Today, many top engineering undergraduates want to participate in high-end research, and each year the Lyles School of Civil Engineering provides outstanding opportunities for these ambitious students.

In addition to research efforts of Civil Engineering faculty — efforts that often include undergraduates — the school is involved with two programs that encourage students to work alongside researchers over the summer. These programs are the Purdue University Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) and Purdue Undergraduate Research Experience (PURE).

"The civil engineering undergraduate landscape has changed significantly over the years for both domestic and international students," says Rao S. Govindaraju, Bowen Engineering Head of Civil Engineering and the Christopher B. and Susan S. Burke Professor of Civil Engineering.

"There is an ever-growing desire among students to become more actively involved in research — to gain a deeper understanding of what they are learning about in the classroom — and we want to do everything we can to encourage this aspiration."

Career — and academic — rewards

Through Purdue's SURF program, students have a rich opportunity to take part in academic research. The 11-week summer program includes attending professional development and research seminars, presenting research discoveries at the SURF symposium and enjoying social activities with other members. SURF students receive a stipend and are eligible for housing support.

Professor Na "Luna" Lu, a SURF mentor on the Lyles School faculty, says the program is an excellent way for students to deepen their knowledge of engineering and learn what it’s like to pursue a graduate degree.

"The students involved in SURF are all highly engaged. You can see it in every one of them: a passion to gain a greater understanding," Lu says. "These are the types of students any professor would be happy to have on their research team as master's and PhD candidates." In the summer of 2018, civil engineering student Adlan Amran assisted Lu and civil engineering PhD student Yen-Fang Su as they continued their work determining optimal traffic opening times using piezoelectric sensors.

"It was exciting but a bit intimidating, at first," Amran says. "I really wanted to explore the SURF program because I was still on the fence about whether I should go to grad school. The research was fascinating, and my mentors were incredibly patient with me. And, in the end, it helped me decide that pursuing a graduate degree is what I want to do."

International interest in the Lyles School

PURE is one of the marquee programs of the Purdue-India Initiative. Top undergraduates from three Indian Institutes of Technology — IIT Madras, IIT Bombay and IIT Hyderabad — are matched with Purdue civil engineering faculty to work on summer research projects.

Professor Brandon Boor, a PURE program mentor, says he is impressed with the eagerness and the engagement level of the students involved.

"The students in the PURE program have a clear passion for research and learning," he says. "Months later, I am still in contact with my student. Honestly, my only complaint is that the nine-week program doesn't last longer."

Satya Sundar Patra, a civil engineering major at IT Madras, assisted Boor's team in collecting indoor pollution data through low-cost air quality sensors.

"Working with Professor Boor confirmed my intention to develop my research goals and pursue a PhD," Patra says. "Throughout the summer, I learned that research can be very exciting. Sometimes we fail, sometimes we succeed, and the joy of success is extraordinary."

For more information about Purdue's undergraduate research programs, visit purdue.edu/research/ugrad.