Aero-Propulsion, Mechatronics, and Energy

Program Activities

Tentative REU Summer Program Weekly Activity Schedule

a. Individual Research Experience: REU fellows will participate in regular research activities together with research faculty and other research personnel in our research laboratories. Under the supervision of the faculty researcher, they may set up experiments, perform data analysis, or conduct an independent project. By learning skills in computational and experimental data acquisition and analysis, this layer of interactions will allow them to become familiar with specific research topics and daily routines performed by engineering researchers.

b. Hand-on Learning Modules and Group Projects: One of the critical components of the proposed REU site is the hands-on learning modules to train all REU Fellows on modern diagnostics techniques. We have designed a set of nine one-hour lectures to cover various topics as shown in the following table. These lectures will be given during the first two weeks of the program to prepare all fellows. Selected lectures will be complemented by laboratory sessions to be jointly developed with REU fellows as their group projects. During the first week, fellows will be assigned in groups to work on assigned labs with the understanding that these labs align closely with their individual research projects.

Hands-on Learning Modules on Experimental Techniques

c. Structured Learning Through Reflection and Group Collaborative Session: As pointed out by Ambrose (2013), structured reflection is an effective tool for learning – “students learn by doing, but only when they have time to reflect on what they are doing.” We plan to dedicate a special session to promote this aspect by including special seminars by PI and Dr. Turner in dedication to the self-reflection and its relation to metacognitive learning. We will review literature and discuss the elements of reflection and how these can be implemented to enhance learning as outlined by Turns et. al. (2014). We will discuss how one can learn from experiences by making meaning from the experiential features while leading to action for improvements in the REU program. The expected outcome will be to scaffold Fellows’ experience from beginning designers to informed designers, as defined by Crismon and Adams (2012).

d. Weekly Seminar and Professional Development Session: In addition to the reflective learning sessions, the first few seminars focus on teaching the students good research practices, including design of experiments, laboratory safety, and data and error analysis. Other seminars will be dedicated to professional development issues such as professional ethics and responsible conduct of research (RCR), how to be successful in graduate school, career path decisions, and effective technical communication. Finally, selected research topics will be given by both participating faculty and other invited speakers to broaden the background of the REU Fellows beyond their own subjects.

e. Other Enrichment Experience: Tours will be arranged to visit FSU research centers, a local manufacturing plant, and other nearby research facilities (e.g., Air Force Research Lab at Eglin Air Force Base). Other informal social events are scheduled such as a weekend outreach activity at the Tallahassee Challenger Learning Center, a volleyball game, and other activities to foster closer ties among all program participants.