2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Concepts of sustainability, climate change, and resilience have become increasingly important in undergraduate education across all engineering disciplines. Solutions to climate change require interdisciplinary efforts and it is important to engage undergraduate students in these topics to develop a workforce that is capable of tackling these challenges. Many studies report on the positive learning outcomes that result from engaging in undergraduate research experiences. In 2021, an REU Site in Sustainable Resilient Transportation Systems was established at (institution redacted) with support from the NSF Division of Engineering Education and Centers. This program aims to provide participants with interdisciplinary research experiences in electric and autonomous vehicles; green construction materials and structures; and resilient infrastructure.

Over the past two years, this site has hosted a diverse cohort of undergraduate researchers who worked on interdisciplinary research projects in electric and autonomous vehicles; green construction materials and structures; and resilient infrastructure. In addition to the individual research experiences, all REU participants engaged in cohort experiences including workshops and seminars that addressed sustainability topics and supported the development of students’ research, communication, and collaboration skills. In the summer of 2023, ten students from various states in the USA participated in the program. All participants completed a pre- and post-program survey that included sustainability-related questions. The survey included open-ended and Likert-scale questions that measured the knowledge of sustainability among the REU participants. This paper summarizes these findings, which can be used to inform similar future programs that aim to engage undergraduate students in sustainability topics.