Project Reflection

My participation in the Research Experience for Undergraduates has truly been a rewarding and educational experience, providing me with insight into the rigors of research and a more developed understanding of engineering. I initially viewed the program as a means to expand my academic horizons and to jumpstart my career so that my experiences may continue to snowball, bestowing me with a sturdy foundation in which to pursue higher education and eventually to enter the workforce. I also hoped to gain an exposure to civil engineering while working with faculty, staff, and older students so that I may observe and learn what it takes to be successful in research.


When I first began the program, I had great ambitions but did not know what to expect. The orientation on the first day excited me and opened my eyes to the possibilities that could be explored over the summer. I would have a chance to work on challenging projects with real-world applications. After hearing from several professors regarding the available projects and expectations for the programs, we were released to meet our colleagues and to make plans for the rest of the summer. I was to work alone with Dr. Wei-Jen Lee on the Power System Failure and Restoration project. After meeting with Dr. Lee, he suggested I pursue a project more relevant to my major, Biomedical Engineering, so that I may more greatly benefit from the summer and in the future. Dr. Lee then introduced me to Dr. Mingyu Lu to discuss a project that he was supervising regarding the use of electromagnetic waves in wireless energy transmission and imaging. The technology and methods developed had several intriguing current and future applications including use in the military, in automobiles, and in medical technologies. The project seemed to very interesting and I was thrilled to work with the graduate students, primarily Vinay Vikramas he completed his graduate studies in Electrical Engineering. The rest of the summer consisted of understanding his efforts and assisting in the taking of measurements in the Anechoic Chamber at UT Arlington.

This experience was very different from any program that I have participated in before. Although the staff was very supportive, I was provided with independence and the freedom to work at my own pace. It was quite interesting to see how some of the concepts that I had learned in my physics courses were applied to the project. Although I had only learned the fundamentals of physics in my first year of college and had a poor understanding of the concepts, Dr. Lu and Vinay consistently worked with me and were very helpful as I strove to master the details, technicalities, and ideas of the project. I was quite surprised at the amount of time and effort necessary to bring such an endeavor through completion. During the evenings and at mealtimes, I discussed my work with my colleagues and found that they were undergoing similar stimulating experiences related to their areas of interest, including environmental engineering, civil engineering, and computer science. I feel that I had a different experience from my peers in that my summer consisted more of laboratory work and one-on-one sessions while theirs consisted more of group, class, and lab work. Their experience also might have been more involved while mine was more geared towards comprehension. However, we all benefited greatly from the experience. It was nice working with such a diverse group of students, including students in their first and final years of undergraduate study, as well as of different genders, and cultures. Thus, the program was successful in engaging a diverse set of traditionally underrepresented individuals. I feel that this goal is quite admirable and needed in order to continue advances in engineering.

This experience was truly beneficial and has thoroughly enhanced my undergraduate studies. It was a great way to gain exposure to the demands of research and to learn specific avenues of developing ideas. Although I am pleased with the outcome of the program, I had hoped the program would be more involved with less personal time. I expected there to be more workshops and collaboration among the projects. I enjoy staying busy and the summer offered a different experience in which I had to decide how I would spend my time. I feel this was valuable as part of the maturing process, because as an adult, engineer, and researcher I will have to efficiently budget my time. My participation reignited my ambitions and showed me that self-motivation is vital for success. The staff provided ample assistance and showed a genuine interest in the participants. However, I wish I could have worked with some of the other undergraduates instead of by myself. In retrospect, by working as the only undergraduate with the faculty and graduate students, I received a much more focused education in which I could ask the questions that I desired and could work around my own schedule. This program will make me a more competitive applicant for future programs and a better engineering undergraduate in that it has opened my eyes to the opportunities currently available and because employers and others are seeking students who have either exposure or training in engineering. I would guess that most people my age don’t even consider doing research until junior or senior year or even until graduate school. Research is a great realm to explore during one’s academic career, allowing one to be innovative, and to establish habits that will ultimately benefit him for the rest of his career. My involvement has given me an edge over my peers and I feel that the program will amplify my resume. Although I most likely will not pursue this summer’s project during my studies at school until later years, the research that I participated in gives me something to look forward to down the road. The seminars were helpful in giving direction to our endeavors, including the ethics workshop which provided us with moral guidance as we discussed ethical dilemmas that we might have to confront during our engineering careers. The presentation, reflection paper, and poster are good methods to conclude the experience, allowing us to review what we learned and to solidify our understandings.

Overall, my summer was well spent at UT Arlington during the REU program on Hazard Mitigation. I can only imagine how the program could grow and contribute to future participants. I believe future participants would benefit from having weekly group seminars so that more aspects of research may be addressed. Students could perhaps share with the group what has been accomplished up to that point so that efforts can be adjusted appropriately if some students are behind in their activities or to provide students with additional resources in case they are working at an accelerated pace. Also, I believe students should be told more information about what they will be engaging in over the summer before beginning the program so that expectations will match the experience. These are small suggestions that I think would only enhance the already remarkable program. I am now more than ready to begin my second year of school, with behaviors and knowledge that will allow me to be more successful in the months and years to come. I have refined my time management and interpersonal skills. I have gained new experience in interacting with faculty and staff and have also been able to work with actual laboratory equipment. The challenges, support, and friends that I received from this program have amplified the beginning of my engineering career.