Opportunities for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship (OURS)
Program Description
The Center for Diversity and Student Success in Engineering and Computing (CD-SSEC) launched the Opportunities for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship (OURS) program through corporate grants from Lockheed Martin and the Motorola Foundation. In addition, the program was recently awarded a sizeable corporate grant from 3M to expand programming and increase access to more students. OURS’ mission is to foster a culture of research excellence within the College of Engineering and Computing that is committed to promoting opportunities for all students, especially those from underrepresented populations and disadvantaged backgrounds. A multi-leveled program model with financial incentives encourages curriculum-related work opportunities and reduces the need for students to find off-campus jobs that do not align with their long-term career goals. OURS measures success through student retention, graduation rates, enrollment, post-graduate placement, and increased interest in research.
Undergraduate students are paid a monthly stipend of $750 for 15 hours of research-related work per week throughout the spring and fall semesters. Combined with the monthly stipend, students receive a budget for lab materials and supplies, conference registrations, and other resources.
In The News
“Got my first job! Working as an engineer at Boeing in the Research and Technology Division.” January 28th, 2021
Current Students
Mariana Ontiveros
Bio: Mariana is a senior Mechanical Engineering student with a concentration in Thermo-fluids and a minor in Italian at Florida International University (FIU). She was born in Venezuela and has been living in the US since she was 11. Since she started at FIU, she has been interested in aerospace and materials science. Also, Mariana has focused on building her leadership skills through SHPE FIU and the Eco Engineering Club as President and Vice-President, respectively. Throughout her college career, she has interned with GE Aviation, Boeing, NASA, and she will going back to Boeing as an Industrial Engineering Intern for her 3rd summer with the company. Besides working in the summers, Mariana has worked in the Applied Research Center (ARC) in the Composites group since Fall 2020 while working closely with carbon fiber layups, mechanical testing of materials and nondestructive evaluation of materials using acoustics. During her free time, Mariana enjoys traveling, spending time with family and friends, going to the beach and scuba diving.
Valeria Urbano
Bio: Ever since Valeria started at FIU studying mechanical engineering, she developed an interest in understanding the mechanical processes of machinery. Valeria has interned with Packaging Corporation of America (PCA) being mentored by a mechanical engineer and working with others learning the mechanical process of corrugated equipment. During this internship, she has learned and developed continuously interpersonal skills that have been reinforced through the FIU Honors College.
Rebekah Arias
Bio:
PATHS UP REM Scholar
Ramyar Daneshgar
Bio:
with Dr. Fletcher
Jaalen Jones
Bio:
with Dr. Nipesh
Aashiya Kolengaden
Bio:
with Dr. Hutcheson
Nya Martin
Bio:
PATHS UP REM Scholar
Christopher Mendoza
Bio:
with Dr. Boesl
Zion Michael
Bio:
with MIT Lab
Joaquin Molto
Bio:
with Dr. Fletcher
Mariane Porras Bouzas
Bio:
with Dr. Ramella
Melanie Szytbel
Bio:
PATHS UP REM Scholar
Alumni Students
Gianluca Bacigalupo
Bio:
Gianluca Bacigalupo is currently a Senior at Florida International University studying Computer Science. He is continuing the term as a research student exploring how the Internet of Things can control how an HVAC system operates. He participates as a member of Upsilon Pi Epsilon and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. Gianluca plans to travel Europe before pursuing a Master’s in Cybersecurity in the Polytechnic University of Milan.
Eloy Beaucejour
Bio:
Eloy E. Beaucejour is a senior at Florida International University in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering majoring in Computer Engineering. He was born and raised in Miami. He is a Haitian American first-generation college student, as well as the first U.S. born child in his family. He first came to FIU as a 5000 Role Model Wilson scholar, Multicultural Programs Services (MPAS) scholar, Student Support Services (SSS) scholar, and a Student Access and Success scholar. He hopes to further his knowledge in various disciplines in technology.
Research Summary:
Read more about Eloy’s research.
Briana Canet
Bio:
Briana Canet is a first-generation Cuban American senior undergraduate student at FIU. Her engineering experience began under a National Science Foundation (NSF) CELL-MET summer internship in the summer of 2018. As a result, she earned a research assistant position under Dr. Arvind Agarwal conducting material science research for one year. She represented this team by attending and presenting this research at several research conferences.
In the summer of 2019, Briana interned at Al-Farooq Corporation as a system engineer intern. There, she coded a calculation and formula directory in Excel Visual Basic Applications (VBA) to improve the organizational flow of the company. She recently completed an internship at Northrop Grumman as a mechanical design integration engineer intern this summer 2020. She was entrusted with modeling numerous components of a missile utilizing Siemens NX.
