access to engineering courses, only 47%enrolled. Similarly, 72% had access to engineering-focused extracurricular activities, but only39% participated. Familiarity with programming tools was widespread across respondents, whileaccess to CAD tools and engineering platforms varied significantly, particularly for thosewithout formal curricular exposure. Future iterations will expand survey distribution throughcollaboration with other institutions. Those partnerships will be key to reaching a broader andmore widespread population to understand better the general experience level of our incomingFirst-Year Engineering students.IntroductionHigh school engineering exposure plays a crucial role in shaping students' STEM understandingand career pathways
reform and interventions. While faculty-studentinteraction powerfully fosters student engagement [6], [31] and belonging [32], and increasesfaculty satisfaction [33], individual perceptions of responsibility for creating equitable courseenvironments vary individually, as does competence with the necessary equity-focused skills togenerate such environments. Notably, engineering faculty of color are often motivated to useinclusivity best practices due to past experiences of discrimination in STEM classrooms [34] - afactor that is not universal among faculty.Even faculty who feel it is their responsibility to adopt equity practices may refrain from doingso due to potential interpersonal and career impacts. For example, engineering faculty
(with permission) to see patterns in how neurodivergent students engage (e.g., do they pausevideos more often, access materials at different times, etc.). Such data can triangulate self-reported experienceswith behavioral evidence. Long-term outcomes and career trajectories: It is also essential to explore the long-term impact of onlinelearning on neurodivergent students’ academic trajectories and career readiness. For example, did the challengesof online learning lead to any shifts in major (did some leave STEM fields or slow down their course load)?Conversely, did any find the online format beneficial enough that they excelled
must develop a rangeof personal attributes, such as social skills, decision-making, and problem-solving, which arecritical for success in their careers. These challenges raise questions about the effectivenessof undergraduate architecture programs in preparing students for the demands of theprofession. As the field evolves, it becomes increasingly important to ensure that studentsnot only excel in design but also acquire the skills necessary for managing projects andnavigating complex real-world situations [13], [14], [15], [16].In addition to professional skills, architecture students must cultivate academic abilities,which are interdisciplinary by nature [17]. While design remains a core focus, students mustalso develop a broad set of
supports groups, like first-generation students. These students are often self-driven to seek out faculty and mentor support[19], [22]. It is individuals like faculty and mentors who understand the academic landscape andoffer the first line of information. Frantellizzi [23] also found that first-generation femaledoctoral students lacked career counseling, and more was needed within degree programs.Providing students with access to additional tutoring and mentoring can help reduce thechallenges with transitioning into graduate school [7], [19], such as adjusting to the coursework-research balance [21]. With research being a core focus, the relationship between students andtheir research advisors is critical to their persistence in their program and
by faculty and research staff.Two primary categories emerge in discussions about the admission process: access toinformation and the evaluation of the scoring system.Access to Information: A study on Hispanic/Latinx undergraduate student experiences with thegraduate school application process found that access to information through research mentorsand peers significantly aided students in navigating the application process [10]. This findingwas found to be similar pertaining to women of color here mentors and career counselors canprovide additional support in applying to graduate programs [11]. Additionally, a volunteergroup, Científico Latino - Graduate Student Mentorship Initiative (CL-GSMI), which aims toprovide resources on the graduate
Paper ID #46950A Review of Entrepreneurial Concepts in Mechanical Engineering EducationProf. John Reap, Quinnipiac University As one of Quinnipiac University’s School of Computing and Engineering’s Founding Faculty members, John Reap helped shape, foster and guide its undergraduate focused engineering school since its founding in 2012. Educating undergraduate mechanical engineers remains one of this primary career foci. His scholarly activities are rooted in engineering design with an emphasis on environmentally benign / sustainable design and manufacturing. He also possesses a growing interest in engineering education
) frameworks to conduct research related to postsecondary education/learning, job transitions, remote work, and work-life integration with a focus on helping women and marginalized groups manage and develop thriving and sustainable careers. ©American Society for Engineering Education, 2025 Two Years’ Comparison from Industries of the Future Research Experience for Preservice Teacher Summer Program AbstractThis paper reports two years’ experience from our implementation of the NSF project titled“Industries of the Future Research Experience for Preservice Teachers in STEM Settings.” Thegoal of the project is to host 10 high school preservice teachers each
