Join a multidisciplinary STEM research project and get money for school.
TO APPLY YOU MUST BE:
+ Pell Eligible, FASFA, low-income
+ U.S. Citizen
+ STEM Major
+ 3.0 GPA
+ 2+ yrs to graduation
Three Semester Program
Semester One
Join a small, interdisciplinary team of students from across STEM to tackle a real-world challenge that actually matters. Working alongside peers and faculty mentors, you’ll explore research, collaborate across disciplines, and use user-centered design thinking to develop creative, innovative solutions. Along the way, you’ll gain hands-on experience with research methods, teamwork, and problem-solving—building skills that translate directly to future coursework, internships, and careers. This semester is about curiosity, collaboration, and turning ideas into impact.
Semester Two
Turn ideas into action by designing, building, and testing a physical prototype that addresses your team’s real-world problem. Using extensive prototyping equipment and hands-on experimentation, you’ll iterate, refine, and deploy your design while generating new knowledge through discovery and innovation. You’ll also develop science communication skills by sharing your work beyond campus, including presenting at regional or national conferences. This semester is about building with purpose, learning through testing, and seeing your ideas move from concept to real-world impact.
Semester Three
Focus on entrepreneurship—learning how to turn innovative ideas into market-ready products. Building on solutions from earlier semesters or exploring new concepts, you’ll develop a business plan, conduct market analysis, and learn the fundamentals of taking a product to market. Working closely with Innovation Plaza, you’ll gain hands-on experience in entrepreneurship and product development, refine your ideas through pitching and feedback, and share your work at regional or national conferences. This semester is about transforming creativity and research into real-world ventures with the potential for lasting impact.
Welcome
The National Science Foundation Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) Program addresses the need for a high-quality STEM workforce in areas of national priorities. The program seeks to increase and understand the success of low-income, academically talented students with demonstrated financial need who are pursuing associate, baccalaureate, or graduate degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The NSF S-STEM program emphasizes the importance of recruiting students to science and engineering disciplines, mentoring and supporting students through degree completion, and facilitating student career placement in the STEM workforce.
As part of the INSPIRE program: students enroll in a 1-credit three-hour class for three semesters to design and prototype a solution to a real-world problem in an interdisciplinary group, meet with an assigned faculty mentor to learn more about their future profession, and maintain their GPA.
The goals of the INSPIRE program are to:
- Increase student retention and degree completion rates
- Increase student awareness of career options in their chosen degree
- Strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration among STEM disciplines
- Increase problem solving and critical thinking abilities in students
- Strengthen student creativity/innovation and learning gains
- Improve student academic achievement
Students have often reported that they found value in the program, projects, and collaboration within the INSPIRE program. Student reflections at the end of the semester have articulated this:
“Inspire has provided me with the opportunity to develop in ways that I did not foresee prior to the program. There were many tasks that challenged me to try and be creative and work within a timeframe that will be seen later on down the road.”
“Throughout this semester, my participation in the Inspire program has provided invaluable insights into navigating a STEM degree. This program has not only enriched my academic knowledge but has also played a pivotal role in my personal growth. One notable aspect is the cultivation of my teamwork skills, an area where I previously faced challenges. The program has allowed me to overcome these hurdles, fostering a sense of adequacy in collaborative efforts. As a result, I find myself better equipped to engage in effective teamwork”
“This INSPIRE semester has been really helpful for my growth in teamwork, especially with multi-disciplinary projects, which I haven’t done in the past. I have become much more comfortable working in groups and working on a long-term project. I haven’t had the opportunity in school to work on such a large project that spans multiple semesters, so I am grateful for that opportunity.”
Zonos Field Trip September 2024
The INSPIRE students went to Zonos to learn about how to create a startup company.
UT Research Day April 2024
National Science Foundation SSTEM Grant
NSF S-STEM PROGRAM
The National Science Foundation Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) Program addresses the need for a high-quality STEM workforce in areas of national priorities. The program seeks to increase and understand the success of low-income, academically talented students with demonstrated financial need who are pursuing associate, baccalaureate, or graduate degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Recognizing that scholarships alone cannot address low retention and graduation rates in STEM, the program provides funds to institutions of higher education for scholarships and for establishing systems of high-quality, evidence-based curricular and co-curricular activities that support student success, retention, transfer, and graduation in STEM. The NSF S-STEM program emphasizes the importance of recruiting students to science and engineering disciplines, mentoring and supporting students through degree completion, and facilitating student career placement in the STEM workforce.
S-STEM INSPIRE Program
NSF Award Number:2030858
Project Title: Supporting STEM Undergraduates with Scholarships, Mentoring, and Collaborative Interdisciplinary Research Courses
PI: Dr. Aaron Davis, Dr. Wendy Schatzberg, Dr. Vinodh Chellamuthu, Dr. Samuel Tobler
NSF S-STEM INSPIRE Project
- NSF Award Number:2030858
- Project Title: Supporting STEM Undergraduates with Scholarships, Mentoring, and Collaborative Interdisciplinary Research Courses
- PI: Dr. Aaron Davis, Dr. Wendy Schatzberg, Dr. Vinodh Chellamuthu, Dr. Samuel Tobler
Contact
Wendy Schatzberg
Associate Professor of Chemistry
Email: wendy.schatzberg@utahtech.edu
Phone: 435-879-4374
Office: SET 426
JONI HALE
Associate Director of Scholarships
Email: scholarships@utahtech.edu
Phone: 435-652-7578
Office: Holland Centennial Commons 1st Floor