2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

WIP: Translating an Evidence-Based Mentoring Framework for a Center-Scale Graduate Research Environment

Presented at GSD Work-in-Progress Poster Session

Graduate engineering education increasingly takes place within center-scale research environments, where mentoring relationships are distributed across institutions, disciplines, and research teams. While structured, evidence-based mentoring frameworks have demonstrated benefits in bounded program settings, their translation to complex, center-scale research environments introduces new challenges.

This work-in-progress paper examines the early implementation of a structured mentoring framework within the (Center Name) Engineering Research Center (ERC), building on prior programmatic efforts. Rather than re-evaluating the framework's effectiveness, the paper focuses on the translation and adaptation process, including how mentoring structures, mentor preparation, and tools such as Individual Development Plans (IDPs) function in a distributed research context.

Drawing on formative data from center-wide engagement surveys (n = 18) and mentoring-focused workshops (n = 7), the paper presents early results showing strong perceived support (up to 95%) and clarity regarding expectations (77%). Using a mixed-methods approach, we triangulate these quantitative findings with qualitative feedback to identify specific translation challenges, such as maintaining developmental synchronicity for senior doctoral students and navigating institutional normative misalignment. These observations inform the ongoing refinement of center-level mentoring structures and offer design-relevant insights for graduate programs seeking to implement structured mentoring at scale.

Authors

Dr. Carl Anthony Moore Jr Florida A&M University - Florida State University [biography]

Dr. Carl A. Moore Jr. is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, where he directs the AcCORD Lab (Autonomous Collaboration and Robot Design Laboratory). His research focuses on collaborative robotics, haptics, and dexterous manipulation—particularly human–robot interfaces that extend human capability in challenging environments. Dr. Moore also leads the Outreach and Engagement pillar of the NSF Engineering Research Center for Human–Robot Interaction (HAND), which builds pathways for students and educators to discover, develop, and excel in dexterous robotics.
M Cynthia Hipwell http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7500-9785 Texas A&M University [biography]

Dr. Hipwell has been working in the area of technology development based upon nanoscale phenomena for over 20 years. She received her B.S.M.E. from Rice University and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. Upon graduation, she went to work at Seagate Technology’s Recording Head Division in Bloomington, Minnesota. During her time at Seagate, Dr. Hipwell held various individual and leadership positions in the areas of reliability, product development, and advanced mechanical and electrical technology development. In these various roles, she established new business processes and an organizational culture that focused on developing innovative solutions from root cause understanding, improved pace of learning, and discipline in experimentation and configuration management. She was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering in 2016 for her leadership in the development of technologies to enable areal density and reliability increases in hard disk drives and was elected a National Academy of Inventors Fellow in 2018. Dr. Hipwell is currently the Oscar S. Wyatt, Jr. ’45 Chair II at Texas A&M University, where she has developed new classes on innovation and technology development as part of her leadership of the INVENT (INnoVation tools and Entrepreneurial New Technology) Lab. She is Co-PI on a National Science Foundation engineering education grant to develop a culture of and tools for iterative experimentation and continuous improvement in curriculum development.
Dr. Chiang Shih Florida A&M University - Florida State University [biography]

Dr. Chiang Shih is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering Department, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, Florida State University. He received his Ph.D. degree from the Aerospace Engineering Department at the University of Southern California in 1988. He has

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