A Vertically Integrated Laboratory (VIL) in Geomechanics and Energy Geotechnology Chloé F. Arson Georgia Institute of Technology Keywords: cross-generational, cross- disciplinary, long-term undergraduate research, academic performance, creativity

Why? Problem for undergraduates: disconnected courses, exam- based performance assessment, lack of long-term research experience, random international exposure Objectives: engage sophomore-to-Ph.D. students of all engineering disciplines in a Vertically Integrated Laboratory (VIL) and create an international research collaborative network in geomechanics and energy geotechnology

When? Started in Summer 2013 Doubled in size since then Published two conference students with VIL students – P. Wang*, E. Bakhtiary*, T. Christopher*, K. Francis*, S. Ecker*, C. Arson, Discrete Element modeling and analysis of shielding effects during the crushing of a grain. 49th US Rock Mechanics/Geomechanics Symposium of the American Rock Mechanics Association, San Francisco, CA, June 28 – July 1st 2015, 6p. – C. Zhu*, S.H. Jeong*, M. Dutta*, C. Arson, Image Processing of Fabric Evolution in Granular Salt subject to Diffusive Mass Transfer, Mechanical Behavior of Salt VIII, Rapid City, South Dakota, May 2015

Where? VIL = VIP (Fall, Spring) + Summer student exchanges with European institutions VIP = Vertically Integrated Program, created by Prof. E. Coyle about 10 years ago 1,2, now in dozens of universities in the U.S. and abroad VIP is considered as a full course: students sign up for an elective for 1 to 7 semesters and earn credits that count towards their degree 1. Coyle, E. J., J. P. Allebach, and J. G. Krueger, 2006: The vertically-integrated projects (vip) program in ece at purdue: Fully integrating undergraduate education and graduate research. In Proceedings of the 2006 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, pp. 18– Melkers, J., A. Kiopa, R. Abler, E. Coyle, J. Ernst, JM Krogmeier, and A. Johnson, 2012: The social web of engineering education: Knowledge exchange in integrated project teams. In Proceedings of the 2012 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition. Fall 2013 Fall 2014 Spring 2015

What? Activities: – VIP divided in sub-teams (hydraulic fracturing, rock healing, particle crushing) of 2-4 UG mentored by a PhD student and work on an on-going research project – Weekly VIP meeting (1h30): rotating presentations, research paper, mini- symposium – schedule documented in a syllabus – Assessment: research products, lab tasks (e.g. wikipage), team effort (peer- evaluations), design notebook – NSF funded student exchange program with Ecole des Ponts Paris Tech (France): interns take over the research work of VIP students during the summer What is your theory of change? – An alternative learning experience with customized mentoring – Integration of skillsets into a research project What has worked really well? – Cross-disciplinary collaboration – Mentoring across student generations with returning VIP students – Long-term research experience for undergraduate students (2-3 semesters)

Prognosis? Documentation of impact: research papers, wikipage, academic performance assessment in partnership with Georgia Tech VIP program Scale-up plans: dedicated meetings with Ph.D. students for VIP recruiting and mentoring strategies, publication objectives, public presentations VIP network-based learning Challenges: heterogeneous body of UG students, sometimes staying one semester only Advice: involve your graduate students early on and make it the culture of your research group, organize social events with VIP and Ph.D. students