Biola University students will present research in early June at the 2022 American Control Conference, a prestigious conference hosted by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Computer Science majors Daniel March and Jeston Bond’s research titled “A Feedback SAIR Model for the Spread of Infectious Disease with Application to Covid-19 Pandemic” will be presented by March at the conference in Atlanta, Georgia and will be published following the conference.

It is remarkable for an undergraduate student to be the first author of published research and have the opportunity to present his work at a prestigious conference, according to Biola professor of computer science, Dr. Genti Buzi.

“It is rare for undergraduate students to have papers accepted at such a conference as first authors,” Buzi said. “This is a great achievement for Daniel March and Jesse Bond, which will provide exposure for them on a national stage.”

The research aims at understanding the spread and dynamics of global pandemics, a timely and applicable research topic. The researchers modify a standard Susceptible-Asymptomatic-Infected-Recovered (SAIR) model by adding a feedback loop on disease’s transmission rate. March and Bond used Covid-19 rates to find that “public health policies based on daily infection numbers can be more effective than policies based on estimations of infection levels,” according to their abstract.

The student researchers will present work alongside other schools such as California Institute of Technology, University of Southern California, Stanford and Princeton.

“Daniel will have the opportunity to present and network with researchers from the top universities. It may open many doors for careers,” explained Buzi.

After the conference presentation, the paper will be published in the refereed proceedings of the conference, so their research will be able to be viewed and referenced long after the conclusion of the conference.

“This is significant for the School of Science, Technology and Health because it showcases the strength of our undergraduate students and programs on a national stage,” said Buzi.

Learn more about Biola University’s School of Science, Technology and Health and computer science programs.

Written by Dalet Valles, University Communications Copywriter Intern. For more information, please contact media.relations@biola.edu.