Undergraduate Research Experiences Using FPGAs

State-of-the-art Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) can now implement designs with millions of logic gates at speeds and power dissipation that rival custom integrated circuit designs for many applications, but at a fraction of the development cost. This paper will discuss recent experiences on working with undergraduate researchers in the area of FPGA design at the University of Texas at Tyler. Criteria for the selection of appropriate research projects will be given. Issues such as methods for supervision, motivation, and funding will also be discussed. Assessment of using undergraduate student researchers in the area of FPGA design are carried out through faculty observations, generation of conference paper submissions and poster presentations, and student self-assessment through survey results.