REU Site: Undergraduate Research Opportunities in Unmanned Systems Foundations and Applications

The "Undergraduate Research Opportunities in Unmanned Systems Foundations and Applications" Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site at the University of Nebraska offers an intensive and comprehensive research experience to ten undergraduate students per year in the context of unmanned systems, a rapidly growing field of scientific and technological research. A team of faculty experts from the Nebraska Intelligent MoBile Unmanned Systems Lab (NIMBUS Lab) provides individual mentoring for ten weeks to instill the foundations of research methodology and to conduct hands-on research activities on a variety of unmanned systems applications. The participants engage in professional development activities to better prepare them for Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) careers. Students from computer science, computer engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and other related majors are considered. Particular attention is given to students from underrepresented groups and from institutions in the Midwest that lack research opportunities to support broader educational goals and diversity in the STEM workforce. Each REU participant's research project focuses on unmanned systems with topics including close interactions of aerial robots with the environment; proficiency development in operating robotic systems; vision-based control for collaborative robotic systems; multi-agent design, control, and applications; and resilient, synergistic communication systems. Projects build on ongoing faculty research but are crafted for participants to gain experience in all aspects of research, from conducting a literature review and prototyping, to understanding the broad potential impact of the technology being investigated. Participant development will be quantified by closely assessing their growth through the REU experience and maintaining mentorship relationships after the summer. This site is jointly funded by the Department of Defense in partnership with the NSF Directorate of Computer and Information Science and Engineering REU program. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.