engineering workforce, engineering students areoften cited as lacking those skills at graduation [5], [6]. Recruiters for engineering jobs even lookfor students who have more than just technical knowledge when filling positions. Since manyengineering undergraduates enter the workforce after graduation, they must learn these skillsduring their undergraduate careers. In response, academia has introduced professional skills intothe classroom using interventions such as project-based learning. A literature review conductedby Boelt et al. showed that students believed project-based learning activities help developvarious professional skills including communication, problem-solving, and teamwork [7].Universities also offer opportunities for engineering
engineering identity. We argue that engineering identity can bedeveloped through outside identity formation in non-engineering contexts. With these results, wehope that instructors introduce intervention strategies into first-year engineering courses thatguide students to recognize outside of engineering identities and activities as beneficial toengineering.BackgroundEngineering Identity FrameworkMany different definitions of identity have arisen within identity literature such as “a certain kindof person” [14, p.99], or who we think we must be to engage in a specific career [15]. Identity iscomposed of different role identities, or meanings attached to a social or cultural role [8], such asgender or person of color. In this paper, we discuss outside
to education, sense of community, retention, college transitions, living-learning communities, career readiness, mentoring and persistence to graduation for students in STEM programs.Rachid Ait Maalem Lahcen, University of Central Florida ©American Society for Engineering Education, 2025 Accelerating Student Success in Mathematics through Personalized Adaptive LearningAbstractMath Launch is a program designed to help incoming first-year students prepare for calculus 1and set them up for success in their chosen STEM major. With a focus on expanding students’knowledge and capabilities in algebra, trigonometry and precalculus, Math Launch helpsstudents become calculus ready in
be the casemore often for doctoral/masters institutions). These two sets of data can be aligned byrecognizing that many institutions who offer a single engineering program are classified asmaster’s degree granting institutions even though all of the master’s degree offerings (typically arelatively small number) are in areas outside of engineering or STEM.In pie chart 5c, institutions are categorized by the range of instructional programs offered. Thiscaptures the relative percentage of majors within the institution that can be classified as “arts andsciences” (typically associated with traditional liberal arts subjects) as opposed to “professionalprograms” (typically focused on preparation for a particular career). Institutions with a
with a BME team.Observations team meetings showed that the medical students were able to assist BME studentswith the clinical aspects of understanding the unmet need. However, the instructors noted that itwas difficult to match medical students to student-driven projects in which the students intendedto develop a start-up company due to IP concerns. In our institution, medical students andundergraduates fall under different jurisdictions for IP as compared to graduate students andpostdoctoral trainees. This does provide a challenge in IP, aside from differences in perspectivesand career goals between the BME and medical students in terms of potential start-ups.Nevertheless, industry and faculty-led projects were accepting of the students, as
and hobbyists alike [1-2]. These skills may prove to be crucial in preparingstudents for their future education and careers. As such, education and tools in robotics may helpwith encouraging and attracting them to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics(STEM) fields, improve retention rates, and facilitate their learning [3].Many educational robotic kits are commercially available for purchase. However, many of thesekits could be made affordable for purchase, especially by underserved or low-incomecommunities. These may lack some prominent features, including guided instruction modules orAuthors Ricardo Alves Almeida Moreira and Tommaso Verdiglione contributed equally to this work.lesson plans. This means the users may have to
completed a master’s program in Cognitive Science at SNU.ANNE LIPPERT, Prairie View A&M University ©American Society for Engineering Education, 2025 Work in Progress: Improving Engineering Students’ Writing Skills Through a Text Visualization ToolIntroductionDue to the importance of communication skills in the professional engineering field, engineeringcourses have incorporated writing and communication into their curricula [1]. Writing is amultifaceted process requiring critical thinking [2], creativity [3], and synthesis of ideas [4]. Forengineers in research careers, writing activates the cognitive and social processes, allowingstudents aiming for various engineering roles to contribute
