UCCONNECT held its first annual Summer Program from June through August 2015. Students from campuses across our consortium convened at the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona to develop and pursue transportation-related research projects in areas of their interests. Students, who were paired with faculty advisors, each received a $3000 scholarship to offset travel costs and to support their work.

The program unfolded in three stages. The first entailed a week-long kick-off event and a series of meetings, entrepreneurial guidance sessions, and workshops that took place on the Cal Poly campus. Students thereafter worked for the next two months under the supervision of their advisers to perform their research and prepare deliverables.

The program concluded with a symposium where students presented their final reports and manuscripts. 

Participating Students

In total, 20 students participated in the 2015 Summer Program. About 30% were women, and nearly half were members on historically-under-represented communities.  Approximately 2/3 of the students were undergrads; the remaining were graduate students.  The majority (roughly 2/3) came from civil engineering departments, though students from electrical engineering, industrial and manufacturing engineering, and urban planning were also represented in this cohort..

Research Symposium

Activities ended with the program's first annual research symposium, which occurred on August 19, 2015.

Program participants were joined by their faculty advisors and other students from Cal Poly Students.  Presentations spanned a variety of topics.  Emphasis went to supporting conclusions from data. Written student evaluations revealed high degrees of satisfaction with the day-long symposium and considerable interest in next summer’s program.