2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Leveraging AI-Generated Supplemental Videos to Enhance Undergraduate Engineering Education

One of the greatest challenges and opportunities facing higher education today is the use of AI and its impact on education. This case study, focused on civil and environmental engineering education, delves into the positive impacts AI can have on student learning and how faculty can leverage its vast and growing capabilities in their pedagogy. As part of an NSF-funded project, “plug and play” educational videos were developed with the goal of exposing undergraduate students to emerging skillsets needed to meet the needs of society and be a successful engineer in an evolving and data-driven profession. As a team of engineering faculty, translating technical knowledge in the areas of systems level thinking and data analytics, to an engaging educational video, without expertise in video or media production presented a unique challenge. This case study follows the transition in educational video production from a time intensive human based strategy to the use of AI platforms capable of producing high quality visual and audio content in a fraction of the time. This application demonstrates a positive use of AI that all engineering educators can use to improve learning outcomes in their courses and provides a new approach to engage Gen Z students, who are very digitally oriented. The goal of this research effort is to showcase strategies and lessons learned in embracing AI to enhance student learning through creating and implementing supplemental educational videos at an undergraduate focused institution (to be replaced with name of institution after double blind review). Survey data focused on student satisfaction ratings and reactions to traditionally created vs AI generated content as well as feedback on faculty perception and comfort level around utilizing AI as an educational tool is presented.

Authors

Dr. Christina Cercone Manhattan University
Matthew Volovski Manhattan College
Dr. JUNESEOK LEE Manhattan University [biography]

Dr. Juneseok Lee specializes in drinking water systems and their crucial infrastructure, including water distribution and building water systems. His primary mission is to ensure the provision of clean, healthy, and drinkable water through reliable, resilient and sustainable infrastructure systems. His notable research has garnered substantial support from prestigious organizations such as the National Science Foundation, the US Environmental Protection Agency, the California Water Service Company, and Hewlett-Packard.

Dr. Lee has a record of over 100 technical publications in esteemed journals, books, book chapters, editorials, conference proceedings, and research reports. His expertise has been recognized with multiple Best Paper Awards from the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). He is a sought-after speaker at national and international conferences in water, environmental, and infrastructure engineering.

Holding a Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Virginia Tech, Dr. Lee is a registered Professional Engineer in California and a Board-Certified Water Resources Engineer (BC.WRE) from the American Academy of Water Resources Engineers. He serves as an Associate Editor and Editorial Board Member for key ASCE & AWWA journals and has chaired various committees in ASCE, contributing significantly to the field.

Dr. Lee is a Fellow of the ASCE as well as the Environmental Water Resources Institute (EWRI) and was honored with the 2021 EWRI Service to the Profession Award, recognizing his dedication and service to the water resources engineering community.
Dr. Mehdi Omidvar Manhattan University [biography]

Dr. Omidvar is an associate professor of Civil Engineering at Manhattan University. His research expertise is in penetration mechanics, high strain rate response of granular media, risk assessment, infrastructure hazard analysis, soil-structure interaction, and numerical simulations. He leads research in the Impact and Penetration Laboratory at Manhattan College, specializing in high-speed impact experiments on granular media, as well as numerical and analytical modeling. His research has led to the development of the GeoPoncelet model for penetration into sand. He has served as PI and Co-PI on over $4.5M in research funding from the Department of Defense, National Science Foundation, and the Department of Transportation (through the University Transportation Research Center), among others. His research has led to a book on visualization of the fundamental physics of rapid earth penetration, several highly cited reviews, and over 60 papers in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings. He has served on the board of the New York Metropolitan Section Geo-Institute, provides expert witness services related to Civil Engineering projects, and has several years of industry experience in design of earth dams, earth retaining structures, and deep foundations.
Shahriar Quayyum Manhattan College
Medya Fathi http://orcid.org/https:// 0000-0001-8274-8431 Manhattan University
Konstantine Aristomenis Mendrinos Manhattan College

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