Studies suggest the research apprenticeships can have a profound effect on students’ learning and future career choices. This paper describes undergraduate students’ research projects and lessons learned from a summer research program focusing on mechatronics, robotics, and automated system design. Students gained both general skills—such as design, troubleshooting, and breaking a large problem into several parts—and specific technical skills in areas such as Arduino programming, LabVIEW, MATLAB, and artificial neural networks. The majority of participants also noted gains in research-related skills such as reviewing the literature, scientific writing, and presenting their research. Finally participants noted gains in confidence in their ability to contribute to science, comfort in working collaboratively with others, and ability to work independently.
Dr. Sheng-Jen (“Tony”) Hsieh is a Professor in the College of Engineering at Texas A&M University. He holds a joint appointment with the Department of Engineering Technology and the Department of Mechanical Engineering. His research interests include engineering education, cognitive task analysis, automation, robotics and control, intelligent manufacturing system design, and micro/nano manufacturing. He is also the Director of the Rockwell Automation laboratory at Texas A&M University, a state-of-the-art facility for education and research in the areas of automation, control, and automated system integration.
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