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Research seminar designed for undergraduate students builds confidence and access to research opportunities

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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

Mechanical Engineering: Student Growth

Page Count

13

DOI

10.18260/1-2--41333

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/41333

Download Count

235

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Paper Authors

biography

Andre Montes

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Andre Montes is a Ph.D. Student in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Berkeley, California where he uses computational methods to study cell biomechanics and mechanobiology. As a Ford Predoctoral Fellow, he practices his passion for teaching and undergraduate research by leading campus diversity efforts. He holds BS and MS degrees in Mechanical Engineering.

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biography

Sofia Arevalo

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Sofia is a PhD candidate at UC Berkeley. She is an NSF fellow and an incoming post-doctoral fellow at MIT. She is passionate about equity, diversity and inclusion research and biomedical research.

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Grace O'Connell University of California, Berkeley

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Abstract

Upper-division technical electives in undergraduate engineering curricula provide students with an opportunity to learn about various industries within the discipline, which are often aligned well with ongoing research areas conducted by professors in the department. As an undergraduate student, establishing a research area of interest is a first step towards becoming a researcher and is an important part of the pipeline to careers in academia. A semester-long seminar course was offered to undergraduate students in a mechanical engineering department to expose students to ongoing research, while providing an opportunity to network with researchers in the department. The course consisted of weekly research talks and discussions. Invited speakers presented a diverse array of research areas and their pathway to research. To assess the course’s impact, we surveyed students at the beginning and end of the semester. Approximately half of the students in the course were 1st year students. Survey results showed improved confidence when engaging in research discussions, and better understanding of graduate student research. Additionally, students enjoyed listening to presentations and connecting with graduate students. During the seminar, students learned how researchers and engineers design their experiments and learned about the wide array of applications in mechanical engineering. These preliminary findings can aid faculty and staff developing initiatives to enhance the undergraduate experience in engineering. Future work is needed to understand the long-term impact of participating in such a seminar course (e.g., impact on retention and participation in research).

Montes, A., & Arevalo, S., & O'Connell, G. (2022, August), Research seminar designed for undergraduate students builds confidence and access to research opportunities Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--41333

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