2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Achieving futuristic modes of transportation and energy generation like hypersonic flight and carbon neutrality requires a research-ready workforce with multidisciplinary interests and awareness. The authors’ university educates and develops these next engineers by leveraging its prime location in the heart of the space and technology industry, strong ties with the local engineering industry, and prevailing student interest in engineering and technology. It hosts the jointly funded NSF (through the Division of Engineering Education Centers) and DoD REU Site Advanced Technologies for HYpersonic, Propulsive, Energetic, and Reusable Platforms (HYPER), which cultivates and unites multidisciplinary interests to study advanced structures and systems with application to hypersonics, space, propulsion, and energy. Participants engage in a 10-week experience, conducting graduate-level research under a faculty mentor and alongside a graduate student teammate. In addition to the core research experience, HYPER incorporates a series of professional development seminars, technology training sessions, faculty mentor presentations, and social events.

The HYPER team has sought and developed partnerships with external institutions to amplify the REU impact by approximately 50%, training 73 students across 5 cohorts. In planning for these additional participants, the HYPER team defines 12-14 projects each summer. Most projects are crafted so participants will conduct research via several techniques, such as physical experiments, numerical simulations, or analytical models. All applicants express their project preferences, which drive the participant-mentor pairing process. Even with the extra participation slots, HYPER can accept only 4% of its applicants on average. Recognizing the outstanding applicant potential, the team continues to seek additional avenues to support a greater number of participants.

HYPER has seven core objectives: (1) technically prepare students for graduate school and/or research oriented careers, (2) escalate students’ abilities to simulate phenomena using multi-physics software, (3) improve participants’ oral/written communication skills, (4) enhance participants’ research skill/attitudes, (5) present an REU Site that is diverse in terms of student participation, (6) present an REU site involving students with fewer STEM opportunities, and (7) provide high-quality mentoring. The Program Evaluation and Education Research Group (PEER) provides external evaluation of HYPER. Results over the five cohorts demonstrate the experience encourages participants to pursue their interests, teaches them about multiple research approaches, and provides them a better understanding of how to conduct research. Notably, almost every student expressed satisfaction with their experience. In self-assessed abilities and attitudes, participants noted broad pre- to post-experience increases, with especially strong gains in interdisciplinary experience and aerospace knowledge.