The impact of undergraduate research experiences on students' academic development and retention in STEM fields is significant. Students' success in STEM fields is based on developing strong research and critical thinking skills that make it essential for students to engage in research activities throughout their academic programs. This work evaluates the effectiveness of undergraduate research experiences with respect to its influence on student retention and academic development. The cases presented are based on years of experience implementing undergraduate research programs in various STEM fields at Colorado State University Pueblo (CSU Pueblo) funded by HSI STEM Grants. The study seeks to establish a correlation between students' retention rates and academic development and students' involvement in undergraduate research experiences and programs during their academic journey. The work also delves into different mentoring approaches, including group-based and mentoring by individual faculty. This study provides the engineering and STEM education community with a deeper understanding of the advantages of undergraduate research experiences in enriching STEM and mentoring practices that can increase students' participation and mold their academic and professional character.
Gypseous soil covers approximately 30% of Iraqi lands and is widely used in geotechnical and construction engineering as it is. The demand for residential complexes has increased, so one of the significant challenges in studying gypsum soil due to its unique behavior is understanding its interaction with foundations, such as strip and square footing. This is because there is a lack of experiments that provide total displacement diagrams or failure envelopes, which are well-considered for non-problematic soil. The aim is to address a comprehensive understanding of the micromechanical properties of dry, saturated, and treated gypseous sandy soils and to analyze the interaction of strip base with this type of soil using particle image
... Show MoreIn this paper, we used two monomers, 3,3',4,4'-benzophenone tetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA) and m,m'-diaminobenzophenone (m, m’-DABP), to produce polyamide acid and then converted it to polyimide (PI). The effects of phosphoric acid (H3PO4) molarity (1, 2, and 3 M) on the structural, thermal, mechanical, and electrical characteristics of the polyimides/polyaniline (PI/PANI) nanocomposites were studied. Two sharp reflection peaks were developed by the addition of PANI to PI. When 3 M H3PO4 is added, the crystalline sharp peak loses some of its intensity. The complex formation of PI/PANI-H3PO4 was confi
... Show MoreBackground: Dental casts come into direct contact with impression materials and other items that are contaminated by saliva and blood from a patient's mouth, leaving the casts susceptible to cross-contamination. The disinfectant solutions of the impression materials cause various adverse reactions. Therefore, disinfection of dental casts may be effective in preventing cross infection. This study was carried out to evaluate the surface hardness, dimensional accuracy, reproduction of details and surface porosity of type III, type IV and type IV extra hard dental stone after immersion in and spray by using SOLO and Sodium hypochlorite disinfectant solutions. Materials and methods: 240 Stone samples were prepared in rubber rings, A total of 60
... Show MoreBackground: Pain, swelling and trismus are the main minor complications encountered after surgical extraction of impacted third molars, minimizing these postoperative complications is the center of many studies, one proposed method is the prophylactic administration of corticosteroids, the aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of prophylactic Dexamethasone administration on facial swelling and trismus after surgical extraction of impacted third molars. Materials and methods: 20 patients were included in this study, they were randomly divided into 2 groups of 10 patients each; a study group in which patients were given 8 mg. Dexamethasone 1 hour before surgical extraction of impacted third molar and 4 mg. 6 hours postoperatively, and a
... Show MoreBackground: To evaluate the ISO depth of cure of bulkfill composites and depth of cure which determined by Vickers microhardness test. Materials and Methods: Bulkfill resin composite specimens (n=150) were prepared of three bulkfill composite materials (TetricEvo Ceram, Quixfil and SDR) and light cured by Flash max p3 for 3, 10, 20 seconds and by wood pecker for 10, 20 seconds respectively, a mold was filled with one of the three bulkfill composites and light cured. The specimens removed from the mold and scraped by plastic spatula and the remaining length (absolute length) was measured which represent the ISO depth of cure. After that the specimens were returned into the mold and a microhardness indentation device applied on the specimen
... Show MoreBackground: Dental casts come into direct contact with impression materials and other items that are contaminated by saliva and blood from a patient's mouth, leaving the casts susceptible to cross-contamination. The disinfectant solutions of the impression materials cause various adverse reactions. Therefore, disinfection of dental casts may be effective in preventing cross infection. This study was carried out to evaluate the surface hardness, dimensional accuracy, reproduction of details and surface porosity of type III, type IV and type IV extra hard dental stone after immersion in and spray by using SOLO and Sodium hypochlorite disinfectant solutions. Materials and methods: 240 Stone samples were prepared in rubber rings, A total of 60
... Show MoreThis study aims to find out the effect of the mediator on scaffolding fourth yearstudent- teachers' teaching competencies and their self-efficacy. The present study combines scaffolding and self-efficacy by using a mediator on scaffolding students affects teaching competencies and selfefficacy and from the results of which the existence of student-teachers’ selfawareness was ensured as an effect of the same independent variable. The model affects their teaching competencies and led them to be aware of the needs of their pupils and themselves.