2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

How do amateur radio experiences influence undergraduate student outcomes?

Presented at Electrical and Computer Engineering Division (ECE) Technical Session 14

This scoping literature review addresses the research question: “How do amateur radio experiences influence undergraduate student outcomes?” Our review synthesizes articles regarding amateur radio integration in undergraduate engineering curricula, through both coursework and informal learning environments such as collegiate amateur radio clubs, and the resulting impacts on students across academic, career, personal, and social dimensions.

Following PRISMA guidelines for scoping reviews, we included work published in the 21st century that reports student outcomes or assessment. We searched four academic databases (Scopus, IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library, and Engineering Village) using Boolean search strings focused on undergraduate education, and supplemented academic sources with QST, a monthly publication of the American Radio Relay League, to ensure comprehensive coverage as a grey source.

Our initial search identified 234 abstracts from the academic literature, and 12 articles from grey sources. From these we screened for papers that reported outcomes in undergraduate student populations, and ended with 15 articles for analysis. Three pedagogical use cases emerged: (1) licensing as an accessible entry point for technical study, (2) amateur radio as a vehicle for engaging laboratory experiences and capstone design projects, and (3) radio clubs as communities of practice supporting informal learning.

Despite the success of these curricular interventions, we see an unmet opportunity to advance educational research in the use of amateur radio in undergraduate curricula. Few studies have used validated research instruments or quantitative methods to assess their impacts systematically. Nevertheless, these results document a variety of use-cases that can guide educators interested in incorporating amateur radio into undergraduate curricula at their institutions.

Authors

Prof. Tom Zajdel http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7957-3180 Carnegie Mellon University [biography]

Tom Zajdel is an Assistant Teaching Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, where he investigates what motivates students to engage with electronics and engineering. His research applies expectancy-value theory and social cognitive frameworks to understand how diverse learners, particularly non-engineering majors, develop technological curiosity and connect engineering concepts to their own fields, with a focus on how informal pathways like amateur radio and hobby electronics can broaden participation in technical disciplines.

Tom translates his prior experiences in bioelectronic fabrication and electronics tinkering into his application-driven teaching approach. Before joining CMU, Tom was a postdoctoral researcher in Daniel Cohen's group at Princeton University working on electrical manipulation of biological tissues. He holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from UC Berkeley and a BS in ECE from The Ohio State University.
Prof. Haoyong Lan http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6097-964X Carnegie Mellon University [biography]

Haoyong Lan is the Engineering Faculty Librarian at Carnegie Mellon University, where he specializes in AI literacy education and systematic review methodology for engineering researchers. He serves as co-chair of CMU Libraries' AI Literacy Task Force and is a member of the AI Fluent Workforce Task Force, leading efforts to develop comprehensive AI literacy frameworks and resources for the CMU community. His work bridges engineering education, information science, and emerging technology integration to enhance research capacity across engineering disciplines. Haoyong's current research focuses on improving AI literacy among engineering doctoral students through evidence-based educational interventions. He has developed and taught systematic review courses for interdisciplinary students and regularly contributes to scholarly conferences and publications on generative AI literacy, research data management, and information literacy in engineering contexts.

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Broadening Participation in Engineering and Engineering Technology
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