History of the IMMERSE Program

The IMMERSE program was initiated in 2003 by Professors Aaron Hawkins and Stephen Schultz of BYU’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. Undergraduate research was being emphasized at the university’s administration level and BYU’s Office of Research and Creative Activities (ORCA) was offering grant money to support faculty-directed student activities. Hawkins and Schultz’s proposal for an undergraduate research effort focused on microelectronics and microfabrication was accepted by ORCA, and the first handful of students were hired in the summer of 2003. Originally called the Microfabrication Mentoring Environment (MME), the program began with the goal of having every undergraduate student publish some type of scientific paper. Students were given a number of high risk research projects that eventually led to larger, externally funded programs. Additionally, students were asked to help establish standard processes in our revamped cleanroom facility and document them via the internet. Documentation efforts became a staple of the program with each student learning HTML and contributing to the now very popular IML Website. From 2003 to 2007, 51 students have been employed by this program and its success has been far-reaching. The vast majority of participating students have published a scientific paper while part of the program and gone on to graduate school. Funding for student salaries has come from a combination of ORCA mentoring funds, the National Science Foundation’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates program, external research project sponsors like the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense, and corporate donors. In 2007, the program’s name was officially changed to IMMERSE to more accurately reflect its goals and structure and the Micron Foundation became a major sponsor. With added funding, IMMERSE was expanded to include fifteen to twenty undergraduate students per year. Additional faculty from BYU’s college of engineering were also made eligible to participate in the program as mentors.