A Summer of Discovery: Notre Dame’s REU Program Culminates in Symposium and 3MT Showcase
July 29, 2025
Every summer, the University of Notre Dame transforms into a vibrant hub of discovery, learning, and innovation, and this year was no exception. With over 400 undergraduate researchers representing more than 20 unique programs, the 2025 Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) community brought energy and curiosity to labs and classrooms across campus this summer.
The REU program at Notre Dame gives undergraduates from institutions across the country the opportunity to conduct cutting-edge research alongside faculty and graduate student mentors. These 10-week, immersive experiences span disciplines and departments from engineering to biology, offering students both academic enrichment and a deeper understanding of what it means to contribute to real-world research.
The Wireless Institute is proud to be a part of this thriving summer research ecosystem. This year, we were pleased to host three SpectrumX REU students, who spent the summer investigating key challenges in spectrum science and wireless systems. With guidance from faculty and graduate mentors, each student developed an independent research project that pushed the boundaries of their technical and analytical skills.
The program concluded with a capstone event on Wednesday, July 23: the Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium and Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition, held on campus in the Jordan Hall of Science. This campus-wide celebration brought together 138 student presenters from across 20 summer programs and 5 research labs, highlighting work from the Colleges of Engineering, Science, Arts & Letters, The Graduate School, Notre Dame Research, and Saint Mary’s College.
During the poster session, SpectrumX REU students presented their research to faculty, peers, and guests.
Makayla Kienlen –
“Making Sense of Spectrum Data: Agentic RAG Applied to FCC Databases”
“I had a lot of fun “pretending to be a grad student” for the summer and living on the Notre Dame campus. I really appreciated how Dr. Laneman and Bingyan let me follow and explore the topics I found interesting when working on SpectrumRAG, which ended up being AI agents. The 3MT pushed me slightly out of my comfort zone, but in a beneficial way, and challenged me to be able to explain my research to a wide audience. I was super nervous to present, but when I actually did it in front of the audience it was easier than I thought because of how prepared I was. “
Tobey Paccione –
“Exploring the Vulnerabilities of Wi-Fi Based Camera Monitoring”
“Working with SpectrumX and Professor Striegel really helped me improve my problem solving ability in a research context. It helped me see what doing research is like and how to individually identify and solve problems in the Computer Science/Computer Engineering field. The REU also gave me the opportunity to work on my public speaking and presentation ability. It was definitely an experience worth having.”
Thomas Pickell –
“Firehound: Wide-bandwidth Distributed Spectrum Sensing Platform”
“Working through a SpectrumX REU at the ND Wireless Institute gave me invaluable perspective on grad school and wireless research. I met smart and insightful people, I had a strong sense of ownership over the work I did, and got invaluable mentorship from faculty and grad students.”
Kienlen also advanced to the 3MT Finals, joining 12 fellow students in the challenge to present their complex research in just three minutes using only one slide.
We extend our congratulations and thanks to all the students who made this summer such a dynamic and inspiring experience. The Wireless Institute remains committed to supporting hands-on research opportunities and looks forward to continuing our role in cultivating the next generation of wireless and spectrum innovators.
Story written by Julie Hahn
The Wireless Institute at Notre Dame. For more information on this story or the Institute contact us at wireless@nd.edu.