The Mortenson Center provides financial support to undergraduate engineering students in the Discovery Learning Apprenticeship (DLA) program. These students are paid for hourly research with faculty whose work aligns with our mission. See what the 2022-23 Mortenson Center DLA's are doing:

 

Man with dark hair smiling and wearing a dark grey plaid sweaterLuis Munoz

Environmental Engineering

Analyzing factors impacting the social sustainability of sanitation systems with Global Projects and Organizations

Luis Moniz is using household surveys from rural Peru and interviews with stakeholders to analyze factors impacting social sustanability of sanitation systems. The project seeks to better understand what motivates households to adapt, construct, and use improved sanitation.

 

 

 

Man with blond hair learning against a pillar in a blue button down shirt and black tieLuke Tiefel 

Environmental Engineering

Using ultraviolet (UV) lights to disinfect biofilm formations 

Luke Tiefel is focusing on the use of UV lights to disinfect biofilm formations, especially in water distribution systems. This work aims to see how effective UV lights are in the inactivation of biofilm formations, with the hopes of incorporating this disinfection method over the widely used alternative chlorine. 

 

 

 

Man with brown hair smiling and wearing a teal short sleeved shirtBen DeBlasio

Aerospace Engineering

Investigating how social justice in college programs influences career paths

Ben DeBlasio is investigating how college programs of social justice and engineering equality influence career paths of Global Engineering students post-graduation. This research aims to build an understanding of the career aspirations and learning experiences these students undergo.

 

 

 

Man with curly hair in brown collard shirt smilingWilliam MacDonald

Engineering Physics

Creating a real-time speech translation system within augmented reality (AR)

William MacDonald is creating a system within an AR environment that translates speech between two languages in real-time. The project seeks to find the most efficient way of presenting translated text or audio within an AR environment and then implementing the system with headsets. 

 

 

 

Woman with blonde, armpit length heir smiling in a black shirtHannah Sanders

Environmental Engineering

Organizing a Living Learning Lab between university students

Hannah Sanders is working as an undergraduate research assistant for the Building A Legacy in Engineering Project. Her role in the project is to organize for the collaborative Living Learning Lab between Tuskegee University and CU Boulder University students.