P.C. Rossin College of
Engineering and Applied Science
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We live in a time of fast-paced, constantly-evolving issues, opportunities, and technologies that ripple across areas such as health, energy, and global sustainability. Real-world challenges are nothing like the neatly packaged exercises presented in textbooks. Problems are often unstructured, and defining the questions to address can be as elusive as their solutions.

Research is an exploratory process where students learn to confront, if not embrace, ambiguity and uncertainty. They develop instincts and confidence in their decisions, methods of measuring and analyzing progress, and proficiency in communicating ideas effectively. These are not just skills for success in the lab, they are skills for success in life—the same ones needed to tackle almost any challenge. Through programs like Lehigh's STEM-SI, the Clare Boothe Luce Research Scholars, and Inquiry to Impact projects, Lehigh's faculty are committed to providing meaningful research opportunities to all interested students. 

Undergraduate research is celebrated and promoted in the Rossin College, and more than 40% of our students participate in faculty-led research endeavors. This culture of research is on proud display during the annual David and Lorraine Freed Undergraduate Research Symposium. Held each spring, the Symposium showcases the capabilities of today's rising Lehigh Engineers, and highlights the resources and opportunities Lehigh provides to undergraduates. Review its Web site for examples of student researchers in action, or check out the links below!

Student Researcher Profiles:


Alyssa Arizola '23

"Before Lehigh, I used to think of research like, oh, that sounds so boring. Who wants to sit in a lab all day? But being on this project and seeing the work of the other professors in the department has definitely changed my perspective."


NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates

Meet Lehigh students who took part in research projects through this prestigious national program that focused on acoustical engineering, gesture detection, and the colorization patterns in comic books.


Biomedical impact

Undergraduate researchers win NIH award for innovative sickle cell diagnostic device that works like a pregnancy test, detecting the proteins that reveal sickle cell disease and sickle cell trait.


Big Beam competition

The Lehigh team of Jacob Graham, Brian Perhamus, and Joshua Gordon, along with their faculty advisor Clay Naito, wins best video award, places third in 2021 PCI Big Beam competition.


Sareena Karim '22

If there’s one thing that research has taught Sareena Karim, it's to have an open mind. Karim, whose mother has multiple sclerosis, had long targeted a career in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering.


NSF Graduate Research Fellowships

Prestigious grants recognizing research potential go to undergraduate students of Lehigh's bioengineering, materials science, and mechanical engineering programs as they embark upon graduate study all over the U.S.—and right here at Lehigh.


Natasha Hunt '22

Sometimes, it's hard to come up with a better word than "cool." For Natasha Hunt, it best sums up her research experience at Lehigh. "You get to design the project and organize how it goes. But the failures are research, too, because when things don’t work out, you learn so much."


Clare Boothe Luce Research Scholars

Lehigh engineers and student athletes Diana Hammerstone '20 (above), Sarah Boyer '20, and Ashleigh Crawford '20 had a summer of research through the support of the Clare Booth Luce program.