Lawrence Technological University’s College of Engineering is part of a multi-institutional team awarded a $699,071 (LTU’s share is $117,381) Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) grant from the National Science Foundation. The grant will fund an Undergraduate Research Excellence Network (UREN) to strengthen mentorship and expand undergraduate research opportunities in engineering. Partners include Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Baylor University, the University of Washington Tacoma, and three LTU faculty: Liping Liu, PhD, associate professor and associate dean of graduate studies and research; Elin Jensen, PhD, professor and department chair of the civil and architectural engineering department; and John Peponis, assistant professor of practice in biomedical engineering.
Elevating Undergraduate Research
“We know undergraduate students gain confidence, hands-on experience, and valuable career skills through research,” Liu explained. “However, unlike graduate research, which is more structured through theses and dissertations, undergraduate research is often informal, and opportunities are learned by word of mouth. Our goal is to provide faculty support and resources to make undergraduate mentoring more intentional, consistent, and effective.”
This project builds on an established toolkit of interventions and best practices designed to bring structure, reflection, and intentional mentoring into engineering undergraduate research experiences. The toolkit includes student and mentor training videos, activities, instructor guides, and workshops to make the learning process and benefits of participating in research more visible and accessible to students and faculty. Over the course of the project, the team will investigate how the toolkit is implemented, adapted, and experienced across five diverse institutions. To support this work, the team will establish the UREN, providing mentors with structured training and coaching to develop actionable plans and integrate these tools into their research mentoring.
An Opportunity for Wider Impact
This collaboration builds on training materials previously developed by Liu and her team with support from the Kern Family Foundation. The NSF IUSE grant now provides an opportunity to scale the work and broaden its impact to help more students and faculty.
“I am excited to see how this project plays out across different universities,” Liu said. “Our team includes large R1 institutions, emerging research institutions, and campuses deeply focused on undergraduate education and research. Each campus brings a different scale and perspective, and that’s exactly why we’re working together. We want to see how our materials can be adapted in different environments to create a flexible ‘menu’ for other universities to use in ways that fit their culture.”
Cultivating Lifelong Skills for Future Success
Helping students build research skills, critical thinking, and an entrepreneurial mindset creates long-term benefits. “Research experiences can have just as much impact on a student’s future as their coursework. Whether they go to graduate school, work in the industry, or move into leadership roles, the ability to think critically, communicate effectively, and approach problems with a research mindset is essential for lifelong learning,” Peponis added.
The grant also reinforces the college’s commitment to undergraduate research. “NSF funding affirms our dedication to strengthening undergraduate research in the College of Engineering,” Jensen said. “It positions our faculty and engineering programs as active contributors to the broader research ecosystem. We are proud to be a main contributor.”
This multi-institution initiative aims to further strengthen LTU and the College of Engineering’s undergraduate research culture, expand opportunities for students, and help build a pipeline into the university’s graduate programs.
By: Nurzahan Rahman
