scholarly journals Interdisciplinary Research for Engineering Skills Development

2008 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 14-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angel E. González-Lizardo
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Interdisciplinary Research ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Qualitative Description ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Life Problems ◽  
Engineering And Technology

This work reports the results of an ad hoc interdisciplinary research experience for undergraduate engineering students at the Plasma Engineering Laboratory (PEL) of the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico (PUPR). The strong features of this experience and their relationship with Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) outcomes are pointed out, and a qualitative description of the results is discussed, in terms of the performance of the students during the experience and after it. An example of the different activities performed by a team of undergraduate students, and their relationship with the ABET outcomes is presented. The undergraduate research at the PEL provides the students with a unique opportunity to practice engineering before graduation through real life problems, innovation, collaboration with other institutions, and presentation of their work for engineering and scientific audiences.

Cases and Commentaries

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Kovac
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Ethical Problem ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Industrial Chemistry ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Ethical Problems ◽  
Laboratory Courses ◽  
Course Of Action ◽  
Life Problems

Just as in chemistry, the best way to learn ethical problem solving is to confront context-rich, real-life problems (Jonsen and Toulmin 1988; Davis 1999, 143–175). The broad variety of ethical problems, or cases, presented here are hypothetical situations, but represent the kinds of problems working chemists and students face. Cases raising similar ethical questions are grouped together. To reach a diverse audience, I sometimes write several variations of the same situation. For example, a question might be posed from the perspective of the graduate student in one version and from the perspective of the research di­rector in another. For important issues I provide cases that are accessible to undergraduates who have very little research experience, usually in the context of laboratory courses. For advanced undergraduates, some cases involve undergraduate research projects. Most of the cases involve situations encountered in graduate research in universities, but some also concern industrial chemistry. Finally, a few cases present ethical problems that arise in cooperative learning, a pedagogical technique that is becoming increasingly important in undergraduate education. Each case, or related set of cases, is followed by a commentary that outlines the important issues and discusses possible solutions. Some of the commentaries are quite extensive and actually present and defend my preferred course of action; others are brief and merely raise questions that should be considered in designing a solution. The commentaries model the ethical problem-solving method presented in Chapter 6. As I have emphasized repeatedly, most ethical problems do not have clean solutions. While some courses of action are clearly wrong, there may be several morally acceptable and defensible ways to proceed. Consequently, readers might disagree with my proposed solutions for good reasons. For example, if I use a consequentialist approach, my assessment of the relative positive and negative weights of the consequences might be challenged, or I simply might have forgotten to consider some factor. Where I have made a definite recommendation, I give the reasons for my choice and contrast it with other alternatives.

scholarly journals Promoting a Research-Based Education through Undergraduate Research Experience for Engineering Students

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 968-973
Author(s):  
Maya Abi Akl ◽  
Othmane Bouhali ◽  
Yassine Toufique
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Medical Physics ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Strong Impact ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
American University ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
The Impact

Various studies have shown the crucial and strong impact that undergraduate research has on the learning outcome of students and its role in clarifying their career path. Therefore, many colleges and universities are promoting undergraduate research experience amongst their students. Texas A&M University at Qatar (TAMUQ), a branch campus of Texas A&M University in College Station in the state of Texas and one of the six American University campuses in Education City, Qatar is actively involving its engineering students in research projects spanning different disciplines across its academic programs. This paper describes how the High Energy and Medical Physics Group at TAMUQ supports and engages the undergraduate students in research activities, summarizes the outcomes of their work and the impact on their career.

scholarly journals Early year undergraduate researchers’ reflections on the values and perceived costs of their research experience

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaye D. Ceyhan ◽  
John W. Tillotson
Keyword(s):  
Achievement Motivation ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Intrinsic Value ◽  
Value Theory ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Expectancy Value ◽  
Research Experiences ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Future Work

Abstract Background Prior research reported that motivational beliefs that individuals attach to specific tasks predict continuing interest and persistence in the task. A motivational approach may be particularly useful for understanding undergraduate students’ engagement with research in their first and second years in college. The current study utilizes the expectancy-value theory of achievement motivation to qualitatively explore how much and in what ways early year undergraduate researchers value their research experience and what kinds of costs they associate with it. Results The results revealed that intrinsic value had the highest expression in participants’ motivation to engage in research. The second most expressed value type was the utility value of undergraduate research with regards to obtaining the desired outcomes, and attainment value played the least important role in participants’ motivation to engage in research. Findings also indicated that some of the participants associated a cost(s) to their research experience. The highest mentioned perceived cost was opportunity cost, where participants commented on losing other valued alternatives when engaging in research. Participants commented on the time, effort, or amount of work needed to engage in research, and a few participants commented on the emotional cost associated with their research experience in terms of the fear of failure. Conclusion As perceived cost is the least studied in the expectancy-value framework, this study contributes to cost values within college students, particularly about early year undergraduate researchers. The findings of this study can form the basis for future work on exploring ways to increase the values and decrease the costs students experience in their undergraduate research experiences.

