SURE Students Bring Systems Engineering to Annual Showcase

Undergraduate researchers from the Department of Systems Engineering shared their work at the recent SURE Poster Fair & Celebration, held Thursday, April 30, in the Lory Student Center Ballroom.

The Scott Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) pairs first-generation undergraduate students with faculty researchers, providing unique educational experiences and opportunities to contribute to hands-on research. This semester, Systems Engineering faculty mentored 11 SURE students, whose projects explored topics ranging from transportation cybersecurity and driver safety to artificial intelligence, aviation, and virtual reality for mental health.

One featured project, guided by Marie Vans, associate professor in Systems Engineering, explores whether stress relief could be as simple as stepping into a cozy café filled with playful cats—no matter where you are. The student-led project uses virtual reality to create a calming cat café experience, blending immersive technology with the proven benefits of animal interaction to make wellness more accessible and engaging.

Systems Engineering congratulates the following SURE students and their faculty mentors on their research accomplishments:

• DJ Cruz — Predicting Vehicle Purchase Decisions with Large Language Models: Incorporating Social Influence from Customer Networks
• Jason Patterson — Cybersecurity in Heavy Vehicle and Transportation Systems
• Norberto Hinojosa — Gathering Driver’s Visual Data Using Eye-Tracking Technology
• Carlos Rivera Marquez — Name That Alert: Alert Display Systems (HMI)
• Ernesto Maldonado — Name That Alert: How can AI explain alarms in a better way
• Joel Villalobos — Reworking of Existing Driving Simulator for External Software Connectivity
• Leandro Duran — System-Level Redesign of Driving Simulator for External Software Connectivity
• Austin Monroe — The Process of Becoming a Commercial Airline Pilot
• Mia Allen, Priscilla Shortridge, and Abdoulaye Ballo — Virtual Reality Cat Cafe for Mental Health Research

Learn more about these students and their projects here! We are proud of these students and grateful to the faculty mentors who helped make their research experiences possible.