{"doi":"10.18260/1-2--36102","title":"Introducing Diverse Undergraduates to Computational Research","abstract":"Abstract Introducing diverse undergraduates to research during their undergraduate programs is an important for the educational enterprise supporting the STEM fields. The primary goal here is to provide the participants a taste of research with the auxiliary goal of some carryover to their skill set. A key feature of modeling and computational representations and methods is that they cut across engineering disciplines and collectively offer a targeted introduction into the various application domains. This multidisciplinary characteristic offers students the opportunity to explore a wider set of problems than would be afforded by an experimental lab-based REU experience. Typically, REUs are run by research centers or large research operations under a few faculty researchers. However, there are a large number of faculty members in most institutions who have a modest level of research, unique abilities to introduce undergraduates to research, but for whom proposing and running an NSF REU site would involve a tremendous administrative workload. This REU site had researchers who are primarily senior and junior faculty with individual or small group research efforts, that can provide unique experiences for undergraduates. Third, due to the nature of computational research, the introduction and training of the participants in modeling tools can be addressed in common group sessions; however, research projects will be conducted with individual mentors. The goals of the REU site, EMCoR@NCAT at North Carolina A&T State University (NCAT), was to provide summer research opportunities in the area of engineering modeling and computational research for qualified science, mathematics, and engineering undergraduates. EMCoR@NCAT participants worked under the mentorships of experienced researchers at NCAT and used established research laboratories in the College of Engineering. These goals were accomplished by: 1. Assembling a core faculty research group in engineering modeling and computational research. 2. Establishing a REU program that prepares participants for the target research areas, research training, and professional development in a positive and rewarding scholarly climate. 3. Providing mentorship and guidance for research and professional preparation for graduate level studies. In addition to the above programmatic objectives, by the end of the research experience, the goal was to prepare the participants in the REU will be able to: (a) demonstrate an understanding of the tools available for modeling and computational research; (b) state and communicate a research problem and research goals in a domain, with the guidance of a research mentor; (c) plan and complete a research task with the guidance of a research mentor; (d) demonstrate intellectual independence and creativity; and (e) communicate the research problem, goals, plan, work, and results to diverse audiences. Recruitment efforts targeted rising juniors and seniors who have strong mathematics and physics backgrounds. Some exposure to engineering coursework was desirable, but not required. Aptitude towards computational work evidenced by applicants' transcripts was considered. A special focus was to recruit students enrolled in institutions, from the region that included North Carolina and the neighboring states, that may not have the resources to offer research experiences in these fields. Following the orientations, the program will begin with 7.5 days of intensive instruction in computational modeling. The course involves fifteen half-day sessions, and will be taught in a computer lab. The following topics will be addressed: Engineering Modeling Methods, MATLAB Computing Software, and Computational Engineering Methods. At the end of each of the week, a research mentor will present on their current research, and provide an opportunity for discussion. The final 2.5 days of the training session involved four components of computational thinking and tools of the trade. The co","journal":"Papers on Engineering Education Repository (American Society for Engineering Education)","year":2024,"id":487916,"datarank":0.0,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"self_citation_contribution":0.0,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.0,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":2,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.9567,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2024-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":1307480,"name":"Marcia Williams","orcid":"0000-0002-9532-3245","position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1332776,"name":"Tonya L. Smith‐Jackson","orcid":null,"position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1332775,"name":"Bala Ram","orcid":null,"position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":3,"raw_metadata":null,"created_at":"2026-07-19T02:08:15.008850Z","pmid":null,"pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}