Sixty-seven undergraduate students from across the U.S. gathered at UCF to take advantage of STEM research opportunities through the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program.
UCF’s REU site, funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, connects promising STEM students with established faculty at REU sites, enhancing their in-class learning experience with research, workshops and events.
UCF’s Office of Undergraduate Research and Office of Research collaborate to support REU principal investigators and student participants. There are six cohorts covering distinct areas of research that are comprised of 11 principal investigators and dozens of graduate students, postdoctoral researchers and faculty mentors:
- Research Experience for Undergraduates in Computer Vision
- Advanced Technologies in Hypersonic, Propulsive, Energetic and Reusable Platforms
- Research in Materials for Energy Applications
- Engineering and Nanoscience of Materials and Device Applications in Biotechnology and Medicine
- Conservation, Restoration and Communication
- Applied Computation Mathematics
UCF’s CRCV, led by director Mubarak Shah, has run the nation’s longest continuous REU program for 37 years. The university has maintained five or six REU programs since 2022, and UCF-based nonprofit Limbitless Solutions has been approved for next summer’s REU.
Students engage in a 10-to-12-week program and participate in workshops, labs and an individual research project that they may select from topics provided by corresponding mentors. Students then present their research to their cohort at the conclusion of the REU just before the start of the fall semester.
Launching Research and Accelerating Learning
Isabella Llamazares, a rising junior studying mechanical engineering at Florida International University, wanted to learn more about aerospace engineering but opportunities were limited at her school. She was accepted into the HYPER REU at UCF and was excited to supplement her learning.
“I always knew that I had to find other opportunities, and I knew that I wanted to come to UCF either for undergraduate or graduate studies,” Llamazares says. “This REU will help me back at my university. Although we don’t have aerospace down there, I’m part of an aviation club, and I have this as knowledge that I can build upon.”
With an interest in fluid dynamics and propulsion, her project described timing detonations as part of the combustion process for rockets and how to ultimately make them safer.
“I came in just having very basic knowledge from my classes,” Llamazares says. “I didn’t have the average aerospace engineering experience, but it was that dedication and really wanting to continue in this field that got me here. This REU and this project have really helped solidify that I want to pursue something related to the fluids field.”
James Hippelhauser ’11 ’20MS ’23PhD, a HYPER REU mentor and postdoctoral researcher for astrodynamics and space robotics, was pleased with his students.
“I’m definitely satisfied with their progress,” he says. “Astrodynamics is a topic that they don’t really get to learn from a classroom standpoint. I know they learned a lot just from a concept standpoint, but also applying it.”
Hippelhauser was impressed with how well the students absorbed and applied complicated topics such as orbital mechanics.
“It kind of reminded me a lot when I first started research,” he says. “It can be a challenge. Orbital mechanics isn’t a common topic especially for undergrads. They learned as much as they could and as fast as they could.”
Hippelhauser encourages prospective REU students interested in hypersonics, space, propulsion and energy to explore something they may not know.
“Don’t limit yourself to a topic you’re comfortable with,” he says. “Try to go for a topic that you would not have considered.”
Emmelia Lichty, a junior mechanical engineering major at Oral Roberts University, was drawn to UCF’s REU because she says she’s always loved space.
“My dad was an Air Force pilot and he flew fighter jets,” she says. “So, I got to see them up close and I’ve always been infatuated. I came here because everything aerospace is right here with NASA, the space coast, and UCF is so involved in aerospace research.”
Lichty worked under the mentorship of Florida Space Institute (FSI) Interim Director Julie Brisset to enhance a precision cooling loop for a space-based payload.
“Any fluctuations would affect the actual experiment itself,” Lichty says. “My cooling loop had to be very precise, within plus or minus point one degrees. I had to make the improvements and monitor hardware and code modifications to get the cooling loop to that precision, which I was able to do by the end of the summer.”
The ability to not just apply classroom knowledge but move beyond it was something she says was very appealing and rewarding.
“Getting hands-on experience with problem-solving is a really a big part of the REU,” Lichty says. “You also get a taste of research, and it helps you make those decisions about your career, like if you want to go to grad school or not.”
Brisset, who also is an associate scientist with FSI, agrees that exposure to research is crucial in understanding and navigating a STEM education.
“There are two components that need to work together, both in the classroom and in the research lab,” she says. “Sometimes it can be an abstract exercise working in a classroom, but if you have a real-life application, it can be easier to make a connection.”
It was rewarding seeing Lichty immerse herself fully in her research, Brissett says.
“I think it was very complete,” she says. “Emmie did mechanical work, fluid mechanics, some electronics and some coding. In the end, it was a very complete lab experience. The research was a success as she achieved the cooling precision.”
The competitive nature of REUs across the board has increased, as well as the quality of applicants, Brisset says.
“We have undergrads who go through this program who stay in STEM and routinely end up in grad school,” she says. “We have people who are mid-career that come to us and say they discovered their love for astronomy when they did the REU program.”
Getting Out and Shoring Up
Rowan Wyss, a senior biology student at Eckerd College, participated in UCF’s Coastal Cluster REU, where he studied feral hog populations and their interactions with the environment and other animals at the Mosquito Lagoon.