holistically and have learned to hold both the individual parts and their relationships tothe whole system in mind simultaneously. However, it can be frustrating for those who strugglewith the complexity and ambiguity of systems thinking.In preparing the engineers of the future, we are also preparing future leaders. Doing so demandsthat we consider which skills and mindsets these future leaders will need; it also requires that weassess whether the methods we are using to prepare them reflect the ways they will be expectedto enact leadership roles. In other words, how might faculty model the leadership students will beasked to enact in their careers? Faculty have a unique opportunity to demonstrate to futureleaders how they might operate within the
disorder, and magneticFor example, when asked their knitting gloves for a person with arthritis.favorite part of the project onestudent stated, “that it was based on real people who we had to interview.” Another mentionedenjoying the ability to select their design goal and said “I liked how we got to pick whichproblem we wanted to accomplish. With this we were able to make our own design and workthrough all of the engineering design process on our own. Making it feel like a real situation andwhat we might have to go through throughout our engineering career.” Anecdotally, observationsby the GTAs and instructor, who had taught different project iterations, indicated that thestudents appeared to feel more of a connection to the design
good business sense. Improving transfer outcomes is also key to fulfilling Colorado’shigher education master plan, which calls for increasing credential completions by 9,200 beyondnatural enrollment growth and boosting completion of the STEM credentials urgently needed forour state’s workforce.At the turn of the 21st century, transfer leading to engineering graduation was rare for studentsstarting in a community college [9]. Colorado was no exception. About a decade ago, onemember of this team left his community college job for a career as an academic advisor for theengineering college at UCB. He immediately noted the low transfer enrollment, weak retentionand graduation rates, and discovered inequitable admissions policies/requirements
engineering capstone, and engineering design courses to foster hands-on, collaborative learning experiences.Prof. Cosmas Tzavelis, The Cooper UnionDr. David Wootton Education BS Mechanical Engineering Cornell University, 1987 MS Mechanical Engineering MIT, 1990 PhD Mechanical Engineering Georgia Tech, 1998 Postdoc Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins, 1998-2000 Professional Noise and Vibrations Consultant, H ©American Society for Engineering Education, 2025 Implementing an Interdisciplinary Senior Design Approach Within a Traditional Departmental FrameworkAbstractEngineering careers have become increasingly collaborative and multidisciplinary. To betterprepare students for this
University. Her career as an engineering education researcher focuses on addressing complex engineering education challenges by building capacity for stakeholders at the grassroots, while also informing policy. Her research seeks to transform and democratize engineering education by exploring ways of thinking, identifying effective professional development approaches, and uncovering pedagogical techniques to enhance students’ engineering curiosity, engagement, and learning.Dr. Anoop Singh Grewal, Arizona State University Anoop Grewal (agrewal6@asu.edu) is a Associate Teaching Professor at Arizona State University in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of engineering since 2014. He received his doctorate in Mechanical and Aerospace
program at SCC was important to students with geographic and time limitations related to participation in the on-campus Mechatronics curriculum. The LA successful insertion into another state initiated an awareness and interest of high schools at the national level.LA's influence on their initial career intentions. Table 2. assembles the iMEC 2.0 evaluator'ssummary points that emphasize the project's impact on several fronts. Additional impact detailscan be found in Dr. Neal Grandgenett’s NSF Advanced Technological Education Program iMEC2.0 Report.Future DevelopmentsiMEC is now sustained within Minnesota and Nebraska. This reality steers the ongoingdevelopment of additional lessons with platform equipment and cooperative facilitating
career, Olaitan has attended several in-persons and virtual conferences and workshop, and at some of them, made presentation on findings on air pollution, waste water reuse, and heavy metal contamination.Dr. Oludare Adegbola Owolabi P.E., Morgan State University Dr. Oludare Owolabi, a professional engineer in Maryland, joined the Morgan State University faculty in 2010. He is the director of the sustainable infrastructure development, smart innovation and resilient engineering lab and the director of undergraduate programs in the department of civil engineering at Morgan State University. ©American Society for Engineering Education, 2025 WIP: Integrating Smart City Concepts in Civil
development. Dr. Godwin graduated from Clemson University with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and Ph.D. in Engineering and Science Education. Her research earned her a National Science Foundation CAREER Award focused on characterizing latent diversity, which includes diverse attitudes, mindsets, and approaches to learning to understand engineering students’ identity development. She has won several awards for her research including the 2021 Chemical Engineering Education William H. Corcoran Award, 2022 American Educational Research Association Education in the Professions (Division I) 2021-2022 Outstanding Research Publication Award, and the 2023 AIChE Excellence in Engineering Education Research Award
