SOUTHFIELD, Mich.—Lawrence Technological University hosted two self-driving car summer programs in July and August 2025, including one for pre-college students believed to be the first of its kind nationwide. The two programs, led by CJ Chung, professor of computer science at LTU, provided high school and college students with rare hands-on experience programming and testing autonomous vehicles on LTU’s Southfield campus.
This summer’s efforts emerged from Chung’s commitment to continuing autonomous vehicle education. With National Science Foundation (NSF) support for the university’s Self-Drive Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) delayed, Chung volunteered his time to ensure students wouldn’t miss out on advanced learning opportunities. Devson Butani, robotics research lab manager at LTU, assisted with both programs.
“Lawrence Technological University is the only university in the United States providing undergraduate students with hands-on research experience using real autonomous vehicles,” said Chung, who has led the REU program since receiving a three-year NSF grant in 2022.
Participants learned to develop vision-based road-following algorithms using industry-standard tools, including Python, OpenCV, and the Robot Operating System (ROS). The program culminated with students testing their code on actual self-driving cars, navigating a red-brick roundabout at the university’s iconic Ockham’s Wedge sculpture.
The first summer program, hosted July 18-19, welcomed five high school students with backgrounds in competitive robotics, including Robofest and FIRST Robotics Competition:
The second program, hosted July 31 through Aug. 1, served six college students from leading universities, including:
Program assessments demonstrated significant learning gains, with pre-college students improving their technical skill scores by 25 percent and college participants showing a 60 percent improvement after just two days of instruction.
The camps build on the success of Lawrence Tech’s REU program, which from 2022 to 2024 enabled undergraduate researchers to produce one journal publication and seven conference papers while working with the university’s research teams.
Lawrence Technological University is one of only 13 independent, technological, comprehensive doctoral universities in the United States. Located in Southfield, Mich., LTU was founded in 1932, and offers more than 100 programs through its Colleges of Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Business and Information Technology, Engineering, and Health Sciences. PayScale lists Lawrence Tech among the nation’s top 11 percent of universities for alumni salaries. Forbes and The Wall Street Journal rank LTU among the nation’s top 10 percent. U.S. News and World Report lists it in the top tier of best in the Midwest colleges. Students benefit from small class sizes and a real-world, hands-on, “theory and practice” education with an emphasis on leadership. Activities on Lawrence Tech’s 107-acre campus include more than 60 student organizations and NAIA varsity sports.
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