Summer Program Helps First-Gen Student Take Flight Into Drone Research
When first-generation mechanical engineering student David Miguel arrived at UC Merced, he had no research experience, but a passion for engineering and a desire to learn.
A former foster care youth from Los Angeles, Miguel had limited resources to pursue science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). His interest in mechanical engineering was sparked at a community fair, an experience that led him to start a general engineering club at his high school.
That passion found direction through UC Merced’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center (UROC) Summer Undergraduate Research Initiative (SURI), which Miguel credits with helping him become a researcher and opening pathways he never knew existed.
SURI is an umbrella for more than a dozen programs run by UROC and on-campus partners. Programs range from broadening participation of Californians in STEM Ph.D. programs, the STEM professoriate and the STEM workforce to training in stem cell biology and engineering and providing graduate school preparation. All programs offer a stipend, and some are residential.
“SURI is co-created with faculty, students and partners with the overall goal of providing a rich undergraduate research experience,” UROC Director Patricia Soto, Ph.D. said. “It offers programming to help students develop the professional skills that will enhance the research experience.”
More than a typical internship, SURI combines research apprenticeship with professional development opportunities designed to prepare students for graduate school and future careers. Participants build research and career-readiness skills, receive guidance through multiple layers of mentorship from faculty, graduate students and program staff, and take part in workshops and community-building efforts.
The summer of his freshman year, Miguel participated in Career Opportunities and Research Exploration (CORE), a specialized program offered to foster youth, homeless youth, system-impacted individuals and undocumented students. He said he “didn’t understand what research was” until he attended SURI prep workshops in library research, reading articles, contacting professors and designing a research project.
He apprenticed in Research Assistant Professor Brandon Stark's unmanned aircraft systems safety lab, where he focused on thermal management for drones.
“I chose this lab because they let me start my own project from start to finish. I wasn't finishing or refining someone else's work or collecting data for someone else's work,” Miguel said. “I started off by asking my professor, ‘What are some problems that you have in your lab right now?’ During summer, it is the heat. You can't really fly drones past 11 a.m. because the heat damages them.”
His summer research cooled drones up to 14°F, improving flight times.
This summer, 92 undergraduate students — 49 from UC Merced and 43 visiting scholars from institutions across the country — spent nine weeks immersed in hands-on research alongside UC Merced faculty mentors and research teams.
"SURI is co-created with faculty, students and partners with the overall goal of providing a rich undergraduate research experience."
Brenda Ortiz
Senior Public Information Representitive
Office: (209) 228-4203
Mobile: (209) 628-8263