The Center for Autonomy on the Oden Institute hosted a brand new analysis program for undergraduates over the summer season, offering college students with the chance to realize expertise in autonomous expertise analysis.   

The program, often known as the Introductory Research Experience in Autonomy and Control Technologies (REACT), is a collaboration between the University of Texas, Hampton University and the University of New Mexico, in response to a recent press release. The NASA University Leadership Initiative in Safe Aviation Autonomy, the NASA University Leadership Initiative in Autonomous Systems and the NSF CPS Frontier in Cognitive Autonomy collectively funded the initiative.

“The benefit of this program is to allow students who want to get into research to have actual hands-on experience and what that actually looks like before they get started,” stated technical challenge supervisor Joseph Segura-Conn. “It’s really important for them to come out here and get a firsthand look at what being a researcher [looks] like [and] what type of topics you could be researching.”

Several college students majoring in varied engineering disciplines from Hampton University and the University of New Mexico have been flown out to UT to immerse themselves in initiatives specializing in varied autonomous methods, together with robotic navigation and machine studying. 

“A lot of the students didn’t know what they were getting themselves into when they first signed up because it’s kind of a new endeavor,” Segura-Conn stated. “But once they arrived, and by the time they were done, it seemed like it was a very close-knit group.” 

Graduate college students from the Center for Autonomy acted as mentors for this system’s college students. Once college students have been assigned their initiatives, the mentors assisted with research-related issues and questions on their careers or graduate faculty journeys. By the top of this system, college students compiled their analysis right into a last presentation.

“One of the coolest parts is when you’re mentoring somebody, and they have a light bulb moment,” stated graduate analysis assistant Jacob Levy. “Most of them weren’t really sure what they wanted to do after they got their undergrad degree. By the end, [the program] definitely increased research interest among them.”

During the two-week program, college students obtained entry to labs together with meal plans and dorms. In addition to analysis, college students additionally engaged in a number of socials and workshops throughout their keep.

“You can only learn so much in two weeks and do so much,” assistant professor David Fridovich-Keil. “The main idea was to give students that are high achieving and interested in the idea of research an opportunity to interact with people doing research, be embedded, get their hands a bit dirty, and have the opportunity to really ask questions about what the career path is like.”

Fridovich-Keil stated he hopes this system will develop in following summers and host extra college students, together with college students from UT and probably native excessive faculties.

“REACT allowed us to spend invaluable time with experienced and knowledgeable individuals who we otherwise wouldn’t have had such easy access to,” stated Noah Reboul, University of New Mexico pupil, within the press launch. “It was a great opportunity.”