Looking Ahead: Implementing a Robotics Research Lab at a Community College to Support Undergraduate Research

While participation in undergraduate research has many benefits for students including increased confidence and persistence in engineering, community college students do not have the same access to research as students at four-year institutions. To address this disparity, we developed a soft robotics-focused undergraduate research lab at a community college within a multi-institution collaboration. In addition to the benefits of undergraduate research, we see soft robotics research as particularly useful for creating diverse teams in engineering as a result of interdisciplinary challenges, new materials, and human-centered designs the field presents. Early assessment shows students are gaining skills in collaborating with others and building confidence in contributing to science. The success of this program shows the potential for broader impacts at other similar institutions.