Undergraduates Experience Engaging Research

In the Cognitive and Autonomous Test (CAT) Vehicle REU, students learned about the many technologies and research areas behind vehicular autonomous systems.

Students split into two groups, with one focusing on computer vision and the other on machine learning. The first group learned how to use open-source libraries to process images and videos and how to extract information from them using machine learning algorithms to extract information from them. The second group learned how to use adversarial and shadow attacks against a traffic sign recognition system and develop defense methods to improve the system.

“The program has given me a lot of hands-on experience in both theoretical and practical aspects of machine learning,” said Andrew Wang, a student at Cornell University.

Wyatt Mayor, a student at Monmouth College, said he enjoyed working with cutting-edge technology. "Machine learning is a field that is exponentially growing, and this is an opportunity to dive headfirst into it,” he said.”

The graduate student mentors, who were there to guide the students, said they found the experience impactful as well.

“The most valuable experiences I gained are how to coordinate teaching and research programs with people from different backgrounds and how to lead the undergraduate students to learn new things with a research program,” said Huayu Li, graduate student mentor.

Professor Loukas Lazos and associate professor Gregory Ditzler led the CAT Vehicle REU program. Graduate student mentors included David Schwartz, Manoj Gopale, Huayu Li and Lewis Kopolon.

High-Frequency Wireless Communications

The High-Frequency Wireless Communications (HF) REU students conducted research on advanced high-frequency communications, artificial intelligence, networks, protocols, antennas and algorithms.

“The program prepared me for my future studies by giving me a clear glimpse into what’s to come for research, said Colton Carvalho, a student from California State University – Sacramento

University of Arizona ECE student Nathan Herling said the HF REU provided opportunities to work in a team environment, receive feedback from professors, and conduct research with the possibility of publishing or presenting it.

“I learned quite a bit about the real-world implementation of many things I only learned the theory behind in my classes,” said University of Utah student Benjamin Hayes.

In addition to conducting research, the students also learned about the field’s applications, including 5G networks, joint communications radars and Millimeter-wave communication.

“It helped me to organize the logic of solving the problem when guiding the students’ presentations,” said graduate student mentor Ziqi Xu. “I also learned new ideas from the students’ weekly updates regarding their thoughts and the information from other works of literature.”

Professors Tamal Bose, Loukas Lazos and associate professor Michael Marefat led the HF REU program. Jingcheng Li and Ziqi Xu were the graduate student mentors.

Partnership for Proactive Cybersecurity Training

The Partnership for Proactive Cybersecurity Training (PACT) REU program partnered with Navajo Technical University, Howard University and the Argonne National Laboratory to address current and future cybersecurity research challenges. Undergraduate students conducted their own experiments, finding and solving problems related to machine learning and cybersecurity.

“My favorite part of the program is being inspired by professors and Ph.D. students,” said Kelly Morgan, a student at Navajo Technical University. “The projects we worked on seem so daunting, but [these mentors] demystified what seemed impossible because they shared their experiences. They reassured me that I am capable of graduate courses because of what I was able to do throughout the PACT program.”

Other students, including Vernetta Long and Jonathan Dennison, also of Navajo Technical University, said connecting with students who had similar interests was a highlight of the program.

“The PACT REU program allowed me to provide mentorship to graduate studies aspiring students,” said graduate student mentor Amadou Tall. “It was also an opportunity to explore how to transfer knowledge efficiently.”

Professors Tamal Bose and Salim Hariri, associate professor Gregory Ditzler, technology programs advocate Curt Laumann and research assistant professors Pratik Satam and Sicong Shao led the PACT REU program. Their graduate student mentors were Arminda Estrada, Clarisa Grijalva, Ivan Kawaminami, Mohammad Wali-ur-Rahman and Amadou Tall.

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