Undergraduate

Research Experience

The main objective of the College of Engineering Research Experience for Undergraduates (COE-REU) program is to provide a state-of-the-art research experience to interested undergraduates. Participating undergraduates take part in the day-to-day research in engineering research labs and are involved in cutting edge research projects. They work with faculty and graduate students and get hands-on experience. The goal is to fully immerse undergraduate students into research projects at the Electrical Engineering Department. Depending on the project, participating students will perform tasks like performing measurements on professional research equipment, designing and building circuits, simulate designs with software tools, evaluate results, and be involved in publishing them. Ideally, the student's contributions will culminate in the co-authoring of research publications, enabling the students to graduate from knowledge consumers to knowledge producers. All participating students are expected to participate in the annual campus wide Undergraduate Research Colloquium (usually held in April). Participation in this program will give students an early start for their professional lives, and also provide crucial knowledge and expertise for succeeding in graduate school.

The first step to participate is to find an advisor in a research field of interest. This process is similar to a job application. Identify a faculty/research area of interest by visiting the research page and the faculty pages of the Electrical Engineering Department. Each faculty has a short description of their research interests posted. Once you identified a lab of interest, contact the faculty to arrange for a meeting to discuss potential opportunities.

Once you find a faculty of interest who is willing to advise you, you are in. After a probationary period (typically a couple months to one semester) you can formally join the COE-REU program.

Another option for undergraduates to engage in research is to take one of our Research Centric Courses:

  • EEL 4905 Independent Study
  • EEL 4914 Senior Design Project
  • EEL 4935 EE Projects
  • EEL 4937 IEEE Hardware Competition
  • EEL 4936 Undergraduate Research

Faculty contact for the EE REU Program:

Dr. Ashwin Parthasarathy | Office: ENB 257 | Phone: 813-974-7407 | Email