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1. Undergraduate Hypersonics Research: Lessons From Two Years of the REU Site HYPER

   https://doi.org/10.1115/GT2022-81021  

   Kauffman, Jeffrey L.; Gordon, Ali P. (June 2022, ASME Turbo Expo 2022)

   The University of Central Florida (UCF) trains future engineers and scientists for research-oriented careers through a number of programs and initiatives. One of the most recent is a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site based on next-generation transportation and energy housed within the Center for Advanced Turbomachinery and Energy Research (CATER) and the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE). The site unites eleven multi-disciplinary research projects around HYpersonic, Propulsive, Energetic, and Reusable Platforms (HYPER). A key goal of HYPER is to equip and motivate undergraduate students to pursue graduate school and/or a research-oriented career, particularly across a diverse student participant cohort. The site has held two cohorts, engaging 25 students in a ten-week intensive experience, conducting research under the guidance of faculty mentors and graduate students. Students explored career options through industry tours, professional development seminars, and mentor-led research seminars. This paper reports the program impacts on the students and discusses several lessons learned across the cohorts. 

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2. Undergraduate Hypersonics Research: The Second Year of the REU Site HYPER

   https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2022-0932  

   Gordon, Ali; Kauffman, Jeffrey L.; Burke, Robert F. (January 2022, AIAA SciTech 2022 Forum)

   Training future engineers and scientists for the research-oriented careers necessary to deliver solutions to the challenges of hypersonic flight is important task for the aerospace community at-large. A number of programs and initiatives at the University of Central Florida (UCF) contribute to this need. Among them is the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site framed on HYpersonic, Propulsive, Energetic, and Reusable Platforms (HYPER) an program housed withing the Center for Advanced Turbomachinery Energy Research (CATER). This residential summer program convening on the UCF main campus prepares a group of undergraduate students to pursue doctoral-level degree programs in aerospace engineering and related disciplines. During the Summer 2021, the second term of the program, HYPER hosted fourteen students. Students conducted intensive research under the guidance of faculty mentors and their graduate student assistants. To support their complete development, HYPER students participated in industry tours, software training, technical seminars, and more. This paper reports the impact of the program in its second year. Data are derived from pre- and post-experience surveys, study groups, and technical assessment activities. Feedback from the first year were implemented in the second year. 

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3. Imparting High-Level Environmental Behavior Through Tailored Interventions

   J. T Solomon, H Song (June 2024, ASEE)

   This work-in-progress paper presents data from ongoing research that studies engineering students' environmental awareness and pro-environmental behavior at different levels in a prominent HBCU. Through extensive surveys developed as part of this project, students' environmental knowledge and higher-level environmental behavior, manifested by their willingness and preparedness to pursue careers in the industries developing sustainable resources, have been explored. With a focus on imparting these qualities, a pedagogical system with a comprehensive pool of interventions has been designed and implemented in a senior-level mechanical engineering course in the HBCU. The paper summarizes the survey development process and explores the impact of the intervention on students' ecological knowledge, behavior, attitudes, and job decisions, which will help develop strategies for preparing the next-generation, diverse renewable energy workforce. 

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4. Critical Consciousness of Gender Inequality: Considering the Viewpoints of Racially Diverse High School Girls with Engineering Aspirations

   https://doi.org/10.1177/07311214221112448  

   Riegle-Crumb, Catherine; Russo-Tait, Tatiane; Doerr, Katherine; Nguyen, Ursula (July 2022, Sociological Perspectives)

   This study utilizes interviews with 33 racially diverse high school girls who have expressed interest in engineering careers. Using the framework of critical consciousness and informed by intersectional theories, the authors examine their views about gender inequality in engineering. Results revealed that while most articulated systemic understandings of inequality, Black participants were particularly likely to exhibit this critical reflection. Yet many young women revealed a more emerging form of critical reflection, particularly Asian participants. Few respondents expressed critical self-efficacy, or confidence to challenge gender inequality in their future careers; such views were almost exclusively held by Black and Latinx respondents. In contrast, White respondents commonly invoked a “lean-in” self-efficacy to be successful navigating, but not challenging, the White male-dominated engineering workforce. Overall, we find clear evidence that young women’s racialized identities have implications not only for their understandings of gender inequality, but also for their motivation to disrupt it. 

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5. Exploration of Multi-layered Mentorship Approaches in Summer Engineering Programs

   Cook-Chennault, Kimberly (July 2018, ASEE Annual Conference proceedings)

   The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of multi-layered mentoring in summer engineering programs on confidence in understanding engineering research, engineering disciplines and the ability to conduct engineering research. This paper describes the work in progress towards incorporating this approach into summer programs at Rutgers University. The participants in the study included high school students from over 6 different high schools in New Jersey, coupled with in-service teachers who were participants in a National Science Foundation RET Site: Rutgers University Research Experience for Teachers in Engineering for Green Energy Technology and undergraduate scholars who participated in the REU Site: Green Energy Technology Undergraduate Program. The perceptions, understanding and evaluation of the program before the implementation of the multi-layered mentorship program are compared to the multi-layered program. High school students expressed higher confidence levels in the engineering design cycle and knowledge of the engineering discipline in the multi-layered mentorship program. Undergraduate students who were in labs where they peer-mentored teachers expressed higher levels of confidence in their skills as researchers than undergraduate students who did not peer-mentor in-service teachers or high school students. Future work will include enhanced data sampling, a revision of interview questions and assessment of participant’s understanding of concepts via quizzes. 

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