Undergraduate Research Participation: Professional Growth Experience

A recent National Science Board report dealing with undergraduate science and engineering education emphasized the importance of undergraduate participation in research. The opportunity to participate in a research project provides a professional growth experience that enhances a student's knowledge, attitude, skills, and awareness of the importance of the engineering profession to society. After spending a summer participating in a research project, I believe that the opportunity enhanced my knowledge of my chosen technical specialty within civil engineering, increased my sense of self‐confidence, contributed to my ability to recognize and solve technical problems, further developed both my oral and written communication skills, enhanced my ability to use then computer for engineering problem‐solving, and showed the relevance of academic topics in solving real‐world problems. Based on my experience, it is recommended that steps be taken by the engineering profession to increase opportunities for undergraduate students to participate in research.