REU Site on UAV Technologies: Impact of the Program on Participants’ Career in Industry or Graduate School

Subodh Bhandari; Erika Dejonghe; Amar Raheja; Fang Tang; Zekeriya Aliyazicioglu

Download Paper | Permalink

Conference: 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Publication Date: August 23, 2022
Start Date: June 26, 2022
End Date: June 29, 2022
Conference Session: NSF Grantees Poster Session
Page Count: 8
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--42051
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/42051
Download Count: 186

Request a correction

Erika DeJonghe, Ph.D. serves as professor and chair in the Department of Psychology at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate level courses. She received her doctorate in clinical psychology from Michigan State University in 2007.

visit author page

author page

Amar Raheja

author page

Fang Tang

biography

Zekeriya Aliyazicioglu California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

visit author page

Dr. Zekeriya Aliyazicioglu received his MS and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Southern Methodist University-Dallas, TX. He is currently a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Cal Poly Pomona. His research interests include Digital Signal Processing and Digital Image Processing applications, Communication Systems, and Robotics. He is an author of numerous research papers and presentations in these areas. He has worked on undergraduate education projects focused on increasing student learning, academic success, and retention in critical freshman and sophomore level gateway STEM courses. Dr. Aliyazicioglu is a member of the IEEE, Eta Kappa Nu, Tau Beta Pi, and ASEE.

visit author page

Download Paper | Permalink

Abstract

This paper discusses the impact of the REU Program at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) on the success of Participants in industry or graduate school. The REU Program titled “Research Experience for Undergraduates in UAV Technologies” has been funded by the NSF’s EEC Program. The main goal of the Program is to increase undergraduate students’ participation and interest in research on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) technologies. Undergraduate students from 2- and 4-year institutions have been involved in a multidisciplinary research projects at Cal Poly Pomona. The REU Site has so far hosted a total of 43 diverse group of students for 8-10 weeks of summer research since 2017, with the projects focusing on research on the Dynamics and Control of UAVs, Collision Detection and Avoidance System for UAVs, Artificial Intelligence, Computer Vision, Navigation in GPS-Denied Environments, application of UAVs for search and rescue missions, object detection and tracking, and Flight Test experience. Another goal of the Program is to attract students from community colleges to STEM programs at 4-year institutions and encourage the participants to pursue their studies for graduate degrees.

The paper discusses the impact of the Program on the success of the Participants in industry or graduate schools. The Program has been tracking the past Participants. Most of the participants are now pursuing their educational or professional career in the area of UAVs and other related areas. The program has also been successful in motivating the Participants to graduate degrees in STEM disciplines. Some of the participants are already pursuing their studies for Master’s or PhD degrees or are planning to do so. Information about the Participants’ current employment or graduate school enrollment and relevance of current work to aerospace and/or UAV technology was gathered using a follow-up survey that also included open-ended qualitative feedback from the Participants about the long-term impact of the Program on their career. The paper presents the results obtained from the data collected from the Participants of the first three cohorts of the Program who were hosted during summers of 2017 to 2019. The paper focuses on the impact of the Program on the Participants’ career choice, career advancement, and motivation for graduate degrees. The paper also presents written feedback/comments from the Participants.

Citation
Format

Bhandari, S., & Dejonghe, E., & Raheja, A., & Tang, F., & Aliyazicioglu, Z. (2022, August), REU Site on UAV Technologies: Impact of the Program on Participants’ Career in Industry or Graduate School Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--42051

TY - CPAPER
AB - This paper discusses the impact of the REU Program at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) on the success of Participants in industry or graduate school. The REU Program titled “Research Experience for Undergraduates in UAV Technologies” has been funded by the NSF’s EEC Program. The main goal of the Program is to increase undergraduate students’ participation and interest in research on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) technologies. Undergraduate students from 2- and 4-year institutions have been involved in a multidisciplinary research projects at Cal Poly Pomona. The REU Site has so far hosted a total of 43 diverse group of students for 8-10 weeks of summer research since 2017, with the projects focusing on research on the Dynamics and Control of UAVs, Collision Detection and Avoidance System for UAVs, Artificial Intelligence, Computer Vision, Navigation in GPS-Denied Environments, application of UAVs for search and rescue missions, object detection and tracking, and Flight Test experience. Another goal of the Program is to attract students from community colleges to STEM programs at 4-year institutions and encourage the participants to pursue their studies for graduate degrees.

The paper discusses the impact of the Program on the success of the Participants in industry or graduate schools. The Program has been tracking the past Participants. Most of the participants are now pursuing their educational or professional career in the area of UAVs and other related areas. The program has also been successful in motivating the Participants to graduate degrees in STEM disciplines. Some of the participants are already pursuing their studies for Master’s or PhD degrees or are planning to do so. Information about the Participants’ current employment or graduate school enrollment and relevance of current work to aerospace and/or UAV technology was gathered using a follow-up survey that also included open-ended qualitative feedback from the Participants about the long-term impact of the Program on their career. The paper presents the results obtained from the data collected from the Participants of the first three cohorts of the Program who were hosted during summers of 2017 to 2019. The paper focuses on the impact of the Program on the Participants’ career choice, career advancement, and motivation for graduate degrees. The paper also presents written feedback/comments from the Participants.

AU - Subodh Bhandari
AU - Erika Dejonghe
AU - Amar Raheja
AU - Fang Tang
AU - Zekeriya Aliyazicioglu
CY - Minneapolis, MN
DA - 2022/08/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - REU Site on UAV Technologies: Impact of the Program on Participants’ Career in Industry or Graduate School
UR - https://peer.asee.org/42051
DO - 10.18260/1-2--42051
ER -