University of Dayton Research Institute

Student Researcher

January 2024 • Wright-Patterson AFB, OH

What I liked

My co-op experience was not a typical one for most students. Many of the other students working for the summer worked on a variety of different things ranging from test specimen preparation (polishing, imaging, crack-growth replications) to other small jobs/projects. Over the course of the last 8 months, I've been nearly exclusively working on a single project of considerable size which has included learning Python, generating large SolidWorks assemblies, mechanical design, hands-on testing of said project, presentations to leadership, and much more. Working on a project of this size for this duration has paralleled that of a true full-time job rather than a co-op which I have thoroughly enjoyed. UDRI is a great company that invests a lot in its employees and co-ops. I also had the opportunity to work with a very knowledgeable mentor whose given me a new perspective on the engineering field

What I wish was different

I wish I would've had the opportunity to take on more work. There were many times when I was working on my project that I was waiting for some piece of hardware to come in that was keeping me from making progress. During these times it would've been nice to have the opportunity to take on more work, but unfortunately, it was difficult in my situation to find something to do for only a day or two on random occasions. I believe this is something that would be solved in a full-time position rather than a co-op with limited experience. Other than this, my experience so far has been great and filled with many new learning opportunities.

Advice

In my experience during this work term, I've learned that students who are eager to learn and are not afraid of challenges are the ones who will have the most success. In research, it's hard to get by if you dread having to learn new topics on your own, work independently, give presentations, write papers, and more. If you plan on taking a research-oriented co-op position, understand that it is a never-ending process of learning, applying what you learn, and presenting what you learned and how you applied it. If this sounds interesting to you, as it did me, you will love working for UDRI. The interest in your job shown towards leadership will parallel the amount and quality of work coming your way. The more you treat your co-op positions as a foundation for your career at your company, the better chance you have of sticking around.

Be the first to mark this as helpful

Spring Engineering Co-op

January - May 2022 • Dayton, OH

What I liked

I really like working with the team. They are very inclusive and go out of their way to ensure you learn about the field. My supervisor was amazing as he acted as a mentor. He went out of his way to help me with my career by answering my questions for career advise and helping me network. He also assisted me in fabricating an excellent and successful test plan. The projects were interesting and beneficial. Plus, the team is serious yet fun. The atmosphere is amazing.

What I wish was different

I wish I had more experience for my major. The position focused more on mechanical engineering work, meanwhile my degree is for computer engineering. I still worked on smaller projects related to electrical or computer engineering. I wish I worked on larger electrical or computer engineering projects.

Advice

Enjoy your time. The team is fun and the atmosphere is energetic and supportive. The coworkers treat you like you are a part of the team. See yourself as a part of the team and join in on the jokes. We can work well together while cracking dad jokes. So if you see yourself as a part of the team, the projects become exciting and exhilarating.

Be the first to mark this as helpful

Student Researcher

January 2024 • Dayton, OH

What I liked

The UDRI Digital Transformation Center (DTC) provides a unique opportunity to explore areas of personal interest and get creative. Throughout my time at the DTC, I had the opportunity to perform research in the areas of robotics, autonomy, and 3D data processing. None of these areas are the focus of the DTC, nor are they specialties of the DTC. However, the DTC maintains a "try and see what happens" mentality, which allowed me to spearhead my own research project which will continue to grow. I am very grateful for the opportunities provided by the DTC team.

What I wish was different

Working at a research institute is much different than most industry companies. While UDRI provides an opportunity to be creative and innovative, it is not without some limits. Most projects are on contract with the Air Force, or some other branch of the DoD. Because of this, the work that is done is mostly limited to projects that these specific customers are willing to fund. So, if you are someone who prefers to build solutions for average people, and not for the DoD, UDRI may not be for you. However, much of the innovative technology developed through these research endeavors often results in implications beyond military application.

Advice

UDRI has a primary goal of pleasing its government customers. Because of this, any ideas you have that could improve the outcome of your working contract will be heard. If you have any ideas of how to make things better, do not hesitate to make your voice heard, even if you are unsure of your idea. Not only will voicing your own ideas benefit UDRI and its customers, but it will allow you to do more work that you can truly be proud of.

