Undergraduate students in Computer Science and Engineering are encouraged to get involved in research as a way to deepen their knowledge, build new skills, and explore emerging areas of computing. Research experience allows students to work closely with faculty on real problems in areas such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data science, human–computer interaction, and computer systems.
Some research positions are paid, while others are unpaid or taken for credit. Opportunities occasionally appear on Handshake, but the majority arise through direct conversations with faculty members. Students are strongly encouraged to review faculty research interests and reach out to professors whose work aligns with their own curiosity or career goals.
Participating in research is one of the most effective ways for undergraduates to distinguish themselves when applying for internships, full-time positions, or graduate study. It demonstrates initiative, problem-solving ability, and a willingness to engage with complex technical challenges beyond the classroom. Whether contributing to an existing project or helping launch a new line of inquiry, students gain valuable experience that strengthens both their academic and professional trajectories.
Students interested in getting started can explore faculty webpages, attend department events where research is presented, or contact the CSE advising team for guidance.
Research Website: Research Group | Roberto Palmieri | PhD
Lab/Research Group: Scalable Systems & Software Research Group
Areas of Research: Parallel Computing, Synchronization, Distributed Systems, Transactional Memory, Heterogeneous/GPU Computing
Expected Experience: CSE 241 (Database), CSE 303 (Operating Systems), CSE 340 (Algorithms)
Preferred Experience: CSE 375 (Parallel programming), CSE 376 (Distributed Systems)
Research Website: Lehigh Blockchain | Blockchain at Lehigh University
Lab/Research Group: Lehigh Blockchain, Scalable Systems & Software Research Group
Areas of Research: Blockchain Systems, Database Systems
Expected Experience: CSE 241 (Blockchain)
Research Website: Ahmed Hassan | Home
Lab/Research Group: Scalable Systems & Software Research Group
Areas of Research: Concurrency and Synchronization, Concurrent and Transactional Data Structures, Multiprocessor Programming, Distributed Computing, Transactional Memory
Expected Experience:CSE303, CSE340
Preferred Experience:.CSE241, CSE375, CSE376
Research Website: Héctor Muñoz-Avila's Homepage
Lab/Research Group: Hector Munoz-Avila's Research
Areas of Research: AI, AI Alignment, AI grounding
Expected Experience: CSE109, MATH231
Research Website: Yu Yang Research, Lehigh University
Lab/Research Group: Yu Yang Group, Lehigh University
Areas of Research: Mobile and Ubiquitous Sensing, Spatial-Temporal Machine Learning, Reinforcement Learning, Foundation Models
Expected Experience: Strong programming skills
Preferred Experiece: Experience Implementing Machine Learning Algorithms