\u201cI thought [the program] was a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience in an engineering field I wanted to explore more deeply,\u201d he says. \u201cAs a BME major, I saw it as a chance to broaden my perspective and learn about systems that fall outside my usual discipline.\u201d<\/p>\n A Trilateral Partnership<\/strong><\/p>\n AUKUS<\/a>\u2014short for Australia\u2013United Kingdom\u2013United States\u2014is a trilateral security partnership formed in 2021 to deepen defense cooperation between the three allied nations. In Australia, the program enjoys wide public support, seen as key to national defense as regional security dynamics in the Indo-Pacific grow increasingly complex. By gaining access to U.S. and U.K. nuclear submarine technology, Australia can increase patrol duration and coordination with allies.<\/p>\n NIUVT, co-directed by UConn Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Rich Christenson and URI Professor of Ocean Engineering James Miller, is uniquely situated to facilitate global training and research collaboration through AUKUS due to its established success in creating and developing research areas aligned with the strategic needs of the U.S. Navy, Christenson says. The institute\u2019s research areas include acoustics, sensors, and signal processing;\u00a0advanced materials and structures;\u00a0advanced manufacturing processes;\u00a0cybersecurity;\u00a0human factors;\u00a0marine hydrodynamics;\u00a0propulsion enabling technologies;\u00a0structural integrity, vibration, and control;\u00a0systems engineering\/modeling;\u00a0unmanned underwater vehicles;\u00a0underwater energy systems;\u00a0and underwater shock.<\/p>\n As AUKUS Scholars, the students shared their knowledge on these research areas while learning from their overseas peers.<\/p>\n \u201cCollaborating across borders is a tremendous asset\u2014not just in advancing research, but also in strengthening peacekeeping efforts and fostering a more connected and cooperative world,\u201d says Lisa McAdam Donegan, NIUVT Global Programs director, research coordinator, and UConn adjunct faculty.<\/p>\n An Interdisciplinary Engineering Experience<\/strong><\/p>\n The U.S. cohort included Engineering students Fieldsend, Alyana Martinez \u201928, Kate Marquis \u201927, Zack Shepard \u201927, and Ronan Allison \u201927, alongside five peers from the University of Rhode Island. The second-year students in the Colleges of Engineering at UConn and URI were selected through an application process that included academic performance, an interest in STEM, and possessed a relevant background to support participation in student engineering competitions.<\/p>\n \u201cUndersea vehicle technology is one of the most interdisciplinary fields in engineering,\u201d says Christenson. \u201cYou need mechanical engineers for propulsion and pressure resistance, electrical engineers for power and control systems, computer scientists and programmers for autonomy, materials scientists for corrosion-resistant hulls, and even marine biologists and oceanographers to understand the environment these vehicles operate in. No one person or discipline can do it alone\u2014collaboration is absolutely essential.\u201d<\/p>\n Before traveling, they completed six weeks of preparatory seminars and toured the USS\u00a0California,<\/em> a nuclear-powered fast attack submarine in Groton. And then they began the approximately 22-hour flight to their overseas destination.<\/p>\n Once abroad, the scholars visited three universities with leading programs in maritime technology:\u00a0The University of Adelaide in South Australia,\u00a0Flinders University in South Australia, and\u00a0the Australian Maritime College at the University of Tasmania in Tasmania. They participated in technical lectures, collaborative design projects, and lab tours\u2014all designed to expose students to the systems thinking and interdisciplinary teamwork essential in modern undersea vehicle development.<\/p>\n \u201cThe areas we visited in South Australia are very similar to what we have here in southeastern Connecticut and Rhode Island, where the region represents the submarine capital in our part of the world,\u201d Donegan explains.<\/p>\n The Visits<\/strong><\/p>\n At the\u00a0University of Adelaide, the Scholars toured the\u00a0Shipbuilding Hub for Integrated Engineering and Local Design<\/a> (SHIELD), a premier naval engineering center. There, Adelaide students presented their custom-designed submarine, which will compete in the\u00a0International Unmanned Submarine Race\u00a0in the U.K. in 2026.<\/p>\n To apply their own engineering knowledge, the AUKUS Scholars were challenged to design efficient small-scale propellers for model submarines. Their designs were 3D printed and tested in a water flume.<\/p>\n \u201cThis experience stood out for me because it let us apply concepts using CAD software also used in industry,\u201d Fieldsend says. \u201cEach team member brought unique ideas based on their own background.\u201d<\/p>\n For Martinez, a mechanical engineering and Spanish double major, it was a turning point.<\/p>\n \u201cSubmarines aren\u2019t something I thought about often before, but this opened my eyes to how important and exciting this type of technology can be,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd it helped me clarify where I might want to take my engineering career.