Be the first to mark this as helpful

RI COOP Student Scholar

January 2024 • Dayton, OH

What I liked

I was tasked with completing mass balances and creating Process Flow Diagrams for our System. I was also tasked with writing papers and creating Test Plans for our System. I liked the environment that UDRI has. It is very welcoming and you have a sense of belonging. My team members were very nice and helpful throughout the whole process. They were always there to help with a project or to steer me in the right direction if I got lost or confused.

What I wish was different

I wish I would have had more Chemical Engineering Classes before taking this specific CO-OP. There were a lot of advanced Chemical engineering techniques that I had to use in this job, for example, separations. My supervisor was very understanding of this and actually took time and taught me different concepts that I can now take back with me to classes. The whole team was very accommodating and if I was confused with a concept they would break it down for me and help me understand it.

Advice

Don't be afraid to ask the question. Most of the time I was scared to ask questions, but when I started asking questions is when I started to become better at my job. I started contributing more to meetings and feeling more confident in myself and my knowledge. I was understanding concepts more and I found myself being able to answer other team members questions and becoming a part of the team.

Be the first to mark this as helpful

Advanced Manufacturing Intern

November 2022 • Dayton, OH

What I liked

Working at UDRI I was exposed to a multitude of projects where I could learn from each. Compared to previous internships where I was working on a singular project. It was fresh and exciting to work on many projects with different UDRI staff. From designing additively manufactured wind tunnel models to processing high temp oven seals, I was exposed to many different problems. Each member of my group helped mentor and guide me throughout my time at UDRI. As a result, I feel that I learned much more than if I simply worked on one project.

What I wish was different

My office space was put under construction during my term and I was moved into a smaller office farther away from my lab space. I wish the construction would have been finished in a shorter amount of time. The ordering software UDRI uses to order new lab materials was incredibly glitchy and did not work for me most of the time. The result was I had to rely on others to order materials that my lab needed to function.

Advice

Make sure to always be asking for more things to do. Just because you have one supervisor does not mean you cannot help others with their work. Many of the UDRI staff I engaged with were actually enthusiastic about giving me work on their projects to complete. Due to how many projects can be going on at a given time, you will be able to fill your time with meaningful projects helping you grow as an engineer.

Be the first to mark this as helpful

Advanced Composites Testing - Research Assistant Spring Co-op

January - August 2023 • Dayton, OH

What I liked

I liked the way my supervisors and team helped me gradually learn the different processes and tasks they work on every day. As the spring semester progressed, I went from assisting with projects to running a few on my own. Some of these projects range from building different items to improve the quality of the lab to running an entire project for a customer on my own. My team was very knowledgeable and helped me learn as I was working, which made the experience even more enjoyable for me. The skills I learned while working in this position have built my confidence up and have allowed me to deepen my knowledge on the process a research engineer goes through day to day. During the summer semester, I got to work on more on different projects with less supervision and was given the opportunities to show what I had been learning during the spring semester and apply those skills frequently. I got more in-depth with reporting and data calculations during the summer, which allowed me to work on and fine tune my writing skills. Overall, the work term between January and August gave me a well rounded experience in the research side of engineering.

What I wish was different

I would not wish for anything to have been different. I accepted this position knowing that research and industry are two different entities. Coming in with an open mind allowed me to overcome the initial worry of not enjoying the position I was hired for. I felt confident throughout the term that I was fitting well within UDRI and was enjoying the work I was doing.

Advice

One piece of advice for this experience is be prepared to receive a lot of work. The work and projects you will have during your time will increase quickly, and it can easily be overwhelming at first. This job helps build time management skills, navigate different hands-on projects, and show the research side of engineering in different ways. This position will change how you view research in engineering and help enhance your knowledge and skills needed after college.

Be the first to mark this as helpful

Additive Manufacturing Student

March 2023 • Dayton, OH

What I liked

I was primarily given one machine to operate, in which I constructed multiple builds from start to finish for either internal or outgoing processes. I also learned multiple new skills by teaming up with different engineers from process engineers to design engineers. Due to this collaborative space I was able to excel in quickly grasping new information and learning new processes in which I could help. Everyone was more than willing to assist me in my work which was a delight.

