2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

First offered in the summer of 2006, the NSF-funded AERIM Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program has now gone through four full 3-year funding cycles and has been offered a total of 12 different summers, with 1-2 year breaks in between. The focus of this REU program has long been on automotive and energy research, with strong ties to the automotive industry in Southeastern Michigan. A total of 122 students from 83 different colleges and universities have taken part in the program and have now progressed to different points of their academic and professional paths. One of the greatest successes of this REU has been its ability to attract a diverse group of undergraduate researchers, with groups historically underrepresented in engineering (particularly women) representing over two-thirds of the participants. The program is assessed each year using pre- and post-surveys, as well as focus group discussions in the past 3 years. The assessment and follow-up has also included periodic emails and surveys to gauge the outcomes of the program several years after students have completed the REU. Maintaining contact and tracking the career progressions of students after several years is no easy task, but one that has been made easier with the advent of professional social networking sites, such as LinkedIn. The goal of this paper is to report on some of the demographics and outcomes of this REU, as well as share some of the lessons learned, particularly since the advent of COVID-19.