Undergraduate Researchers

Emma Bearden

Biological System Engineering

Program & Project Year: Undergraduate Research Fall 202X - present

Project Advisor: Dr. Logan Perry

Project Title:

Description:

Project Dissemination:  Poster1

James Cover

Biological System Engineering

Program & Project Year: Undergraduate Research Fall 2022 - present

Project Advisor: Drs. Grace Panther and Heidi Diefes-Dux

Project Title: Evidencing Epidemic Change in Engineering Education: Shedding Light on Instructor Adaptability and Course Complexity for Sustained Change

Description: Significant and sudden disruptions can bring normal university classroom activity to a halt and have many effects on how instructors teach going forward. Disruptions cause instructors to utilize different teaching practices and strategies including different Learning Management System (LMS) features. The research question being addressed in this study is: How do engineering instructors’ Learning Management System (LMS) use change before, during, and after a sudden disruption to higher education?

Project Dissemination:  Poster

Cover, J., Panther, G., & Diefes-Dux, H. A. (2023, Apr. 3). Changes in course delivery: The effect of a significant disruption on instructors’ LMS feature use. [Poster Presentation]. X-DBER Conference, Virtual.

Emily Fitzpatrick

Mechanical & Materials Engineering

Program & Project Year: John Woollam Scholar October 2022 – present

Project Advisor: Dr. Jessica Deters

Project Title: Examining the Impact of COVID-19 on Undergraduate Student Readiness for Engineering

Description: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted educational systems across the globe, including K-12 education and higher education. As students graduate high school and transition into college, they will likely have gaps in their knowledge base, which will impact their readiness for engineering coursework. This research project will investigate the following research question: 1) What impacts has the COVID-19 had on first- and second-year engineering students’ readiness for engineering coursework, according to faculty who teach first- and second-year engineering courses?  

Gracie Kerr

Civil & Environmental Engineering

Program & Project Year: Undergraduate Research Fall 2023 - present

Project Advisor: Dr. Grace Panther

Project Title: Evidencing Epidemic Change in Engineering Education: Shedding Light on Instructor Adaptability and Course Complexity for Sustained Change

Description:

Project Dissemination:

Hayden Wulf

Civil & Environmental Engineering

Program & Project Year: Undergraduate Research Fall 2022 - present

Project Advisor: Dr. Grace Panther

Project Title: Evidencing Epidemic Change in Engineering Education: Shedding Light on Instructor Adaptability and Course Complexity for Sustained Change

Description:

Project Dissemination:

Sergio Zavala

Electrical & Computer Engineering

Program & Project Year: First Year Research Experience (FYRE) Fall 2023 - present

Project Advisor: Dr. Heidi Diefes-Dux

Project Title: Evidencing Epidemic Change in Engineering Education: Shedding Light on Instructor Adaptability and Course Complexity for Sustained Change

Description: Exams and quizzes often make up a significant part of an engineering students course grade. When emergency remote teaching (ERT) occurs, testing assessments become more difficult to administer. Does ERT encourage a change in the exam and quiz weight of students grades? Is this change sustained when instruction returns to in-person?

Project Dissemination: