Igniting Future Engineers: A Summer of Research and Professional Development

At Columbia Engineering, a summer program brings together undergraduates from across the U.S. to immerse themselves in hands-on STEM research.

As an established effort to increase diversity in the science and engineering fields, the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) program provides unique insight into the field of engineering by providing research experience and professional development for a cohort of students from historically marginalized groups. Since the inception of Columbia’s flagship program, SURE has expanded to four more universities in collaboration with Amazon Science: Carnegie Mellon, Georgia Tech, University of California, Los Angeles, and University of Southern California.

SURE welcomed its fourth cohort in May, comprising 42 undergraduate students from colleges and universities across the country. Fellows participated in 10 weeks of summer research and professional development, culminating in an end-of-program symposium held in Carleton Commons on July 31. Students showcased projects based on faculty research areas, ranging from Kristin Myers’ research on the mechanics of preterm birth, Sunil Agrawal’s work in human-computer interaction, and Junfeng Yang’s research in combating audio and video deep fakes.

In addition to gaining hands-on research experience, SURE fellows also joined workshops on graduate school and undergraduate fellowship applications, and participated in industry visits and panel discussions from companies like the engineering consulting firm Thornton Tomasetti. Fellows were mentored by Columbia faculty, researchers and graduate students, as well as other academic and industry professionals. The program provided a unique opportunity to understand how to bridge university research and industry work. 

For many fellows, SURE has inspired them to pursue graduate studies after finishing their bachelor’s degree. The program provided insight into aspects of engineering they had never considered before, while simultaneously opening their eyes to new career opportunities. 

“This is my first research experience, so I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but I found that I loved it so much that it led me to start considering getting a PhD,” said Joyce Gill, a rising junior majoring in computer science at Grinnell College. “I like that I've been able to see what people in other industries are doing, which has definitely opened my perspective.”

The SURE program is co-sponsored by partners Amazon Science, Thornton Tomasetti, the NSF AI Institute for Artificial and Natural Intelligence, and the Center for Smart Streetscapes.