\u201d<\/p>\n At the\u00a0Australian Maritime College<\/a>, students visited a cavitation research lab and witnessed advanced wave simulation in testing tanks used to study ship behavior in various ocean conditions.<\/p>\n At\u00a0Flinders University, scholars met with members of the Maritime Engineering and Robotics team<\/a>, which has been working on autonomous marine vehicles for almost 15 years. The students observed their Wave Adapter Modular Vehicle (WAM-V)\u2014an unmanned surface craft being prepared for the\u00a0maritime RobotX Challenge<\/a>. The competition simulates real-world scenarios like underwater identification and obstacle navigation. \u00a0They also toured the university\u2019s robotics and remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV).<\/p>\n \u201cAt Flinders, we learned about the complexity of autonomous systems and how to build and design a submarine,\u201d says civil engineering major Shepard, who returned from the trip inspired to launch the UConn Human Powered Submarine Club. \u201cThis trip was academically stimulating\u2014and we also became close friends with the students there.\u201d<\/p>\n Cultural Differences<\/strong><\/p>\n Beyond the countless academic experiences, the scholars experienced Australia\u2019s culture and landscape\u2014encountering kangaroos, wallabies, and koalas at a wildlife park, swimming in Tasmania\u2019s Cataract Gorge, and cheering on the Adelaide Strikers at a local cricket match.<\/p>\n \u201cThe rules and structure of the game were quite different from sports that we\u2019re familiar with, making it a unique and fascinating experience,\u201d Martinez says. \u201cAdditionally, we attended a tennis match, a sport we are more accustomed to, and witnessed the excitement from the lens of Australian locals while cheering for their home team\u2019s player.\u201d<\/p>\n Funding and the Future<\/strong><\/p>\n AUKUS Scholar funding is provided by the Undersea Technology Innovation Consortium<\/a> (UTIC), a joint effort between industry partners and academic institutions to promote the rapid development, prototyping, and commercialization of innovative technologies within the undersea and maritime sectors. Additional support came from a U.S. Department of State IDEAS grant, UConn and URI.<\/p>\n Although the program did not offer academic credit, NIUVT and OGA are currently developing a new 3-credit short-term course titled\u00a0\u201cAUKUS Down Under: Introduction to Maritime and Undersea Technology and Design\u201d\u00a0for winter break 2026. Additionally, students can study abroad at the University of Adelaide<\/a> for one or two semesters.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s exciting to watch students realize, \u2018I could actually study Navy-related engineering topics in Australia. I could go now, or in the future I might even work there or collaborate with Australian partners here in the U.S.,\u2019\u201d Donegan says. \u201cSome may even find themselves in careers that involve traveling between both countries. Our world is becoming smaller, and suddenly, it all feels possible.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s exactly what Martinez is considering.<\/p>\n \u201cMy post-graduation plans aren\u2019t set in stone, but now there\u2019s more of a clear trajectory,\u201d she says. \u201cOne thing I know for sure is that I\u2019d love to work in engineering in Australia one day.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n UConn mentors\u00a0Donegan; Christenson; Jiong Tang, professor in the School of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Manufacturing Engineering; and Kristin Morgan, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, along with URI mentors Jim Miller, Stephen Licht, Michalah Miller, and Frances Truong, supported the scholars throughout their experience.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Five College of Engineering students studied systems thinking and interdisciplinary teamwork essential in modern undersea vehicle development<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":201,"featured_media":232101,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1866,88,2649,2076,99,2235,2458],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2514],"class_list":["post-231949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-engr","category-global-affairs","category-blue-pride","category-research","category-student-life","category-today-homepage","category-undergraduates"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-04 19:05:04","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/201"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=231949"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231949\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":232888,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231949\/revisions\/232888"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/232101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=231949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=231949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=231949"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=231949"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=231949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"UConn](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/AMC-group-1024x392.jpg\")
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