. Without the use of mockups, it canbe challenging to convey how various parts of a structure come together. This challenge isparticularly evident in educational settings, where students may struggle to visualize buildingsand their components in three dimensions, a crucial skill for their future careers. To bridge thisgap, educational tools like physical and virtual mockups are invaluable, helping students betterunderstand both individual material components and how those components are assembled.However, these tools are not without their own set of challenges, such as cost, space, andcomplexity. In an effort to overcome these obstacles, our team developed a mobile wall mockup(MWM) specifically designed to serve as a hands-on learning tool in
are connected to an Arduino microcontroller. The Arduino is what controls the logicfor which LED to illuminate on the breadboard to simulate reading a 0 or a 1.Lessons Learned: What worked well?The camp successfully provided students with a solid theoretical foundation, highlighting whyquantum computing is a field worth exploring, especially as a potential career path. Despite thecomplexity of the material, students demonstrated genuine enthusiasm and engagement,suggesting that they appreciated the value and relevance of quantum computing even beforeencountering a physical implementation. A key highlight was the hands-on activity at the camp’sconclusion, designed to bridge theoretical concepts with practical applications. This activity
developing nations across the world. Theteam has proven that repeatable tests can be conducted using the design. In addition, thisindependent study course required the students to use their in-depth knowledge of heat transferand thermodynamics in a practical setting. Through this independent study course, the studentsgained exposure to a variety of experimental tools, learned how to design and build, tackledpractical challenges, and developed essential skills that will be crucial for building a successfulengineering career after graduation.References[1] W. Xing, Y. Xu, C. Song, and T. Deng, “Recent Advances in Thermal Interface Materials for Thermal Management of High-Power Electronics,” Nanomaterials, vol. 12, no. 19, p. 3365, Jan. 2022, doi
Systems.Dr. Kari J Lippert, University of South Alabama Dr. Kari Lippert, D.Sc., has over 45 years’ experience as a Systems Engineer serving in various roles in a wide variety of both commercial and government positions. She is currently an Assistant Professor in Systems Engineering at the University of South Alabama. She is a non-typical systems engineer having started her academic career in the biological sciences. She then moved into theoretical chemistry and biochemical simulation, then big data and databases, then systems, then cyberspace defense and network security. Analysis, design, implementation, integration, testing, requirements management, change management, risk, architecture, and process improvement – all
-lecture formative assessments and designing AI-proof assignments. Her educational background includes a B.S. in Medical Technology, a Master’s degree in Chemical and Biological Engineering from KAUST, and a Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of California, Los Angeles. Reem has also engaged in post-doctoral research at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the University of California, Irvine.Dr. Alyssa Catherine Taylor, University of California San Diego Alyssa C. Taylor is a Teaching Professor in bioengineering with thirteen years of teaching experience across introductory, laboratory, and capstone design courses. Her teaching career began in 2010 when she joined the University of Washington as an
skills necessary tosucceed in dynamic professional environments.To replicate the success of the VIP+ program, other institutions should consider the followingrecommendations: • Establish dedicated administrative support and secure funding to ensure the sustainability of the program. • Encourage participation from multiple academic departments to promote diversity and inclusivity in project teams. • Build strong relationships with industry partners to provide mentorship, resources, and real-world insights. • Embed entrepreneurial training and project-based learning into the academic curriculum, ensuring alignment with institutional goals and student career pathways. • Invest in
over 100 employees,while only 57% of students did. Smaller firms (under 50 employees) were more common forstudents (23%) than faculty (10%) most likely due to students securing internships or early-career roles in smaller firms, while faculty, given their advanced career stages, may have beenemployed by larger organizations. Both groups reported experience across various companytypes, including local, regional, family-owned, domestic, international, profit-driven, and non-profit organizations (Figure B16).Engineering companies’ diversity initiatives were evaluated by asking both students and facultyabout their experiences working for such companies. From the responses (Figure B17), 50% ofstudents reported their companies had a dedicated