We typically have undergraduate researchers in the lab ranging from freshman-level to senior-level. The goals are to give students an opportunity to participate in original scientific research and experience hands on problem-solving, and also to conduct and complete high-quality original bioengineering research. Students who have this experience in general are well prepared to enter both graduate school and industry. We strongly emphasize critical thinking and teamwork skills in our undergraduate research program.

It is important to emphasize that the undergraduate students are a critical part of our research effort and we expect them to handle that responsibility seriously. Students must be highly motivated. While we do not expect undergraduates to enter with a vast knowledge of a particular field or of our research program, we do expect them to have an interest in thinking hard and in using their logic and analytical skills in a productive way. Undergraduate students have come to us from a number of departments including Biochemistry, Bioengineering, Biology, Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Paper Science and Engineering, Prosthetics and Orthotics, and Zoology. We do not restrict the positions to any particular department. Examples of undergraduate student projects are listed below:

·  Silk as an soft tissue implant biomaterial: Surgical implantation for in vivo testing
·  Inflatable inserts in prosthetics: Their current limitations and an assessment of their mechanical performance
·  Design, fabrication, and evaluation of a sound suppression system for a mechanical stress testing device
·  Static frictional coefficient of body/support interface materials with skin and socks
·  Design and fabrication of an electrospinning apparatus to make small diameter polymer fibers for biomaterial applications
·  Optimization of a digital scanner for residual limb imaging
·  A nonlinear computational analysis of a high-pressure needleless syringe
·  Effects of prosthetic foot/ankle componentry on interface stresses in lower-limb amputees

Over a 5 year period we have had 45 undergraduate research students in the lab.   Among them they have earned a total of 27 fellowships, internships, and scholarships.

Credit/salary: We generally do not hire students in paid hourly positions unless they have done 499 (research) projects in the lab for at least 6 months. Exceptions are students we accept as part of the NASA Summer Research Program, the Hughes Summer Research Program, or some other scholarship program. Many of the undergraduate students stay in the lab for at least a year and participate heavily in creating peer-reviewed publications on their research results. They also represent us at scientific meetings.