Integrating Research and Engineering Education: A Case Study of Undergraduate Research in Orthopaedics

Integrating undergraduate research with related coursework is an accepted method of piquing student interest, recruiting underrepresented minorities, and retaining students in all fields of engineering. While this is an accepted approach, it is by no means popular. On the one hand, it is generally considered valuable to apply knowledge gained through undergraduate coursework to industrially relevant problems, but such efforts require significant direct industry involvement and cooperation with faculty as well as dedicated students. If any of these elements are found lacking, the value of research in the undergraduate experience is compromised and the academic value of the research experience is limited. This paper presents a case study of orthopaedic research projects and emphasizes the undergraduate student perspective on research, finding projects and faculty mentors. The particular problems addressed include research in strength of woven materials, new applications of braided materials, and optimization of locking plate screw configurations for orthopaedic implant applications.