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Final SIRI cohort visits UNM campus

June 30, 2025 - By Carly Bowling

photo: Final SIRI cohort pictured together

Students participating in the 2025 Summer Intensive Research Internship spent a week at The University of New Mexico to kick off an internship introducing future engineers to cyber-physical systems.

Students visited UNM for an orientation that took place May 28-30 before leaving to complete 8-week research terms at Purdue University. This year’s participants are Thomas Parrish, Lydia Blackwell Esslami, Lilah Lindemann and Julie Zalautdinov.

While visiting New Mexico, the 2025 cohort attended presentations on career pathways, programming using large language models, data management, research misconduct and applying to graduate school. Participants also took part in several team-building activities, a UNM scavenger hunt and an escape room.

The SIRI Program is aimed at preparing students for graduate school in cyber-physical systems by developing basic research skills and helping students gain exposure to state-of-the-art research and engineering facilities. The program first began in 2020 with five years of funding. It received a one-year extension due to the pandemic. Participants receive a $6,000 stipend and on-campus housing. A total of 42 students, including this year’s cohort, have participated in SIRI since its inception.

The program is funded by the National Science Foundation through the Cyberphysical Systems (CPS) Program’s Frontier award. Professor Meeko Oishi from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering is the lead PI of the CPS Frontier project, “Cognitive Autonomy for Human CPS.” This collaborative project involves faculty from UNM, Purdue University, University of Colorado at Boulder, and University of Texas at Austin. Co-PIs at UNM include Tryphenia Peele-Eady, professor of Africana studies and associate professor of educational thought and sociocultural studies and Liz Godwin, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering.