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BOARD # 444: RIEF: Understanding Impacts of Undergraduate Research Experiences in Human-Centered Engineering on Attitudes and Career Interests of Students with Physical Disabilities

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Conference

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Publication Date

June 22, 2025

Start Date

June 22, 2025

End Date

August 15, 2025

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session II

Tagged Topics

Diversity and NSF Grantees Poster Session

Page Count

6

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/55824

Download Count

1

Paper Authors

biography

Holly M Golecki University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0003-3691-0420

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Dr. Holly Golecki (she/her) is a Teaching Assistant Professor in Bioengineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and an Associate in the John A Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University. She holds an appointment at the Carle-Illinois College of Medicine in the Department of Biomedical and Translational Sciences. She is also a core faculty member at the Institute for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access in the College of Engineering. Holly studies biomaterials and soft robotics and their applications in the university classroom, in undergraduate research and in engaging K12 students in STEM. Holly received her BS/MS in Materials Science and Engineering from Drexel University and her PhD in Engineering Sciences from Harvard University.

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Elizabeth T Hsiao-Wecksler University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-9373-3611

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Yvonne Ilozuluike The University of Illinois at Chicago

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Abstract

This paper describes an effort aimed at understanding and highlighting the relationship between robotics and students underrepresented in engineering in a new setting: undergraduate research. Recently, a unique research community emerged as a result of two previously funded projects: (1) a soft robotics undergraduate research group for students underrepresented in engineering and (2) a robotic wheelchair project, [redacted project acronym]. The [redacted] project has educational goals for undergraduate students and created a dedicated maker lab on campus. Both projects have attracted students with physical disabilities to participate in undergraduate research working on assistive technologies. We aim to use qualitative engineering education research methods developed in the NSF RIEF program, to study this unique cohort to understand supports and barriers for students with physical disabilities to contribute to research. Grounded in Social Cognitive Career Theory we set out to understand factors that influence research in human-centered engineering design as a support for career success for students with disabilities. The research design set out to answer the research question, What factors impact self-efficacy and career interest as a result of a human-centered robotics design research experience?

Golecki, H. M., & Hsiao-Wecksler, E. T., & Ilozuluike, Y. (2025, June), BOARD # 444: RIEF: Understanding Impacts of Undergraduate Research Experiences in Human-Centered Engineering on Attitudes and Career Interests of Students with Physical Disabilities Paper presented at 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Montreal, Quebec, Canada . https://peer.asee.org/55824

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