In celebration of its 150th year, Purdue University has chosen to feature a specific college each month. For the month of February, the College of Engineering is being highlighted. The OUR is also choosing to celebrate and put a spotlight on our undergraduate researchers from the College of Engineering. Abigail Hancock ’20 is the first of these researchers.
Hancock is a current undergraduate student majoring in industrial engineering and minoring in psychology. During 2018, she conducted research on how to educate people on the dangers of high blood pressure.
“High blood pressure is a very abstract concept,” Hancock says. “To educate people, I created an interactive device that simulates the difference in pressures of a heart suffering from high blood pressure and a healthy heart.”
Working with Denny Yu, an assistant professor of industrial engineering, and Kim Plake and Judy Chen from the College of Pharmacy, Hancock took the interactive device to health fairs and asked individuals to participate in her study.
Using surveys, she discovered that the device helped people better understand the effects of high blood pressure. Her research abstract was later accepted into the American Pharmacists Association Exposition, and the device is now being used at the Jane Pauley Clinic in Indianapolis during high blood pressure classes to help individuals understand what is happening to their bodies.
“1 in 3 Americans suffer from high blood pressure,” says Hancock. “Giving people a tangible way to understand this idea was a very fulfilling experience.”
Hancock first started this research as a high school science fair project. When she came to college, she wanted to continue and expand the project with the help of Purdue faculty. Through participating in undergraduate research, Hancock gained on-campus experience and explored different areas within her major. She was also able to make faculty connections and learn about the benefits of graduate school.
Undergraduate Research Blog 