“Collective Undergraduate Research: A Teaching / Learning Tool For MSE Students”

2000 ◽  
Vol 632 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wafeek Samuel Wahby
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Subject Matter ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Technical Writing ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Oral Communication ◽  
Learning Tool ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Eastern Illinois University ◽  
Teaching Learning

ABSTRACTA new experiment to implement and collectively publish undergraduate students' research was started at the School of Technology, Eastern Illinois University in the Fall of 1998. A summary of the procedures followed in this experiment, its assessment and its progress are presented. Collective research publications, authored by undergraduate engineering students and edited by their faculty can be used as an effective teaching / learning tool that benefits students/authors, their peers, faculty/editors, local and other institutions, and industry at large, particularly when this research is interactively posted on the Internet. Through a research study format, undergraduates learn the subject matter much better, become familiar with research methods and techniques early in their careers, and polish their technical writing abilities. As the experiment also fosters teamwork and peer collaboration and evaluation, undergraduates sharpen their oral communication skills through group discussions and in-class presentations. The experiment provided an opportunity for students to independently select and research a particular topic and helped them discover the research resources and reference materials available on the subject matter. As one of the few creative opportunities offered in a class, this experiment presented a variety of learning environments to undergraduates and helped promote their creativity and self-directed learning. It was confirmed that most undergraduate students hold unlimited potential for success as researchers, and that enthusiasm, hard work, self-motivation, and dedication of students are likely to constitute better indicators of success than the conventional grades they earned in the past.

Project-Based Learning: Microfluidic Lab-on-a-Chip Point-of-Care Medical Tests for Engineering Undergraduates

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael G. Mauk ◽  
Richard Y. Chiou ◽  
Carlos Ruiz ◽  
Dharma Varapula ◽  
Changchun Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Systems Engineering ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Point Of Care ◽  
Lab On A Chip ◽  
Medical Diagnostics ◽  
Green Technology ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Microfluidic Chips

Point-of-care (POC) medical diagnostics tests based on instrumented microfluidic chips are instructive and highly-multidisciplinary projects for undergraduate research and Senior Design. Students can apply their knowledge of fluid mechanics, heat transfer, optics, electronics and microcontrollers, materials, prototyping and systems engineering in translating and adapting a laboratory-based test for use in non-traditional venues. We discuss the design, prototyping, and testing of POC lab-on-a-chip (LOC) systems in an educational setting, where undergraduate students develop and demonstrate novel and practical POC tests. This application area serves as an effective gateway to the medical diagnostics field for engineering students, with opportunities for providing sustainable, appropriate, and ‘green’ technology to the developing world where healthcare infrastructure is lacking.

A Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience in Biofluid Mechanics

2019 ◽  
Vol 141 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alisa Morss Clyne ◽  
Adrian C. Shieh ◽  
Jennifer S. Stanford
Keyword(s):  
Flipped Classroom ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Biofluid Mechanics ◽  
Research Experiences ◽  
In Vivo Experiments

Abstract Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CURE) are a valuable tool to increase research exposure for larger undergraduate cohorts. We implemented a CURE within a senior-level biofluid mechanics course that was primarily taught using a flipped classroom approach. Due to the large class size, the students analyzed data that was publicly available and produced by one of our laboratories. Student teams then developed hypotheses based on the data analysis and designed a set of in vitro and in vivo experiments to test those hypotheses. The hypotheses and experiments that were most highly rated by the class were then tested in our laboratory. At the end of the class, student gains were assessed by self-report and compared to those self-reported by students engaging in a traditional freshman undergraduate summer research experience. While the students in the CURE reported moderate gains in self-assessment of research-based skills, their self-reported gains were statistically significantly lower than those reported by students who participated in the traditional research experience. We believe that the CURE could be improved through implementation in a lower level class, enabling students to observe laboratory experiments, and providing additional feedback throughout the hypothesis development and experimental design process. Overall, the CURE is an innovative way to expand research experiences, in particular for engineering students who often do not participate in hypothesis-driven research during their undergraduate education.

