2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Infusing an Entrepreneurial Mindset in Undergraduate Researchers through Faculty Development

Presented at ENT-6: Fostering Creativity, Communication, and Impact in Student Learning

Undergraduate research experiences are widely recognized for their significant benefits, yet undergraduates often require more hands-on guidance than graduate students. Equipping them with entrepreneurial mindset (EM) attributes - such as setting goals, framing research questions, and practicing resilience - is crucial for fostering their confidence in research. Since these traits are most effectively modeled by research advisors, our study focuses on enhancing faculty development programs.

A team from five universities designed a package of videos and activities for faculty workshops to promote discussions on integrating EM into research mentoring. We administered a benchmark survey to assess faculty motivations, interests, and challenges in supervising undergraduates, finding that most respondents valued incorporating undergraduate researchers into their labs, but were concerned about short research engagements and a perceived low return on investment.

Our workshops encourage best-practice sharing and community-building among faculty, addressing common issues and supporting more productive mentorship strategies. A follow-up survey, though limited in response rate, revealed that faculty who attended the workshops were more likely to “strongly agree” that undergraduate research adds value and more frequently asked students to consider the broader impact of their projects. Future data collection will refine our understanding of how these workshops influence undergraduate research mentoring.

Keywords: undergraduate research, entrepreneurial mindset, faculty mentoring development

Authors

Dr. Liping Liu http://orcid.org/https://0009-0004-2397-7970 Lawrence Technological University [biography]

Liping Liu is the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Research in the College of Engineering and also an Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering at Lawrence Technological University. She holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her primary research expertise lies in the fields of thermal sciences and fluid mechanics, with a focus on addressing transport phenomena in energy processes. Her work primarily aims to enhance the performance and efficiency of energy generation, conversion, and utilization across multiscale and multidisciplinary applications. She is a member of ASME, ASEE, ASHRAE, and SAE International, and she is also actively engaged in KEEN.
Dr. Mary Lauren Benton http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5485-1041 Baylor University [biography]

Mary Lauren is an assistant professor of bioinformatics at Baylor University. She received her B.S. in Bioinformatics at Baylor University before completing her M.S. and Ph.D. in Biomedical Informatics at Vanderbilt University.
Jonathan Rylander Baylor University
Dr. Anthony M. Jacobi University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign
Dr. Irene Reizman http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0585-2213 Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology [biography]

Irene M.B. Reizman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and the Alfred R. Schmidt Endowed Chair for Excellence in Teaching at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. She holds a B.S.E. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her research interests include metabolic engineering, synthetic biology, and impacts of undergraduate research experiences on student learning.
Dr. Michelle Marincel Payne Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology [biography]

Dr. Michelle Marincel Payne is an Associate Professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. She earned her Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, her M.S. in Environmental Engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology, and her B.S. in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla (same school, different name). At Rose-Hulman, Michelle is co-leading a project to infuse an entrepreneurial-mindset in undergraduate students’ learning, and a project to improve teaming by teaching psychological safety in engineering education curricula. Michelle also mentors undergraduate researchers to investigate the removal of stormwater pollutants in engineered wetlands. Michelle was a 2018 ExCEEd Fellow, and was recognized as the 2019 ASCE Daniel V. Terrell Awardee.
Sophie Wang University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign [biography]

Sophie Wang

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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