Doctoral student Leilei He conducts research in the Peabody Energy Advanced Coal Technology Laboratory as part of Professor Maohong Fan’s team
“The research faculty offer a window for the students to see other aspects of how
engineering is evolving,” Alvarado says. “I think that direct window is facilitated
by access to the faculty.”
“All the faculty are very active in a variety of things,” says David Bagley, department
head of chemical and petroleum engineering. “Students have the opportunity to work in the latest on enhanced oil recovery or
unconventional reservoirs, coal conversion and gas-to-liquids research. In our biological
engineering program, which is really starting to take off, there are a lot good opportunities
for students who are interested in a variety of research projects.”
Chemical engineering student Paige Fischer of Arvada, Colo., who is now working toward her master’s degree, says, “There is ample funding for undergraduate research provided through INBRE and EPSCoR in my experience. The faculty is willing to work with undergraduates who show interest in research and help them on to master’s or doctorate programs if that is their ambition.”
“I participated in an EPSCoR research opportunity my first year,” says Margaret Kimble, who received her bachelor’s and master’s in civil engineering and is now an engineer with GEI Consultants Inc. in Denver. “I got to work on the redesign of a theater rigging system—a wonderful learning experience that opened general design and machining practices to me. I don’t know of many schools that open this kind of opportunity to freshmen.”
“In the summer of 2013, I got involved in undergraduate research,” James says. “My senior design project was developing a target tracking vision system for mobile robots.” James is continuing that research as a graduate student, hoping the target tracking and 3-D vision can help create robots to assist with remote physical therapy. He works with the mobile ad-hoc networking research group, which also helps recruit future students by presenting at Discovery Days and to high school students.
Corporate partnerships create new opportunities for UW students as well, such as the Encana Integrated Simulation Data Center, where students work in teams and have direct access to industry software; the Hess Digital Rock Physics Laboratory; and the new WPX Drilling Simulator Teaching Lab.
“There are other facilities being developed at the Energy Innovation Center, the new Enzi STEM Facility, and further down the road the Engineering Building expansion and renovation,” Alvarado says. (Click here to learn more about the new facilities.)
“We’re excited to work more closely with industry, whether it’s internships or seminars,” Bagley adds.
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