A sub-orbital experimental payload for engaging undergraduate engineering students in interdisciplinary research

By participating in NASA's Undergraduate Student Instrumentation Project (USIP), faculty members from physics and electrical and computer engineering (ECE) mentored 21 students in extracurricular undergraduate research ranging from freshman through seniors, predominantly from the ECE department, but also from other departments in science and engineering. In this paper, we present technical details to complete an experimental payload for sub-orbital exploration under NASA's USIP as well as analysis of post-flight survey results for its effect on student learning experience. The USIP program was created by NASA to engage and educate interdisciplinary teams of undergraduate students by providing student-designed payloads access to sub-orbital vehicles. Undergraduates take primary responsibility for all aspects of the project, gaining valuable project management experience; preparing for technical reviews; finalizing project design; and completing payload construction, testing, and integration to ensure a successful flight. A post-flight survey was conducted to assess student learning outcomes and demonstrated that students found participation in USIP to be a valuable use of their time that increased their interest in pursuing a career in science, technology, engineering and/or mathematics. The project also provided an opportunity for students to further the learning objectives that are typically assessed in the a-k student outcomes required for ABET accreditation.