An Ethnographic Case Study of Undergraduate Researchers in Natural Hazards Engineering

Amina Meselhe ^1* Karina Vielma ^2* Daleen Torres Burgos ³ Tyler Rodrigues ⁴

• ¹ Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, United States
• ² University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, United States
• ³ University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States
• ⁴ University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States

Engineering education utilizes various methods to broaden participation in engineering disciplines. Quantitative studies show the demographics and contributing factors of successful engineering researchers within educational pathways. However, there is a need to report on the rich experiences of students who participate in intentional programs designed to prepare undergraduate students to remain and succeed in engineering fields. The paper aims to explore the process and impact of the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded National Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI) Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) using qualitative measures. The REU experience is designed to provide undergraduate students with meaningful research opportunities, faculty mentoring, and incorporation into the community of the natural hazards field through a 10week summer research program. The focus of this case study is to highlight autoethnographic reflections of REU participants who continued as researchers at various academic institutions or in industry. A collection of guided reflective responses provided insight into the experiences, merits, and challenges of the undergraduate researchers' (now graduate students) summer experience. Using a humanizing model of the undergraduate researchers as holders of knowledge, this study is led by the students as co-authors who shed light on their 1) individual professional and personal developments during the process, 2) relationships with peers and mentors, and 3) the career impacts following the experience.