Outreach Goals
Our group's outreach goal is to provide research and mentoring opportunities for minority, women, and other underrepresented K-12, undergraduate, and graduate students in engineering by helping to organize and participate in a variety of outreach activities geared toward creating interest in the field of flexible structures, mechanisms, and materials. Some of these activities include:
Each summer, our group hosts minority students, women, or other underrepresented high school students in engineering as part of UCLA's HSSRP program. These students are provided with (i) hands-on research experience that involves the design and fabrication of flexible structures, mechanisms, or materials, (ii) access to state-of-the-art facilities, (iii) experience presenting their research in a professional setting, and (iv) lasting relationships with the PI, who can write meaningful recommendation letters to help the students be successful in their pursuit of higher education. Click here to learn more about the HSSRP program.
UCLA's High School Summer Research Program (HSSRP)
Center for Excellence in Engineering Diversity (CEED)
Each fall quarter, our group hosts minority students, women, or other underrepresented undergraduate freshmen in engineering as part of UCLA's Introduction to Engineering Disciplines E87 course, which is offered under UCLA's CEED program. Our group creates a research project that involves the design of flexible structures, mechanisms, or materials to excite and encourage these students to pursue degrees in engineering. Our group mentors these students through this project in preparation for the course's final presentations. Click here to learn more about the CEED program.
University of California Leadership (UC LEADS) Program
Our group hosts minority students, who are recipients of UCLA's prestigious UC LEADS Fellowship, by providing them with research opportunities that involve the design and fabrication of flexible structures, mechanisms, and materials. Click here to learn more about the UC LEADS program.
UC LEADS 2017-2018
Sydney Austin fellowship recipient
Laboratory Tours for High School Field Trips
Our group provides regular tours of our laboratory for high school students from schools in the greater Los Angeles area.
Laboratory Tours
Lucas Shaw giving a tour of our laboratory to high school students from Harvard-Westlake School