Southfield, MI – Lawrence Technological University (LTU) is partnering with Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Baylor University, and the University of Washington Tacoma on a new, multi-institutional effort funded by the National Science Foundation to improve mentorship and expand opportunities for undergraduate research experiences in engineering.
The $699,071 award, distributed over the next three years through NSF’s Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) program, will support the creation of an Undergraduate Research Excellence Network (UREN).
Through that funding, LTU will receive $117,381 over the next three years.
The Principal Investigator at LTU is Dr. Liping Liu, Associate Dean, Graduate Studies and Research, LTU College of Engineering. Supporting the project as Co-Principal Investigators are Dr. Elin Jensen, Chair, LTU Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, and John Peponis, Assistant Professor of Practice, Biomedical Engineering.
“At LTU, we place a strong emphasis on undergraduate research,” said Dr. Tarek Sobh, President, LTU. “Engaging undergraduates in meaningful research not only enriches their academic experience and enhances experiential learning, but also builds a pipeline for future graduate researchers. We are proud to collaborate with four outstanding universities on this important initiative to advance mentoring practices and expand research opportunities for engineering students.”
The UREN will provide coaching, training materials, and workshops to help faculty and graduate students strengthen their approaches to mentoring undergraduate researchers. A focus of the network will be helping students adopt an entrepreneurial mindset — encouraging them to take ownership of projects and see how their work can create value.
The collaboration will also build on existing training materials, such as activities and videos for undergraduate researchers and mentors, originally developed with support from the Kern Family Foundation. Seed funding from the Kern Family Foundation helped bring together the partner institutions for this proposal.
“Research is an unqualified source from which the life of the institution springs and enables lifelong learning,” said Dr. Devesh Misra, Dean, LTU College of Engineering. “It leaves a mark on all students regardless of what they do rest of their lives, and is beneficial to the faculty and all members of the academic community. We look forward to supporting this important initiative and advancing undergraduate research mentorship.”
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