What I wish was different

One thing I wish was different is that all of the interns could work on at least one project together. We all had our own projects to work on and could ask the others for help however if there was one project where we had to create and finish a product, I would've found that to be amazing. By doing this we could take the skills and knowledge we learned from our previous projects and apply it to this new one where we could be adventurous and try new things. This would elevate the already highly collaborative space into something so much better.

Advice

Be prepared to step into something completely new. This place shows you a side of engineering most don't think about, because of this it is easy to get overwhelmed with all the information. However this place is open, in which you could talk to anyone for advice or just banter. This site showed me a new perspective on not just engineering but business as well. So do not be afraid to step out of the box and learn form others.

Be the first to mark this as helpful

Engineering Co-op

January - May 2023 • Wright-Patterson AFB, OH

What I liked

One thing that I really enjoyed about working with the Structures and Materials group at UDRI was the people. Everyone was incredibly hospitable and patient with me when I didn’t understand certain concepts. My main focus this semester was monitoring crack growth on a specimen made of a titanium alloy. I did this by replicating the surface of the specimen and examining said replications under a microscope.

What I wish was different

There isn’t really much that I wish was different. I think that maybe there was a little bit more opportunity for me to learn that I didn’t take advantage of. There were times where there wasn’t much to do, and I feel that I could’ve better utilized this time to learn about the various experiments and happenings around the office. Overall, it was an educational experience that I would recommend!

Advice

One piece of advice that I would share about this experience would be to try to learn as much as you can. Even if you don’t necessarily have anything to work on, I would suggest maybe asking other people about what they are doing and try to learn in that way. Everyone is very passionate about what they’re doing and willing to share it with you. I would also suggest just getting to know your coworkers. I really enjoyed getting to know everyone and it made the day go by a little bit faster.

Be the first to mark this as helpful

Student Researcher

May 2022 • Dayton, OH

What I liked

This may be something that others won't like, but my time here has entirely been an educational one. It almost feels like I'm some outside person observing and learning what all of the full-time engineers and technicians are working on. I'm able to walk up to a co-worker and ask what they are up to, what the project is about, what prompted it, his ideas about their current experiment, the whole works. I know some people may want an experience with more of a "project is given, and have to grind to figure it out and finish it," but I am almost taking my internship as a "going to school out in the field" situation. I think a big reason why I'm able to be so casual with my almost probe questioning is because of how relaxed the whole environment is. This may be a case of my division (Structural Materials with Nick Gagliardi), but most of the time there's only one to two people in the basement labs, a couple of people at their cubicles looking at data, and a couple working from home. You won't find people rushing deadlines, and you won't find anyone mad if you ask to take time off. I was almost shocked when I asked my supervisor about vacation, and he said "just put your requested time in the calendar and I'll approve it".

What I wish was different

I would be lying if the relaxed environment never got on my nerves. It was a nice surprise to not be forced to come to work at 8am sharp, (you are able to come in at any time you want, and leave any time you want) and not have a project that has deadlines every week. But, sometimes it can feel like you have nothing to do. UDRI is a contract based company, so if there's no new contracts, there's no new work to do. And, if the only jobs are ones that are super specific and/or advanced, then the interns who aren't done with school yet probably be much help to the engineers. During those times it was very much up to me to find work around the labs and offices to do.

Advice

Don't be scared with asking questions, and more importantly, don't be scared with not knowing as much. UDRI is a part of the University of Dayton as a whole, so of course they know that college students aren't always super knowledgeable. The employees know that you are there to observe and learn. The best days I've had so far are the ones where I got to see how some fancy machine or process worked. That's the type of learning you won't find in a classroom.

Be the first to mark this as helpful

Engineering Co-op

January - December 2021 • Dayton, OH

What I liked

I liked that I could see many different parts of the composites research process. I also liked how the work environment was very flexible and not every day looks the same.

What I wish was different

I wish I had more work to do. There were many days where it was difficult to find work.

Advice

Be willing to work with new groups to see other aspects of research.

Be the first to mark this as helpful

Research Student

May - August 2022 • Dayton, OH

What I liked

I liked that as I entered my second co-op term with UDRI, I was able to be more independent with my work. Since I had already completed my training and certifications the previous term, I was able to completely focus on my research. I also liked seeing more students join UDRI during the summer. It made the work environment to be more laidback and it gave me the opportunity to learn things from other students rather than my mentors.