Comparing Mentor and Mentee Perspectives in a Research-Based Undergraduate Mentoring Program

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet Y. Tsai ◽  
Daria Kotys-Schwartz ◽  
Beverly Louie ◽  
Virginia Ferguson ◽  
Alyssa Berg
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Retention Rate ◽  
Mentoring Relationships ◽  
Mentoring Program ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Engineering Research ◽  
Reflective Questions ◽  
Undergraduate Mentoring

At the University of Colorado Boulder (CU), a research-based undergraduate mentoring program is now in its second year of implementation. The program, Your Own Undergraduate Research Experience (YOU’RE@CU) has three main goals: improve the retention rate of diverse groups in undergraduate engineering, build undergraduate interest in engineering research, and prepare graduate students to take on leadership roles in either academia or industry-based research careers. In YOU’RE@CU, undergraduate students are paired with a graduate mentor and work in the graduate student’s lab several hours a week. Undergraduate mentees enroll in a one-credit seminar course focusing on research and graduate school opportunities, and are assessed via pre- and post-surveys to gauge their excitement and interest in engineering. The undergraduates also respond to biweekly qualitative reflective questions while participating in the program. Graduate mentors complete several reflective questions about their experiences and are required to complete pre- and post-assessments. Adopting a person-centered, case study approach, this paper focuses on two telling examples of research-based mentoring relationships in the YOU’RE@CU program. Given identical mentor training through YOU’RE@CU, two graduate students start the Spring 2012 semester by meeting with their mentees to launch a research project. By examining application, pre-survey, reflective questions, and post-survey responses from these four participants, the differences in the trajectory of the two paired mentoring relationships can be clearly seen over the course of one semester. This close examination of two disparate mentoring relationships is instructive in understanding the subtle details that create either a positive learning environment or an uncomfortable lab situation for young engineers, and assists program administrators in making improvements in subsequent years.

Undergraduate Research at a Liberal Arts College during a Time of Disruption

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-78
Author(s):  
Christopher Fuse ◽  
◽  
Ashley Cannaday ◽  
Whitney Coyle ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Liberal Arts College ◽  
Computational Studies ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Research Practices ◽  
New Techniques ◽  
Usual Research

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the authors, who have expertise in acoustics, optics, and astrophysics, decided to pivot from the experimental components of their research and focus instead on computational studies. Many of their usual research practices were adapted, creating new techniques to optimize the remote research experience for their undergraduate students.

scholarly journals RNA Secondary Structure Prediction by Using Discrete Mathematics: An Interdisciplinary Research Experience for Undergraduate Students

2010 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 348-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roni Ellington ◽  
James Wachira ◽  
Asamoah Nkwanta
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Structure ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Interdisciplinary Research ◽  
Structure Prediction ◽  
Rna Secondary Structure ◽  
Secondary Structure Prediction ◽  
Discrete Mathematics ◽  
Biological Research ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Rna Secondary Structure Prediction

The focus of this Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) project was on RNA secondary structure prediction by using a lattice walk approach. The lattice walk approach is a combinatorial and computational biology method used to enumerate possible secondary structures and predict RNA secondary structure from RNA sequences. The method uses discrete mathematical techniques and identifies specified base pairs as parameters. The goal of the REU was to introduce upper-level undergraduate students to the principles and challenges of interdisciplinary research in molecular biology and discrete mathematics. At the beginning of the project, students from the biology and mathematics departments of a mid-sized university received instruction on the role of secondary structure in the function of eukaryotic RNAs and RNA viruses, RNA related to combinatorics, and the National Center for Biotechnology Information resources. The student research projects focused on RNA secondary structure prediction on a regulatory region of the yellow fever virus RNA genome and on an untranslated region of an mRNA of a gene associated with the neurological disorder epilepsy. At the end of the project, the REU students gave poster and oral presentations, and they submitted written final project reports to the program director. The outcome of the REU was that the students gained transferable knowledge and skills in bioinformatics and an awareness of the applications of discrete mathematics to biological research problems.

scholarly journals MUREs - a new member of the URE-CURE family of research opportunities for undergrads

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holly E. Bates ◽  
Shanna Lowes ◽  
Sarah L. West
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Research Experiences ◽  
Research Opportunities ◽  
Biology Students ◽  
Undergraduate Research Experiences ◽  
Stem Students ◽  
Experiential Research

Undergraduate research experiences are important for the development of scientific identity, appreciation of authentic research, and to improve persistence towards science careers. We identified a gap in experiential research opportunities for undergraduate Biology students who were seeking a formal yet small-scale research experience that was unique to their own interests and career aspirations. These opportunities may be especially worthwhile for STEM students aspiring to non-research scientific careers (i.e., medicine, dentistry, forensics, communication) and underrepresented STEM students. Here, we reflect on the use of small-scale, individualized undergraduate research experiences that are based on established methods (MURE). These experiences have helped to fill this gap and create problem-centred learning opportunities for undergraduate students that are as unique as the students themselves.

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