Performing Engineering Research at Non-Ph.D. Granting Institutions Eric Larson Agnieszka Miguel Seattle University

Introduction  Many non-Ph.D. granting institutions require research or scholarship as part of the professor’s responsibilities Keep professor’s teaching (and mind) current Keep professor’s teaching (and mind) current Provide undergraduate research opportunities Provide undergraduate research opportunities Form a community of scholars Form a community of scholars Prestige / promoting the department Prestige / promoting the department

Research at Non-Ph.D. Institutions  Technical in nature teaching publications not sufficient teaching publications not sufficient could be interdisciplinary could be interdisciplinary  Publication requirement for tenure and promotion  May involve undergraduate / Masters students  Typically not expected to obtain grants  Many institutions have increased / added research expectations in recent years

Challenges  Higher teaching load  No graduate assistants  Limited existing research facilities  Small research budgets  Limited support and infrastructure for research activities

Research Tips  Tips based on interviews done with faculty in different disciplines and levels of experience.  Some tips are geared towards untenured faculty trying to obtain tenure.  Many tips are applicable to faculty at Ph.D. granting institutions.

Main Areas of Tips  Choosing a research project  Time management  Undergraduate research  Collaboration  Obtaining resources  More tips appear in the paper!

Choosing a Research Project  Continue in an area closely related to what you already know Not enough time or resources to change drastically Not enough time or resources to change drastically Easier to publish papers Easier to publish papers Established in research community Established in research community  Understand the limitations of your institution Smaller research budgets Smaller research budgets Less space for laboratories Less space for laboratories Very limited support for set up Very limited support for set up  Understand the factors used to judge scholarship / research Especially important when submitting papers Especially important when submitting papers

Time Management  Use summers for research Save long tasks for the summer Save long tasks for the summer One plan: do the research in the summer, write up the results during the school year One plan: do the research in the summer, write up the results during the school year  Plan research activities during the school year Reserve a block of time just for research Reserve a block of time just for research  Become an efficient teacher Better yet, try to get the teaching load reduced Better yet, try to get the teaching load reduced

Undergraduate Students  Carefully select projects Well-defined problem Well-defined problem Small learning curve Small learning curve  Have reasonable expectations Time is short (directed study, summer) Time is short (directed study, summer) Understand what the student wants out of the experience Understand what the student wants out of the experience May only do a part of the research project May only do a part of the research project  Good mentoring is important Avoid having students get stuck or side-tracked Avoid having students get stuck or side-tracked

Collaboration  Try to work together… Other colleagues at your institution Other colleagues at your institution Your Ph.D. advisor and/or former graduate students Your Ph.D. advisor and/or former graduate students Industry contacts Industry contacts Nearby research institutions Nearby research institutions Researchers in your field Researchers in your field  Understand how collaboration is viewed Don’t be a glorified graduate student Don’t be a glorified graduate student Demonstrate that you can lead a research project Demonstrate that you can lead a research project

Obtaining Resources  Keep asking for resources No one is going to come to your office handing out resources No one is going to come to your office handing out resources They want you to succeed at you research They want you to succeed at you research Be realistic about your goals / expectations Be realistic about your goals / expectations  Write grant proposals There are grants geared for smaller schools There are grants geared for smaller schools Forces you to organize / focus your research Forces you to organize / focus your research

Questions and Answers