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."
Through the Boosting Representation of African Americans in the Geosciences (BRAGG) program, a summer research partnership hosted by UC Merced for students from historically Black colleges and universities, Zhakeya Hawkins has strengthened her research and professional skills while working with Professor Adeyemi Adebiyi.
“I’ve learned how to get out of my comfort zone of knowing everything and to see things from other perspectives,” said Hawkins, valedictorian and recent graduate of Kentucky State University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematical computer science.
Hawkins has gained a deeper understanding of how to approach emerging technologies. “I’ve learned that AI shouldn’t be looked at as something that gives you answers, but as a tool that helps prompting you toward discovering them yourself,” she said after attending a SURI workshop led by UC Merced Professor Teamrat Ghezzehei.
Students leave the program with tangible outcomes that support future opportunities, including research presentations, abstracts, graduate school materials and expanded professional networks.
Thanks to his experience with SURI, Miguel was able to continue conducting research with Stark for fall and spring semester and was hired as training and operations engineering lead. Now, he presents at national STEM conferences and is writing safety trainings that will guide drone and rocketry operations throughout the UC system.
Soto said one of SURI’s strengths is the sense of community it fosters while helping students grow as emerging scholars.
“Student success reflects a true campus effort,” Soto said. “One of the most rewarding aspects of SURI is watching the entire UC Merced community come together. Faculty, graduate students, postdocs, staff scientists, research centers, academic staff and many others contribute to the experience.”
Everyone is invited to attend the SURI culmination event at 20th UROC Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on July 31 in the UC Merced Conference Center.
View last’s year’s SURI video recap:
Brenda Ortiz
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Office: (209) 228-4203
Mobile: (209) 628-8263
