative Inquiry)

31. Self-Driving Cars in Urban Environments with Traffic

Faculty Mentors: Prof. Cristian Vasile (Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics)

32. SicklED – Sickle Cell Anemia Diagnostic Device

Faculty Mentors: Prof. Xuanhong Cheng (Bioengineering)

33. Southside Permaculture Park

Faculty Mentors: Prof. David Casagrande (Sociology & Anthropology / Environmental Initiative); Prof. Al Wurth (Political Science)

34. STEM Visualizations

Faculty Mentors: Prof. Srinivas Rangarajan (Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering)

35. Ukweli Test Strips

Faculty Mentors: Prof. Khanjan Mehta (Creative Inquiry)

36. Zero Hunger College

Faculty Mentors: Prof. Ganesh Balasubramanian (Mechanical Engineering); Dr. Elmer Soriano (Civika Asian Development Academy)

 
 
2021 Mountaintop Summer Projects

*Projects are listed in alphabetical order.

1. American Indian Community Health and Education Projects through the Institute for Indigenous Studies

Faculty Mentors: Sean Daley and Christine Daley (College of Health)

2. Autonomous Driving for Underwater Drones

Faculty Mentor: Rosa Zheng (Electrical & Computer Engineering)

3. Environmental Pollution and Asthma in Pennsylvania

Faculty Mentor: Hyunok Choi (College of Health)

4. How White Mothers Discuss Peer Victimization with Young Children

Faculty Mentor: Debbie Laible (Psychology)

5. Mathematical Modeling and Syndromic Surveillance of COVID-19 in Pennsylvania

Faculty Mentor: Thomas McAndrew (College of Health)

6. NeuroSalon

Faculty Mentor: Julie Miwa, Biological Sciences

7. Renewable Energy in Ghana

Faculty Mentor: Steven McIntosh (Chemical Engineering)

8. Rewriting the Script 3.0: Designing Virtual Racial Embodiment Interactions to Transform U.S. Race Relations

Faculty Mentor: Valerie Jones Taylor (Psychology)

9. Self-Driving Cars in Urban Environments with Traffic

Faculty Mentor: Cristian Ioan Vasile (Mechanical Engineering)

10. Southside Permaculture Park

Faculty Mentors: David Casagrande (Earth & Environmental Sciences), Al Wurth (Political Science)

11. STEM Visualizations

Faculty Mentor: Srinivas Rangarajan (Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering)

12. Superbugs, COVID-19, and the Media

Faculty Mentors: Sharon Friedman (Journalism & Communications), Amanda Greene (Humanities Lab)