Building Future Solutions: Impacts of Engineering Research Projects

“The most rewarding aspect of my [engineering] project was seeing its real-world relevance in my daily life.” - Alexander, Polygence alum

Alexander completed a research project assessing the environmental impact of drone delivery services. His research paper investigates the environmental impact of using electric manual-control drones for delivery services compared to traditional delivery methods, like vans. It evaluates both types of delivery networks based on factors such as energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, noise pollution, and waste generation. With his research, Alexander aimed to promote the development of sustainable delivery systems.

Alexander’s experience is just one of many stories where Polygence students have completed impactful engineering research projects that have benefited their future careers. In this article, we’ll dive deeper into why engineering and technology projects are so relevant in today’s world, the role of mentorship in engineering research, and how an engineering research project provides numerous academic and career benefits.

The Real-World Impact of Engineering Research Projects

Why is engineering research so popular among students? Engineering research drives innovation that directly improves our quality of life. It leads to the development of new technologies, infrastructure, and solutions that address some of the world's most pressing challenges, such as sustainable energy systems to combat climate change, advancing medical devices and treatments to improve healthcare, and developing resilient infrastructure to protect communities from natural disasters. These are large scale issues that impact everyone around the world, and naturally, students are excited for the opportunity to make a difference on a large scale.

For Alexander, his Polygence engineering project helped him see the impact he could make on the daily lives of others. “Observing the same delivery vans, I studied [through my research] in my [own] neighborhood made me realize the tangible impact of my research on society, and it makes me feel inspired that I was able to conduct impactful STEM research on something that affects me and many others daily.” 

Youssef Abdehalim, a third-year mechanical engineering student at Northwestern, completed an incredibly impactful Polygence engineering project that can prevent injuries and high costs in extreme weather. Youssef created an AutoMelter, a device that can detect snow and spray a solution to melt the snow. Youssef created this prototype because he found that 2,000 deaths and 140,000 injuries occur every year in the US due to snowy and icy roads despite gritters. The AutoMelter would eliminate most of these accidents since it starts working instantly as soon as it senses snowfall, preventing snow from even sticking in the first place! 

The Role of Mentorship in Engineering Research

Mentorship plays a huge role in creating an incredible learning experience for engineering research projects. In Polygence’s core research program, Polygence mentors are industry experts who can not only help students learn valuable, industry-specific skills but also personally guide them on the direction of their research projects based on what they know the student is interested in. Especially for a technical topic like engineering, it can be very helpful to have a mentor by your side for your research project.

Alexander’s mentor was Alex, a Master of Engineering student with expertise in electric vehicles such as drones and bikes. Alex’s expertise ended up being a perfect fit for Alexander, who wanted to dive deeper into the world of delivery services and autonomous drones. When you can find an engineering mentor who overlaps with your interests, great things can happen, as you’ll be able to learn more from your mentor and your mentor will have a better idea of how to help you with your specific topic! You can also read our blog article on Why Research Mentorship is Critical for High School Students.

For Youssef’s AutoMelter project, his mentor Hebert guided him in learning specifically about Arduino’s electronics, which were key to building the AutoMelter. In Youssef’s words, Hebert was “super patient with me. He was so open to hearing all sorts of crazy ideas and worked with me to go through the thinking process of why it wouldn't be viable or why it could be viable instead of just telling me, ‘No that doesn't work.’” In great mentorship relationships like Youssef’s and Hebert’s, mentors can serve more as partners who work with you rather than just someone who only teaches you skills.

The Long-Term Academic and Career Benefits of Engineering Research

One of the core benefits of engineering research projects is the skills that you learn along the way. Alexander’s research involved the use of various computer programs and different coding languages, and in his words, the skills he gained in computer science “have proven invaluable.” Further, as Alexander explains, “They've not only prepared me for my Mechanical Engineering degree but also enabled me to excel in two summer internships - one as a front-end developer at an AI startup and another in software engineering.” The tangible skills that you gain from a research project can help you become a stronger candidate for future internships and research positions!

Further, once you’ve completed your engineering research, you also have the unique opportunity to showcase your research. Showcasing your research is important because after you’ve done the hard work of collecting/analyzing data and gathering evidence, you can put all of that together into an end product that you can share with others. Alexander chose to showcase his research by writing a research paper and also presenting his research verbally at Polygence’s bi-annual Symposium of Rising Scholars. These are now pieces of work that can live on forever and that Alexander can easily share with companies, professors, and friends. Youssef also chose to write a research paper and presented it at the Symposium of Rising Scholars, where he won the award for Most Innovative Project! You can read our blog to learn more about how to publish a research paper.

In addition, a mentored engineering research project can enhance your resume and almost any college application, making you stand out to admissions committees and internship employers. You can read here to learn more about showcasing your research on college applications. Just be sure to communicate not just your findings but also the process you took to come to your conclusions! Colleges and internship employers care a lot about your process, the way you think, and how you analyze and interpret evidence.

Finally, showcasing your research helps you to expand your network and meet others who can help you with your career. Obviously, your research project mentor can be a great resource for you even after you’ve completed your project. But your showcased research can also open many other doors. For example, Alexander found that “Doing scientific research at Polygence helped broaden my network in the field of academia, connecting with Ph.Ds and other respected scholars from schools like Stanford, Cornell, Princeton, and more. Additionally, the research experience I've gained has helped me secure an undergraduate researcher position in two professors' research groups this fall at the University of Pittsburgh's School of Engineering.” Research projects like Alexander’s can open doors to opportunities in both academia and industry. For more on how you can reach out to professors about research opportunities, check out our blog on How To Cold Email Professors.

To recap, engineering research projects can be extremely impactful and are more important than ever in our world today. Further, mentorship can play a key role in helping you succeed in your research project. Lastly, through an engineering research project, you can learn critical skills that will boost your resume for colleges and internships, learn how to showcase your research and expand your network of other researchers and employers.

If an engineering research project sounds interesting to you, here’s Alexander’s advice: “Take something you're passionate about and ask questions that haven't been asked before. There is such an interdisciplinary nature in so many different areas/topics of STEM, the humanities, society, politics, and more that there is always something new to be discovered. Polygence provides an excellent platform to explore these intersections.”

Here’s what Youssef suggested for anyone considering Polygence: “I would say definitely do it, and the reason for that is because this is one of the very rare experiences that you get as a high school student or even an undergrad to work on something that is purely your idea instead of someone else’s. It's not something that's easily accessible. I really recommend it because as I mentioned, it was my first time in high school feeling like a real engineer.”

Check out Polygence’s core research program, where you can learn from an expert engineering mentor who can provide personalized support in your research process. Through Polygence, you can also learn about different showcasing methods to see which one is best suited for your project. If you’re new to engineering and stuck on what specific topic to research, check out our article on 10 Engineering Project Ideas for High Schoolers!