In June 2022, Texas A&M University students had the opportunity to attend and present at the ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition 2022 conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, thanks to IEEI’s support. Here’s an inside look at how our students have benefited academically and professionally from their experience!
Lance White
Ph.D. Student in Interdisciplinary Engineering
“The 2022 ASEE Annual conference was probably one of the best experiences I’ve had as a graduate student. Comparing the ASEE virtual conference to the in-person one this year, you could see the excitement on everyone’s faces when they got to see colleagues they’ve known for years but hadn’t seen due to the pandemic. You could also feel how excited everyone was to tour the various booths from so many influential companies and universities in the space of engineering education. Making new connections with engineering education celebrities was also a shockingly fun experience. I never thought I would get to meet some of the rockstars I’ve been citing in my papers, much less hear them speak in person. Attendees should plan their days in advance to maximize their time during the conference. The social events at the end of each day were excellent, providing unique opportunities to socialize with those same rockstar researchers we’ve not had the chance as graduate students to meet in person. The Texas A&M University faculty who attended this conference went out of their way to introduce their students to the influential members of the engineering education community that have been instrumental in helping build the discipline. I feel that this experience has excited me for my future in academia and served as an example of how I can continue to engage professionally with this ASEE.”
Rachelle Pederson
Ph.D. Student in Multidisciplinary Engineering
“I had such a great time connecting with the IEEI team (faculty, staff, and students) and meeting people from all over the world who all have the same goals of advancing Engineering Education. At the conference, I could network with a variety of folks, some of whom I have been reading about for years, and finally got to meet in person. I am grateful for the mentorship from some of our IEEI team as they encouraged me to reach out to researchers outside our university, have coffee with them, and learn more about the field at different universities and institutions. Conference sessions (although numerically overwhelming) were very informative and great opportunities to learn about the field’s current state. Attending in-person allowed me to know more about the different types of ASEE sessions and encouraged me to continue working on projects I can submit in the future. I enjoyed attending the NSF Poster Session and hearing about some of the top-notch studies in the field. I highly encourage anyone interested in Engineering Education to attend the ASEE conference.”
Rujun Gao
Ph.D. Student in Mechanical Engineering
“This was my first ASEE conference, and it was amazing! I enjoyed the technical sessions in the field of computer & information technology. These sessions were enriching and taught me a lot, from expanding my domain knowledge in engineering education to learning to give effective presentations. The social networking events held in the evenings were fun! I got to meet several engineering education scholars working in my field. I came across many students and faculty interested in the same research I was doing, and several shared their experiences and suggestions to help make my research better!”
Sara Amani
Ph.D. Student in Multidisciplinary Engineering
“My experience at the ASEE annual conference was fantastic. I presented virtually at this conference last year, but this was the first time I ever presented at a conference in person. It was terrific how IEEI could fund so many people and that we had a large cohort of graduate students and faculty from Texas A&M in Minneapolis. It was nice also to see a significant representation of TAMUQ administration at the conference, and I was able to reconnect with my old professors while spending time with my new colleagues at the same time. The two sponsored sessions hosted by Texas A&M and IEEI were very informative and professionally conducted. I found it interesting that I met some faculty members from our home campus when we were in a completely new environment. I also participated in the business meeting for the Women in Engineering division. I learned a lot from the sessions and gained many ideas for my future work. It was an honor to represent A&M at this conference!”
Pouneh Abbasian
Ph.D. Student in Computer Science and Engineering
“The ASEE 2022 conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was a fantastic experience for me. Attending a workshop on Engineering Pedagogy was a unique experience as well. I participated in a computing information technology (CIT) business session with my advisor Dr. Tracy Hammond and was nominated as the webmaster for 2023. I also presented a paper in the Engineering Technology Division (ETID). The Texas A&M booth was a fantastic place to network and socialize with people worldwide. The Taste of Minneapolis and the TAMU reception provided an engaging environment where we listened to music, had some excellent food and talked to our friends and peers. The ASEE conference was unlike other one-disciplined focus conferences. It was nice to see people from different backgrounds collaborating and transferring their knowledge in almost one direction: improving engineering education.”
Donna Jaison
Ph.D. Student in Multidisciplinary Engineering
“Participating in ASEE this year in Minneapolis was a great experience. This was also my first time attending ASEE. As part of my work at Texas A&M, I have worked on a multi-institutional research project involving faculty and students from other universities. Our collaboration and meetings occurred mainly through Zoom. Through ASEE, I met them in person for the first time! I gained insight into different research projects in engineering education, which will guide my current research at Texas A&M. I also received valuable feedback from attendees by sharing my research via papers and posters.”
Randy Brooks
Professor of Practice, Ph.D. Student in Multidisciplinary Engineering
“Being my first in-person ASEE summer conference, especially one following two virtual summer conferences, I wasn’t sure what to expect. It went well. The Sunday afternoon session led by Dr. Hogan and Dr. Hammond on how Texas A&M Engineering works was a fun gathering of the troops. The plenary by Jodi Benson, the Chief Innovation, Technology, and Quality Officer at General Mills, provided some excellent examples of how engineering operates and interacts inside the business. The Faculty Division session featured a share of Texas A&M’s “There and Back” and some solid insight from Virginia Tech on how gradebook automation is used to facilitate their first-year course management. The Texas A&M Technical Session that Rodney Boehm and Magda Lagoudas guided was insightful. The session also had a solid testimonial from an Aggie alumnus about going from Aggie Invent to a funded product. The Tuesday morning Texas A&M booth session impacted the internal team and those who stopped to engage. I also moderated a First-Year session on the impacts of peer mentors. Most session elements reinforced what we already do with SI, peer TA work, and Chevron student mentoring. All in all, I had a great time working with my peers!”
Fizza Ali
Ph.D. Student in Multidisciplinary Engineering
“ASEE annual conference 2022 was my first time attending and presenting at a conference, and it was a remarkable and enriching experience. This conference was memorable because of the sense of community and the A&M school spirit we all felt there. My presentation went well, and I was happy to see the rich discussion it sparked afterward. I attended some of my friends’ presentations, and they all did a fantastic job. I explored some other technical sessions as well and enjoyed the diversity of ideas presented and the methodologies used. I enjoyed spending time at the Texas A&M booth. It was inspiring to talk to so many new people doing fantastic work in Engineering Education across the country. I also loved meeting people from Texas A&M I’d never met. The Texas A&M-sponsored sessions were well organized and engaging. The Texas A&M networking reception also proved to be a great way to unwind after a long day at the conference. I attended the business meeting for the Computing and Information Technology division. It was a smaller group than I expected, but it gave me an insight into all the work that goes into organizing the sessions all year round. One of my favorite parts of the conference was the student showcase and poster sessions. There were some remarkable projects on display at the showcase, and Texas A&M had a great representation there.”