REU Site on UAV Technologies:  Effectiveness of the Program on Student Success

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

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Conference: 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access
Location: Virtual On line
Publication Date: June 22, 2020
Start Date: June 22, 2020
End Date: June 26, 2021
Conference Session: NSF Grantees: REU 1
Tagged Topics: Diversity and NSF Grantees Poster Session
Page Count: 11
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--35159
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/35159
Download Count: 352

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Paper Authors

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Subodh Bhandari California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

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Dr. Subodh Bhandari is a professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Cal Poly Pomona and the Director of its Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) Lab. His current research emphasis is on increased autonomy of UAVs, robust and intelligent control, collision detection and avoidance system for UAVs, and developing capabilities for widespread use of unmanned vehicles including precision agriculture and 3-D mapping. Dr. Bhandari leads a large multi-disciplinary team of faculty and students from several departments within the Colleges of Engineering, Science, and Plant Sciences at Cal Poly Pomona for research on unmanned systems. He has obtained several external grants for research on UAVs including from National Science Foundation, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Lockheed Martin Corporation, AERO Institute/NASA Armstrong, University Space Research Association, and CSU Agriculture Research Institute.

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Fang Tang California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

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Dr. Fang (Daisy) Tang is the Chair and Professor in the Computer Science Department at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona). Dr. Tang received her Ph.D. degree in computer science in 2006 from The University of Tennessee - Knoxville (UTK), performing her research on multi-robot systems. She received her M.S. degree in computer science from UTK in 2003, and her B.S. degree in computer science from Sichuan University, Chengdu, China, in 2000.

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Zekeriya Aliyazicioglu California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

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Dr. Zekeriya Aliyazicioglu received his M.S. degree in 1991 and Ph.D. degree in 1995, both in Electrical Engineering from Southern Methodist University (Dallas, Texas). He is currently a Professor of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. His research interests include Digital Signal Processing applications, Digital Image Processing, Communication Systems, and Robotics. He is an author of numerous research papers and presentations in these areas. Dr. Aliyazicioglu is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). He is a member of Eta Kappa Nu, Tau Beta Pi and ASEE.

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Amar Raheja California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

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Dr. Amar Raheja is currently a professor of Computer Science at California State Polytechnic University-Pomona. He received his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from University of Toledo, OH in 1999. and MS and BS from Indian Institute of Technology, India in 1992 and 1994 respectively. His research interests and publications are in the area of image processing, computer vision and applied machine learning. He is also a member of the IEEE and ACM.

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Erika DeJonghe California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

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Erika DeJonghe, Ph.D. received her doctorate in clinical psychology from Michigan State University in 2007. She is a professor in the Department of Psychology at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Dr. DeJonghe has two primary areas of scholarly focus, violence against women and the experiences of women who are under-represented in their academic disciplines. Dr. DeJonghe is also a licensed clinical psychologist. Her areas of clinical interest include family therapy, play therapy, and child group therapy, with a particular focus on work with children and families recovering from trauma.

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Abstract

This paper will discuss the effectiveness of REU Program at the authors’ institution on the student success. The REU Program titled “Research Experience for Undergraduates in UAV Technologies” was funded by the NSF’s EEC Program. The main goal of Program was to increase undergraduate students’ participation and interest in research on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) technologies. Undergraduate students from 2- and 4-year institutions were involved in a multidisciplinary research projects at the authors’ institution. The REU site hosted a total of 31 diverse group of students for 8-10 weeks of summer search during the three year period, 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, and Flight Test experience. Another goal was 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 will discuss the effectiveness of the Program in meeting its goals and objectives and on student success. The Program has been tracking the 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 a Master’s degree or are planning to apply to Master’s/PhD programs. Most of the community college students have transferred to 4-year institutions for degrees in engineering. Also, all the participants have presented their work at student and/or professional conferences. This has helped the participants improve their written and oral communication skills. The paper will discuss how the Program influenced in motivating them to graduate studies and/or for R&D career in industry in the areas of UAV technologies. The paper will also discuss lessons learned, student feedback, and their suggestion for improvements. Students reported statistically significant changes in skills related to UAVs from pre-participation to post-participation. In addition, improvements in “soft skills,” particularly with regard to working in teams, were found in both qualitative and quantitative results.

Citation
Format

Bhandari, S., & Tang, F., & Aliyazicioglu, Z., & Raheja, A., & DeJonghe, E. (2020, June), REU Site on UAV Technologies: Effectiveness of the Program on Student Success Paper presented at 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual On line . 10.18260/1-2--35159

TY - CPAPER
AB - This paper will discuss the effectiveness of REU Program at the authors’ institution on the student success. The REU Program titled “Research Experience for Undergraduates in UAV Technologies” was funded by the NSF’s EEC Program. The main goal of Program was to increase undergraduate students’ participation and interest in research on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) technologies. Undergraduate students from 2- and 4-year institutions were involved in a multidisciplinary research projects at the authors’ institution. The REU site hosted a total of 31 diverse group of students for 8-10 weeks of summer search during the three year period, 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, and Flight Test experience. Another goal was 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 will discuss the effectiveness of the Program in meeting its goals and objectives and on student success. The Program has been tracking the 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 a Master’s degree or are planning to apply to Master’s/PhD programs. Most of the community college students have transferred to 4-year institutions for degrees in engineering. Also, all the participants have presented their work at student and/or professional conferences. This has helped the participants improve their written and oral communication skills. The paper will discuss how the Program influenced in motivating them to graduate studies and/or for R&amp;amp;D career in industry in the areas of UAV technologies. The paper will also discuss lessons learned, student feedback, and their suggestion for improvements. Students reported statistically significant changes in skills related to UAVs from pre-participation to post-participation. In addition, improvements in “soft skills,” particularly with regard to working in teams, were found in both qualitative and quantitative results.

AU - Subodh Bhandari
AU - Fang Tang
AU - Zekeriya Aliyazicioglu
AU - Amar Raheja
AU - Erika DeJonghe
CY - Virtual On line
DA - 2020/06/22
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - REU Site on UAV Technologies: Effectiveness of the Program on Student Success
UR - https://peer.asee.org/35159
DO - 10.18260/1-2--35159
ER -