What I wish was different

I had the opportunity to work on some great projects in my department this summer. One thing that I wish I could change would be my commitment to my co-op. I took summer classes with my summer co-op. This led to me cutting back hours in order to succeed in my classes. I wish that I would have more time with my co-op because I felt like it ended before it really started.

Advice

An advice I would share about this experience is that this positions requires extreme attention and ability to adapt. Since we work on research projects, students have to keep in mind about how their work evidently effects the end result of the research. Paying attention to the small details prevents mistakes in the workplace and it keeps everyone safe. In terms of adapting, students should be able to adapt to situations that they are not familiar with. This can also be said about skills; students should be eager to learn new skill sets in order to complete the work.

Be the first to mark this as helpful

Summer 2022 Engineering Co-op

May - August 2022 • Dayton, OH

What I liked

I really like my mentor, especially going into the second co-op term. My mentor gave me more free reign of my task. He also was very supportive as I got overwhelmed with some projects. My mentor and his support made this co-op experience out of this world. I highly recommend Chris Venturella as a mentor.

What I wish was different

I wish that some of my coworkers were more considerate of their words. There were some instances of inappropriate comments when I began working with a black curling iron. It happened only a handful of times but I expressed my uncomfortable feelings and so the comments were minimal.

Advice

Chris Venturella is an amazing mentor. I was given many opportunities to network and help on various projects. I recommend asking to assist on a project if you are interested. If you express your interest, Chris will try to find a current project to increase your experience. The team is also extremely accepting on projects if you have the interest.

Be the first to mark this as helpful

Engineering Intern

May - August 2022 • Dayton, OH

What I liked

I definitely liked how much there is to learn and discover here. UDRI is working on so many projects, most with their own equipment, techniques, and tools. I feel like almost every day I was doing something different. I could spend years here barely scratching the surface of all there is to offer.

What I wish was different

I wish there were more projects for me to work on. I had one main project, but sometimes there would be something I had to wait on before I could continue with my project. I like to keep busy, so when my project was stalled and I didn't have any little odds and ends to do I wished for a second project. However, learning and doing those odds and ends allowed me to lean more than just my main project.

Advice

I would say to not be daunted by how much there is to learn. At first, there is so many new terms and complex ideas and machinery. But all you have to do is take the time to learn. They are so patient, they don't mind repeating themselves three or four times because they want you to learn! Don't be afraid to ask questions and don't be afraid to learn.

Be the first to mark this as helpful

Engineering Co-op

May - July 2022 • Wright-Patterson AFB, OH

What I liked

I enjoyed all the possible lab equipment that I was able to utilize and learn from the time I was there. This was not a stressful position where there were no immediate deadlines. I was able to take my time on projects and do a deep dive into why each failure occurred. I also continued to fine tune my skills in microscopy and learn steps on how to analyze failures. I really enjoyed all the resources I could learn from over years of data collection and practice. Finally, I really liked that the schedule was flexible.

What I wish was different

The main thing that I would have liked to be different is more professionalism. This is by no means reflective of all employees, but there were about 2 employees that were continually disrespectful to me. Another thing that I wish would have been different if there were more projects coming in that I could have worked on in the beginning of my work term. At the beginning there were not many pressing projects in the first week or two, and I always like to remain constantly busy most of the I am there.

Advice

One piece of advise that I would give is to always look for new opportunities to gain knowledge. There are so many avenues to learn from. This could include testing the equipment in the lab, reading manuals and reports, and even talking with professionals. All of the components are there for Co-ops to succeed and all that needs to be done is to have the determination to learn.

Be the first to mark this as helpful

Mechanical Engineering Co-Op

May - December 2021 • Dayton, OH

What I liked

I liked the atmosphere. Everything is very teamwork-oriented and I felt like I was in a respectful, supportive environment where everyone is working towards a common goal.

What I wish was different

Advice

I would recommend getting involved in as many projects as you can get your hands on. I was able to experience a number of different projects and therefore hone a number of different skills. This also keeps work interesting and exciting.

Be the first to mark this as helpful