At UC Davis, we understand that hands-on learning has many benefits. That’s why we strongly encourage all undergraduates to participate in a research opportunity during their studies. By engaging in research, students can explore career directions, hone transferrable skills and earn a leg-up on graduate school opportunities. Take a look here at a few examples of engineering undergraduates who are shaping their education by participating in undergraduate research.
Undergraduate Research
Mechanical Engineering: Ruby Zoom Houchens
Ruby Zoom Houchens, second-year mechanical engineering major, takes every opportunity in stride. From working in professor Stephen Robinson’s lab, to serving as a shop tech and photographer, to being involved with multiple campus organizations, she brings a unique and well-rounded approach to engineering that’s already made her a staple of the College of Engineering.
Computer Science: Matthew Sotoudeh
Matthew Sotoudeh, third-year computer science undergraduate, placed second in an undergraduate student research competition at the 2020 International Symposium on Principles of Programming Language (POPL). His paper, “Bounded Model Checking of Deep Neural Network Controllers,” is part of an ongoing project to apply principles of programming languages to neural network systems to guarantee they don’t crash.