UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH
In a general sense, there are two main pathways to take in your engineering career: industry or research. Both are amazing options, and I highly recommend getting an industrial internship experience as well as a research experience to see which you like best. Both are fun ways to apply your problem solving skills. Generally, if you want to go into industry, you can do so with a bachelor’s. You can also advance your education with a master’s degree. If you want to go into research, sometimes you can enter the field with just a bachelor’s—but it is much more common for research engineers to have a master’s or doctorate (PhD). If you think you may want a PhD or master’s, the curriculum is much different from your bachelor’s. You take a few courses in your first 2 years, but then the remaining 2-3 years of your PhD are independent research-you will have a lot of freedom!
Personally, as an underclassman, I thought I wanted to get my PhD. The best way to prepare for that is—you guessed it—undergraduate research! Undergrad research is a great way to have your own independent project, which will develop your problem solving and presentation skills. Even if you decide not to get a research based graduate degree like a PhD, undergrad research is great experience that looks amazing on your resume. You’ll get to know professors and graduate students, and you’ll even have the opportunity to travel to conferences or get published. For example, I was able to travel to Austin, TX to present a poster on my research!
There are several options for undergraduate research at (and outside of) Purdue. Below, I’ve listed all of the ones I have been involved in.
Discovery Park Undergraduate Research Internship (DURI)
This is a research experience during the semester at Purdue. You apply online for various projects (see the link above). Once a week, you’ll meet with other DURI participants in a seminar, and typically, you will work with a postdoc or graduate student on your project for 7-10 hours a week. You receive a scholarship in return. This was my first research experience, and I really enjoyed it!
Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF)
This is a summer research experience at Purdue that you apply online (again, see link). Instead of applying online for projects, you can also approach a professor whose research you find interesting and just ask if they are involved in SURF. I read about one of my professor’s research on her website, then emailed her and set up an appointment to talk to her, and easy as that, I had a project for the summer! This is a big program, and it’s another great way to learn about if research is right for you. There are seminars and ways to learn about research tools, professional development, literature searching, and similar topics. You’ll work about 40 hours a week on your research for 10 weeks. At the end of the summer, there is a symposium with the rest of the SURF students, where you’ll present your research in a poster or oral presentation.
Working for a Professor for Credit or Pay
You can also get credit or pay for research, depending on the professor department. It’s as simple as sending an email to a professor or your academic adviser to find out how to get involved.
Other Universities: NSF Funded Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU)
There are also plentiful research opportunities outside of Purdue. You can apply to NSF funded summer research experiences--you can search for an REU site at this link. Personally, I did research on 2D materials the summer after my junior year at Northwestern University. I was able to experience another university’s laboratory environment, get more presentation experience, and meet students from universities all over the country.
Overall, I highly recommend research. It is a way to gain confidence in your problem solving skills and work on cutting edge topics that you have an interest in. If you have any questions at all, feel free to contact me!
Isabella Ramirez
BS Materials Science & Engineering-Class of 2015
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