Business + IT Professors Collaborate on Cutting-Edge Research

In 2021, Lawrence Tech established the LTU Faculty Research Fellowship to support its strategic goal of increasing research funding to $10 million annually by 2027. This opportunity is offered to all faculty. If awarded, the LTU Fellows work with a multi-disciplinary team to develop a competitive proposal, receive support for program expenses, and receive other resources to aid in the development of their proposal.

Dr. Matthew Cole

Dr. Areej Salaymeh

Dr. Murat Hattat

Assistant Professor of Information Technology Dr. Areej Salaymeh in the College of Business and Information Technology was awarded a fellowship in the 2022-2023 academic year, which provided collaborative learning, peer support, and scholarly exchange and which resulted in the formation of an interdisciplinary team comprised of Salaymeh, Architect Scott Shall from the College of Architecture and Design, and Dr. Keith Kowalkowski from the College of Engineering. Together they are writing a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant.

This research, titled “Building Communities with Smarter, More Efficient Housing,” aims to develop explicit methodologies for integrating generative design and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in housing design. “Our objective,” said Salaymeh, “is the creation of cost-effective and energy-efficient designs, specifically for affordable housing initiatives, using AI architecture.“

"Leveraging generative design as our primary tool, we're dedicated to infusing community-based input into the model." Integrating AI technologies into the housing design process gives architects the capacity to systematically evaluate numerous design alternatives and select the optimal solution, which increases efficiency and superior performance in housing designs. The findings of this research project will contribute to the advancement of architectural practices through the judicious incorporation of AI methodologies into the housing design workflow.

Salaymeh said, "I'm truly honored and grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the Faculty Research Fellowship program. It's a privilege to contribute to LTU's strategic plan for increasing research funding. I'm particularly excited about working with Shall and Kowalkowski. The prospect of combining diverse perspectives and skills to develop a competitive proposal is both challenging and invigorating.”

“Interdisciplinary” is fast becoming the byword both within LTU and with agencies that fund scientific and technological research. CoBIT Interim Dean Dr. Matthew Cole and Assistant Professor Dr. Murat Hattat have joined a multidisciplinary team of LTU researchers on a grant request to the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the purchase of a multi-faceted, multi-functional piece of equipment known as fNIRS (functional near-infrared spectroscopy). Unique about this grant is that the seven researcher partners propose to use the same fNIRS to test very different hypotheses.

Cole wants to explore the neurological underpinnings of grit. Hattat wants to dive deeper into the neural underpinning of consumer behavior.

Cole defines grit as persistence and passion for long-term goals and it can predict significant outcomes such as academic and career success. He wrote in the NSF grant request, “To date, brain imaging research using resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) suggests the neural correlates of grit lie in regions of the prefrontal cortex (e.g., dorsomedial PFC) and the ventral striatum, with PFC-ventral striatum connectivity appearing to play a role in cognitive-behavioral control, perseverance, receipt and delay of rewards, goal setting maintenance, and self-regulation. The proposed research is important for the field of organizational psychology because it will help investigators understand the neurological correlates of grit in university students using fNIRS. This neuroimaging method provides a practical approach to capture brain activity in real-time, non-invasive settings, to find the neural correlates of grit in real-life scenarios.” Cole wants to test these core hypotheses:

Hypothesis 1 : PFC-ventral striatum activity is positively associated with grit. The PFC is known for its role in cognitive processes such as planning and decision-making, and activity is likely to correlate with the sustained effort and regulation that grit entails.

Hypothesis 2 : PFC-ventral striatum activity during sustained effort tasks will predict academic performance, indicating that grit has a stable neural component influencing long-term academic engagement and success.

Hypothesis 3 : Interventions designed to increase grit will change PFC-ventral striatum activity. This will demonstrate the fluid nature of grit and its potential for strategies to enhance student performance.

Cole said, “Our research is designed in three phases. The initial phase will identify correlations between grit (as measured by the Short Grit Scale) and neural activity using fNIRS in a cross-sectional study. A subsequent longitudinal study will track the neural correlates of grit over an academic semester. The third phase will apply an intervention to foster grit and examine the resultant neural changes.

“By understanding the neural mechanisms of grit, educators and psychologists can design and implement strategies to improve student outcomes,” Cole said. “In practical terms, the use of fNIRS can offer new insights into how we as educators can support and enhance grit. Long-term, this research will provide insight into the stability of grit's neural correlates and their predictive power of academic success.”

In the portion of the grant application relevant to the field of marketing, Hattat wrote, “While conventional research methods have their merits, they often fall short in capturing the subconscious elements of decision-making processes.” Traditional tools like functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) are expensive and unable to adapt to real-world scenarios. For Hattat as well, fNIRS stands out with its mobile and cost-effective design, allowing for more flexible and diverse experimental setups. “More than just a measurement tool,” he said, “fNIRS offers a window into the consumer's mind, capturing real-time reactions to brands, labels, and advertisements. By decoding these neural responses, marketers can tailor their strategies more effectively, ensuring that their messages resonate on both conscious and subconscious levels.” Hattat believes that “as the realm of neuromarketing continues to expand, fNIRS technology promises to drive innovation, fostering a more holistic and nuanced understanding of the ever-evolving consumer landscape.”

1. Measurement of Prefrontal Activation in Purchase Decisions using fNIRS : The prefrontal cortex (PFC) of the brain plays a crucial role in decision-making processes, especially those related to purchasing behavior. By leveraging fNIRS technology, researchers can non-invasively measure changes in blood oxygenation levels in the PFC as consumers make purchasing decisions, providing a window into the neural processes underlying these decisions.

2. Measurement of Various Effects of Product Packaging Elements using fNIRS : Product packaging plays a pivotal role in influencing consumers' purchasing decisions. Not only does it provide functional utility, but it also communicates brand values, product quality, and other attributes that consumers use to make purchase decisions. By using fNIRS, marketers and researchers can assess the real-time neural responses of consumers when exposed to different packaging designs, providing insights into the cognitive and emotional reactions triggered by the product packaging.