2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Exploring the Evolution of Graduate Engineering Student Identity-Based Motivations as They Conduct AI Engineering Research

Presented at GSD 2: Identity and Motivation

This study explores how six doctoral engineering students’ identities and motivations evolve through participation in a Graduate Research Group (GRG) researching AI-related engineering (AI engineering) for cyber manufacturing applications at a private Northeastern university and public Southeastern university through a center grant. Using Identity-Based Motivation (IBM) theory, which includes Action Readiness, Dynamic Construction, and Interpretation of Difficulty, this research examines the interplay of subthemes related to these three components of IBM within an interdisciplinary graduate research environment.

Thematic analysis of narratives revealed how graduate student participants’ sense of purpose drove them to take action to engage in graduate research, which was continually shaped by interdisciplinary collaboration. Similarly, their identities were seen to be dynamically constructed as they transitioned from learners to contributors or leaders as they developed a sense of belonging within the research group consistent with IBM theory. Moreover, the students interpreted challenges as opportunities for growth, strengthening their determination to solve research problems.

The relationships between the subthemes revealed an interconnectedness between the three IBM components. The graduate students’ responses reflected a reinforcing cycle, where purpose-driven actions influenced identity development, shaping how difficulties were perceived and addressed. Emerging findings further highlight the importance of supportive, interdisciplinary research environments in fostering graduate students’ identities and motivations.

Authors

Dr. Gouri Vinod Cornell University [biography]

Gouri (Gigi) Vinod is a postdoctoral researcher at Cornell University's Robert F. Smith School of Chemical and Biological Engineering. Her educational background includes a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh, an M.S. in Engineering and Education from University College London (UCL), and a Ph.D. in Engineering, Education, and Artificial Intelligence from University College London (UCL). As a member of the STRIDE lab at Cornell, she studies AI integration in engineering education, engineering identity, and the application of VR/AR tools in engineering education and research.
Dr. Allison Godwin http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0741-3356 Cornell University [biography]

Allison Godwin, Ph.D. is the Dr. G. Stephen Irwin '67, '68 Professor in Engineering Education Research (Associate Professor) in the Robert Frederick Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Cornell University. She is also the Associate Director of the Cornell NanoScale Science and Technology Facility and a McCormick Teaching Excellence Institute Research Fellow. Her research focuses on how identity, among other affective factors, influences diverse groups of students to choose engineering and persist in engineering. She also studies how different experiences within the practice and culture of engineering foster or hinder belonging, motivation, and identity development. Dr. Godwin graduated from Clemson University with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and Ph.D. in Engineering and Science Education. Her research earned her a National Science Foundation CAREER Award focused on characterizing latent diversity, which includes diverse attitudes, mindsets, and approaches to learning to understand engineering students’ identity development. She has won several awards for her research including the 2021 Chemical Engineering Education William H. Corcoran Award, 2022 American Educational Research Association Education in the Professions (Division I) 2021-2022 Outstanding Research Publication Award, and the 2023 AIChE Excellence in Engineering Education Research Award.
Trevor Franklin University of Colorado Boulder [biography]

Dr. Trevor Franklin is a postdoctoral scholar at the Robert F. Smith School of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Cornell University. His educational background includes a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Tufts University and a Ph.D. from Cornell University focused on polymeric biomaterials. He is a National Science Foundation STEM Education Postdoctoral Research Fellow and performs research focused on undergraduate engineering admissions with the goal of broadening participation in engineering.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025

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