He says found the research experience gratifying and hopes to continue quantifying where and how these animal populations forage.
“I was looking for an REU experience and was aware of its transformative nature — how it exposes you to grad school and different software or programs used for biology research,” Wyss says. “I got way more out of the REU than I thought. I built so many connections and I’m much more proficient in software and the tools of the trade.”
In the early stages of applying and even participating in the REU, it can be easy to feel the “imposter syndrome,” or feeling like you’ve lucked into a position you’re not qualified for despite being actually qualified, Wyss says.
“You’re surrounded with people extremely proficient in this field when you might have little to no research experience. But that’s just science. It’s never a competition. It’s people working together,” he says.
Otis Woolfolk, a junior studying biology/marine biology track at UCF, tested the resiliency and sustainability of novel non-plastic oyster bags filled with recycled shells to restore shorelines throughout Florida. Woolfolk’s research marks the first test of the new materials in warm water restoration conditions.
He learned about REUs after being encouraged to apply by his ecology professor, Melinda Donnelly, and through his volunteer work with UCF’s Coastal and Estuarine Ecology Lab.
“I was asked about the ideas I had for my Ph.D., and I really want to work on microplastics and how they affect mangroves,” Wolfolk says. “So, this was close to that. Oyster bags generally use plastics, so I experimented with using more environmentally friendly materials made of potato starch or basalt that deteriorate within years.”
He found the process exciting and enjoyed delving into a component of marine biology and conservation that he may not have considered had he not participated in the REU.
“As a novice scientist, I learned a huge amount,” Wolfolk says. “It’s a time for you to get messy and make mistakes. You’re doing research, doing workshops and you’re learning how the science world works.”
During his poster presentation, Wolfolk says he felt a newfound confidence in his ability as a novice scientist when a freshman asked him how to get involved with research.
“My advice?” he says. “Volunteer as much as possible and don’t doubt yourself.”
Linda Walters, lead investigator for the Conservation, Restoration and Communication NSF REU site and Wolfolk’s REU mentor, says Wolfolk did an exemplary job in his research.
“It was very rewarding to watch this journey,” she says. “Otis had the opportunity to be on the ground-floor of our cutting-edge research in marine restoration this summer. He is gifted at asking good, thought-provoking questions and communicating his science.”
The program is very competitive and only 10 students were selected for the Coastal Cluster REU out of 377 applicants, says Walters, who also is a Pegasus Professor of biology. Those who participate in the REU usually continue their education through graduate school, she says.
“During the 10 weeks, the students go from a very limited research background to developing their research questions, collecting data, analyzing their data and presenting their projects to the larger community,” she says. “It is a lot of work for the mentors to keep everything on track for this accelerated timeline, but the students make it worthwhile. They become confident researchers in 10 weeks.”
Honing a Vision
UCF’s CRCV has hosted about 370 students since it was designated as an REU site 37 years ago and continues to guide undergraduates in the evolving field of computer vision, says Niels Lobo, associate professor of computer science and CRCV REU mentor.
“The nature of the REU has matured,” he says. “The field has evolved, and what students are doing now in their projects is vastly different than what people would have done 10 to 20 years ago.”
Lobo came to UCF 31 years ago and was encouraged to assist with REUs within the first year. Lobo has seen the composition of student applicants and participates becoming more diverse during his time at the university.
“What we’re seeing is that the student population applying for these research opportunities is exploding both in numbers and diversity,” he says. “That means that the overall experience of the cohort is going to be a little bit richer because everybody gets exposed to something different.”
Computer vision is harnessing the power of technology to not just view things through a camera, but to understand them, Lobo says. Continually adapting to the constant evolution of the field while also considering computer vision’s ethical implications are two components he is teaching students.
“Every two or three years, the field discovers something new,” Lobo says. “In research, there are no study guides, so you need to go out and explore. That process of discovery is only accomplished through research.”
Claire Zhang, a junior studying applied mathematics-computer science at Brown University, was glad to have embarked on CRCV REU.
She previously conducted remote research, but she says the program at UCF provided her with a more immersive and shared experience.
“It was really nice meeting this community and coming to work together,” Zhang says. “I imagined it being very independent, but I found that it was a lot more collaborative than I originally thought even though we all had our own independent projects.”
Her project involved creating segmentation masks for solar cells to show their degradation in a quantitative way rather than the qualitative way of identifying degradation by darkened glass regions of cells. Zhang created and used a model that outlines the materials and can characterize how degraded the cells are.
“I have almost no experience with material science,” she says. “This project connected material science to computer science, and it was a great introduction.”
Zhang gained not just expertise in a field she’s interested in, but also knowledge and momentum to continue her education and pursuit of a STEM career.
“For the past semester, I had been thinking about whether I should explore different concentrations,” she says. “This summer showed me that I can continue to explore other interests while remaining in this concentration, specifically, that I could apply computer science to these other interests.”
Students interested in more information about UCF’s REU program should visit: https://academicsuccess.ucf.edu/reu/programs/.
