2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

BOARD # 468: WIP: Key Findings to Date from NSF RIEF Award No. 2205033 - Research Initiation: Mapping Identity Development in Doctoral Engineering Students

Presented at NSF Grantees Poster Session II

This work in progress (WIP) paper focuses on summarizing key findings to date from an NSF RIEF grant (Award No. 2205033) focused on applying user experience (UX) methods to understand the process through which doctoral engineering students develop their identity as researchers. Although significant prior research has focused on engineering identity formation in undergraduate students, there is limited work on identity formation in engineering graduate students or working professionals, and few longitudinal studies of identity development in engineering students or professionals at any level. This research uses three primary methods (journey mapping, survey, and interviews) within the field of UX to investigate the longitudinal formation of researcher identity in two cohorts of doctoral students in an engineering department at a large state university, which is R1 under the Carnegie Classification: students enrolled in a traditionally structured on campus program and those enrolled in an online program. This paper summarizes key findings to date, referencing previous publications from this research stream where relevant and sharing additional findings not previously published. Future work will focus on disseminating the detailed findings of this study in additional conference and journal publications, as well as expanding the study to additional programs and universities. The ultimate goal of the study is to explore and design more effective engineering doctoral programs that better serve a diverse student population.

Authors

Dr. Jennifer A Cross Texas Tech University [biography]

Jennifer Cross is an Associate Professor in the Department of Industrial, Manufacturing & Systems Engineering at Texas Tech University. She received her BS in Industrial Engineering from the University of Arkansas and her MS and PhD in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Virginia Tech, where she also served as a Postdoctoral Associate in the Enterprise Engineering Research Lab. Her research interests are organizational assessment/performance measurement, teams, performance improvement methodologies, and engineering education.
Jason Tham Texas Tech University [biography]

Jason Tham is an associate professor of technical communication and rhetoric at Texas Tech University. He is author of Design Thinking in Technical Communication (2021 Routledge) and co-author of UX Writing (2024 Routledge), Writing to Learn in Teams (2023 Parlor Press), Designing Technical and Professional Communication (2021 Routledge), and Collaborative Writing Playbook (2021 Parlor Press). He has also edited the collection Keywords in Design Thinking (2022 University Press of Colorado).
Dr. Mario G. Beruvides P.E. Texas Tech University [biography]

Dr. Mario G. Beruvides is the AT&T Professor of Industrial Engineering and Director of the Laboratory for Systems Solutions in the Industrial Engineering Department at Texas Tech University. He is a registered professional engineer in the state of Texas.
Diego Alejandro Polanco-Lahoz Texas Tech University [biography]

Diego A. Polanco-Lahoz is a Ph.D. student, from the program of Systems and Engineering Management, in the Department of Industrial, Manufacturing & Systems Engineering at Texas Tech University. He received his BS in Industrial Engineering from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso (PUCV). His research interests are organizational factors research, organizational assessment/performance measurement, and engineering education.
Madison Hanson Texas Tech University

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