2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

NSF IUSE HSI Implementation and Evaluation Project: The Freshman Year Innovator Experience (FYIE): Bridging the URM Gap in STEM.

Presented at NSF Grantees Poster Session I

The University of X's Freshman Year Innovator Experience (FYIE) program, hosted at a Minority Serving Institution (MSI), seeks to improve the first-year experience for new students by nurturing essential academic success skills. Specifically tailored to freshman mechanical engineering students, the program aims to equip them with self-transformation skills to navigate through the amplified academic and professional obstacles brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants of FYIE engage in two concurrent courses: Introduction to Engineering (Course A) and Learning Frameworks (Course B). In Course A, students undertake a 6-week engineering design project, while in Course B, they work on a 6-week academic career path project. Throughout these simultaneous projects, time-bound interventions highlight the similarities between the engineering design process and the academic career pathways project. The main goal is for students to recognize that the design thinking skills acquired in the engineering design process can be applied to resolve their academic career challenges. The FYIE program was initiated as a pilot in the spring semester of 2023, with instructors from Course A and B introducing the parallel projects. The implementation has continued through the fall 2023, spring 2024, and ongoing fall 2024 semesters, introducing improvements at every iteration, with adjustments made to the parallel projects and the identification of intervention points for self-transformation through analogy. The creators of the program will present the outcomes from the pilot implementations and address the obstacles and future work. This proposed endeavor is aligned with the continuous mission of the College of Engineering and Computer Science (CECS) at the University of X, which includes: 1) increasing the number of STEM degrees granted to Hispanics, 2) promoting the participation of women in STEM-related fields, and 3) enhancing persistence and self-confidence in STEM fields amidst the challenges posed by COVID-19. The project is supported by the NSF award 2225247.

Authors

Dr. Noe Vargas Hernandez The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley [biography]

Noe Vargas Hernandez researches creativity and innovation in engineering design. He studies ideation methods, journaling, smartpens, and other methods and technology to aid designers improve their creativity levels. He also applies his research to the des
Dr. Javier A. Ortega [biography]

Dr. Javier A. Ortega is an Associate Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV). His research interests include Tribology, Lubrication, Biomaterials, Additive Manufacturing, and Engineering Education. Dr. Ortega has been involved in different research projects, including tribological and corrosion studies of surface-engineered biomaterials intended for hip joint replacements and developing vegetable-oil-based lubricants modified with nanoparticles as lubricant additives.
Dr. Arturo A Fuentes The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley [biography]

Arturo Alejandro Fuentes is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. He holds a Ph.D. and an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Rice University. His research interests include engineering education.
Dr. Eleazar Marquez The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley [biography]

Eleazar Marquez is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Rice University.
Dr. Pierre Lu The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley [biography]

Dr. Pierre Lu is Professor of Research Methodology at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV). He received his Ph.D. from Columbia University, MED from Harvard University, and MS from Teachers College, Columbia University. His research interests include STEM education, learning sciences, global initiatives, and scholarship of teaching and learning using technology in HSI of higher education. He has authored and co-authored many refereed publications in these areas. He has also been awarded with external funding from the NSF, USDA, and many foundations. Due to his dedication in STEM education, Dr. Lu was inducted as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Dr. Lu had previously served as Director of Engaged Scholarship and Learning, Director of Global Initiatives, and is currently serving Kappa Delta Pi as a National Board Director-at-Large.

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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Broadening Participation in Engineering and Engineering Technology
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