Undergraduate News

Instead of Just Telling Students to Solve Problems, Teach Them How

October 10, 2023

Problem solving is a critical skill for technical education and technical careers of all types. But what are best practices for teaching problem solving to high school and college students? The UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering is on the forefront of efforts to improve how problem solving is taught.  Full Story

Bioengineering Undergraduate Awarded Public Service Scholarship

October 5, 2023

Daniel John, a bioengineering undergraduate student at UC San Diego, was one of 11 students from across the state awarded the $15,000 Strauss Scholarship for outstanding students developing social change or public service projects.  Full Story

Mars Rover Team Shines in Utah Desert

September 12, 2023

The Mars rover built by undergraduate students at the University of California San Diego rocketed to 5th place at the University Rover Challenge this summer in the Utah desert.  Full Story

Historic Red Tide Event of 2020 Fueled by Plankton Super Swimmers

August 28, 2023

For the first time, a study led by scientists at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Jacobs School of Engineering has pinpointed how this plankton species — a dinoflagellate — was able to create such an exceptionally dense bloom that led to an exceptional red tide event.  Full Story

UC San Diego Engineering Undergrads Get Hands-On Lab Experience in the Summertime

August 24, 2023

The Guided Engineering Apprenticeship in Research program and sponsoring organizations are providing funding for hard-working engineering students to engage in further research this summer. The summer program, known as GEAR to Career, gives students extra time in the lab to deepen their skills. Full Story

Grassroots Graduate School Mentorship Program

July 20, 2023

Soon after Alexander Chen began as a chemical engineering graduate student at UC San Diego, he stumbled on a problem that he couldn’t help but work to fix. Instead of just admiring the problem, Chen built a grassroots mentorship program to fix it.  Full Story

UC San Diego Formula Racing Team Breaks Its Own Records in Annual Competition

July 7, 2023

Triton Racing, the Formula Society of Automotive Engineers student team at UC San Diego, overcame serious obstacles to beat its all-time best performances in this year’s Formula Society of Automotive Engineers (FSAE) Competition at Michigan International Speedway, providing a thrilling example of what a real-world engineering education can look like. Full Story

Meet 6 UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering Undergraduates Receiving 2023 Awards for Excellence

June 16, 2023

Six students who have made significant contributions to their departments and surrounding communities at the Jacobs School of Engineering and the University of California San Diego will receive Awards of Excellence as part of Ring Ceremony 2023 on Saturday, June 17. Full Story

Building Bridges (Literally) is the Goal of Friendly Nationwide Engineering Competition

June 15, 2023

Student cheers mixed with the noise of power tools on a Saturday morning at Liontree Arena as more than 40 student teams, including one from UC San Diego, competed in the finals of a national steel bridge competition.    Full Story

The Class of 2023: Dedicated to Their Dreams

June 1, 2023

UC San Diego’s Class of 2023 looks forward to diving into their future. Their passions range from international environmental equity to artificial intelligence and from biosustainability to lasers and optics. Together, they forged their own pathways at UC San Diego and look forward to taking their next steps. Our soon-to-be alumni are ready to turn their tassels and start making their dreams into reality. Full Story

Engineering Students Present Laser-Driven Aircraft Propulsion Proposal to NASA

May 31, 2023

A group of undergraduate and masters engineering students from UC San Diego has been selected as one of eight finalists in the 2023 Gateways to Blue Skies: Clean Aviation Energy (Blue Skies) Competition. The students will present their ideas for future sources of aviation power to a panel of industry experts at the 2023 Blue Skies Forum, June 1-2, 2023, at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, which will be livestreamed globally. Full Story

This student organization builds neurotechnology devices

April 18, 2023

UC San Diego students will present three projects at an event that will bring together teams for five University of California campuses April 29 at UCLA. The neuro-tech conference  is organized by student organizations at UC San Diego, UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz and UC Davis.   Full Story

Meet the Inaugural Cohort of ServiceNow Scholars

March 2, 2023

Nine undergraduate computer science and engineering students at the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego have been selected as inaugural recipients of the ServiceNow scholarship. ServiceNow Scholars are computer science students with outstanding academic merit, including students who have made or show potential to contribute to diversity, equity and inclusion; first generation; and low-income students.  Full Story

Oral Exams Improve Engineering Student Performance, Motivation

February 23, 2023

The use of oral exams in engineering courses increased students’ motivation to learn, particularly in first-generation college students, according to preliminary findings from a study of undergraduate students at the University of California San Diego. The oral exams also improved students' understanding of the content, evidenced by outcomes on subsequent written tests.  Full Story

Computer Engineering Student Awarded Fellowship for Women in Aerospace

February 14, 2023

Akshara Kuduvalli, a computer engineering undergraduate student at the University of California San Diego, has been selected as a 2023 Brooke Owens Fellow. The Fellowship is awarded to exceptional undergraduate women and gender minorities in aerospace. Kuduvalli is one of 47 fellows selected from more than 1,000 applicants from around the world. She is the fifth recipient from the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering in the seven-year history of the fellowship.  Full Story