USC Viterbi Holds Remote Undergraduate Research and Mentorship Program

The CURVE program aims to provide students with research skills and professional experience early in their careers.

Computer science student Eszter Morvay is conducting her research under the CURVE program remotely. (Photo courtesy of Eszter Morvay and USC Viterbi.)

Computer science student Eszter Morvay is conducting her research under the CURVE program remotely. (Photo courtesy of Eszter Morvay and USC Viterbi.)

In the summer of 2020, the Center for Undergraduate Research in Viterbi Engineering (CURVE) program was introduced in response to the growing interest of undergraduate students at the University of Southern California (USC) Viterbi School of Engineering to perform innovative research work alongside their professors. The program was opened to all Viterbi students, with 110 accepted into the program this year. A variety of subjects were available for students to explore under CURVE, such as disruptive space engineering, climate change, robotics, and artificial intelligence (AI) for social good. The program formally started early this year with all the participants currently conducting their research remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Besides studying their topics of interest, students are paired with Ph.D. mentors who share their expertise on various aspects of research work, such as best practices, as well as insights on academic writing, including literature reviews, scientific abstracts and presentations. This form of mentorship is also expected to assist and guide students through the Ph.D. application process for those who intend to pursue doctorate degrees in the future.

USC Viterbi’s Vice Dean for Research, Assad Oberai, shared the relevance of the CURVE program in today’s academic landscape.

“Many of our undergraduates go on to careers where they must find answers to completely new questions and develop new knowledge and insights. There is no right answer at the back of a book that they can check their work against. This can be daunting and exhilarating at the same time. The CURVE program gives them a hands-on experience of this process early on in their time at Viterbi,” he said.

Undergraduate research programs are regarded by many practicing researchers as a significant, value-adding experience that can enhance science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. Not only does this challenge traditional lecture-based delivery of instruction, but it also offers students the opportunity to engage and participate directly in the field early on in their careers. In addition to that, the practice of mentorship and apprenticeship provides a platform and space to train and prepare the next generation of scientists and engineers. As stated by the Council on Undergraduate Research:

“As students are immersed in their projects, they are socialized into the culture of the organization and the discipline, and they sink their roots in the research environment. They become fluent in the language and concepts of the field through informal interactions and formal presentations—the ones they hear and the ones they give. They absorb the ethics and practices of the discipline, and they learn the laboratory methods and skills necessary to carry out research in the field. Instilling the importance of professional ethics is a very valuable trait that mentors can provide to students.”

In the case of CURVE, students were able to work on projects involving the development of testbeds for self-driving vehicles, socially assistive robots, four-legged robots, and COVID-19 misinformation, among others.

Rebecca Chanowitz, a mechanical engineering student who participates in the CURVE program, has been working on a robotic hand under the USC Viterbi Center for Advanced Manufacturing, which is spearheaded by SK Gupta, a faculty member of the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. Meanwhile, first-year student Selina Martinez has been studying the use of video analysis for health applications at the Signal Analysis and Interpretation Lab under Shri Narayanan, a professor of electrical and computer engineering. Martinez shared that she was inspired by her grandfather’s experience with Alzheimer’s Disease in pursuing her research.

The CURVE program was established at a time when research and laboratory work has been reduced to online meetings and distance learning, as COVID-19 restrictions continue to minimize in-person interactions. However, the students of USC Viterbi themselves have stressed how the pandemic has brought to the surface various issues that need to be addressed—be it a result of COVID-19 or other existing localized problems. Similarly, the shift toward a digital mode of learning has also allowed for broader collaboration as well as access to information.

“It is important to me that I learn more about how to work towards solutions to these issues and take advantage of this unique time in which research is more accessible than ever in an online setting,” shared Chanowitz.

Read more about the CURVE program at https://viterbiundergrad.usc.edu/research/curve/.