SOCORRO, N.M. – The Fidel Atrium became a showcase of summer research on Friday, August 2, 2019, as the students participating in two NSF-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates, or REU, sites presented their work. 

New Mexico Tech hosted 18 students who lived and worked on campus this summer while participating in the two REU sites: the Emerging Issues in Cybersecurity REU and the Intelligent Energetic Systems Engineering (INTENSE) REU.  The technical poster session was the culmination of 8 to 10 weeks of summer research here at NMT.

The Emerging Issues in Cybersecurity REU program sponsored nine students to explore cutting edge research in cybersecurity. The students worked with five faculty mentors from Computer Science and Management Departments. The topics of the research projects include intrusion detection for cyber-physical systems, botnet detection, secure logging for mobile devices, developing user mental model against semantic attacks, and credit card fraud and its impacts in rural America.

The INTENSE REU program also hosted nine students. They joined current NMT research programs with faculty and grad student mentors from Mechanical, Materials, and Chemical Engineering. The students completed individual research projects that investigated topics ranging from energy storage in flexible chains to tissue response to shock waves to development of drone designs for Saturn’s moons.  Students presented their work not only with posters, but through live demonstrations with prototype materials and design models. 

The NSF funds REU programs to provide opportunities for students to experience research that their home institutions may not have. The REU students also had chances to tour New Mexico for recreation and science learning.

Dr. Jun Zhen led the Cybersecurity REU. Dr. Michael Hargather led the INTENSE REU.

– NMT –