Briana was Vice President and CSO representative for the material science organization, Material Advantage. She will rise to the role of President for the organization in fall 2020. She is also a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and will earn her Level 1 certification.
In the spring of 2019, Briana was chosen to join OURS under Dr. Andres Tremante conducting research in regards to computational fluid dynamics and wind energy generated by wind turbines. She will graduate December 2020 with her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. She will jump into the aerospace industry upon graduation and later obtain a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering with Engineering Practice.
Research Summary:
Read more about Brian’s reserach.
Juliette Dubon
Research Summary
Read more about Juliett’s research.
Hervangelot Lourdes
Bio:
Hervangelot Lordeus was born on May 29, 2000 in Haiti. He came to the United States when he was 2 years old. He moved to Naples Florida with his mom Marie Bornelus and his Aunt. Growing up he loved playing sports and playing outside with friends. He started playing pop warner football in middle school, while also doing track. In high school he played football. Now, he is a Junior at Florida International University studying Mechanical Engineering. In the future Hervangelot hopes to work for a space agency like NASA or SpaceX.
Research Summary:
Read more about Hervangelot’s research.
Calvin Mark
Bio:
Calvin Mark has graduated from Florida International University this summer with a Bachelors of Science in Computer Science accompanied by a minor in Physics. In the beginning of 2020, Calvin was accepted into the Opportunities for Undergraduate Research and Scholarships program (OURS). As an Undergraduate Research Assistant for Dr Hadi Amini and his team at Solid Lab (Sustainability, Optimization, and Learning for InterDependent networks laboratory), Calvin has assisted in research regarding resilience of Interdependent Networks and cascading failures through social dynamics. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Calvin has also contributed to its research and studying the long term effects it may have on the economy. Calvin has been accepted into Georgia Tech’s Computer Science Master’s program for Fall 2021. In the future, Calvin aims to pursue a career in the robotics or aerospace industry which are aligned with his interests in DSP(Digital Signal Processing), Artificial Intelligence, Computer Vision and Applied computing.
Research Summary:
Read more about Calvin’s research.
Susanna Peca
Bio:
Susanna Peca is a student at Florida International University studying mathematics and computer science. She is passionate about discrete mathematics and theoretical computer science and is currently researching the field of Computational Geometry with OURS.
Susanna is the vice president of FIU’s math club, and she has been working as a learning assistant for the FIU mathematics department for three years, where she holds review sessions outside of class to help students with their coursework. She will be graduating with a mathematics degree this fall and will finish her computer science degree afterward. She hopes to eventually continue her studies by attending graduate school.
Research Summary:
Read more about Susanna’s research.
Anet Sanchez
Bio:
Anet is a BME student and an active member in Dr. Joshua Hutcheson’s Cardiovasular Matrix Remodeling Laboratory. This summer, Anet participated in an REU program at Vanderbilt University. During that experience, Anet worked with Dr. Elaine Shelton to test the effectiveness of new drugs on the contraction of the ductus arteriosus. She was selected for an oral presentation at the end of the program and won second place for best oral presentation.
Joaquin Sefair
Bio:
Joaquin Sefair is a senior mechanical engineering college student who transferred to FIU in fall 2018. He chose mechanical engineering due to his passion for critical thinking and creativity in his personal and professional life. After graduating, he will search for a full-time position in engineering, although he is also researching graduate school. Before moving to the U.S. from Argentina, Joaquin worked in the manufacturing and product quality department of glass railing systems and aluminum window profiles. He processed detailed construction plans and product designs.
Joaquin is extremely focused on his studies resulting in a near-perfect GPA. He realized that theory was important but hands-on experience was crucial in becoming a well-rounded engineer. In the spring of 2020, he was chosen to join OURS under Dr. Andres Tremante. Having had Dr. Tremante as professor for his thermal fluid classes, he was excited to take on the energy research at-hand. His research is in regards to computational fluid dynamics and energy systems, mostly Eolic. He will graduate this fall 2020 with his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering with focus on fluid and thermal systems. He desires to apply his skills and abilities to a job that is aligned to his research. He later will to obtain his Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering within the next four years to further enhance his engineering knowledge – a future step he deeply looks forward to.
Research Summary:
Read more about Joaquin’s research.
Alexander Garcia
Bio:
PATHS UP REM Scholar
Apply Now
The application process for the OURS Program is currently closed. Feel free to contact Andrew Green for further information.
