UIC students tackle real-world research projects in the Caterpillar Inc. Research Lab

Working on real-word projects to solve real-world solutions, the Caterpillar Inc. Research Lab is a groundbreaking collaboration between Fortune 500 leader Caterpillar Inc. and the academic excellence of the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). Located in the UIC Innovation Center, this visionary lab is more than a research hub, it functions as the convergence point where students and industry intersect to shape the future.

At the core of its mission is an interdisciplinary group of students that work together in project groups to lay the groundwork for innovative, commercially viable products for Caterpillar Inc. Their work within the lab are not just academic achievements but tangible contributions to the industry, as their product research is proudly owned by Caterpillar Inc.

Mark Hallenbeck serves as the Director of the Caterpillar Inc. Research Lab. Prior to joining the UIC faculty as a Senior Lecturer for the online Master of Engineering with a focus area on AI and Machine Learning program, he was the first student researcher in the lab at it’s inception.

“From the beginning till now, we’ve really seen the lab grow,” said Hallenbeck. “Cat Digital is our main sponsor and located in Chicago. We have a very deep connection and relationship with Cat Digital, which is a product group inside Caterpillar Inc. that connects physical assets to a digital experience; transforming data into business-changing applications.

Over 50 UIC students have been involved in the Caterpillar Inc. Research Lab since its inception. The lab is composed of student teams that have come from 10 diverse disciplines, represent seven countries, and collaborate on almost 20 distinct projects. The journey doesn’t end in the lab—teams engage directly with Caterpillar Inc.’s engineering teams, immersing themselves in various projects that push the boundaries of innovation.

Enrolling at UIC as a graduate student in electrical and computer engineering, Deepika Aggrawal is now in her third year as a PhD student with an interest in the field of machine learning and interpretable AI. Learning about the Caterpillar Inc. Research Lab from the UIC Career Service platform, Handshake, she decided to apply because it aligned perfectly with her skills in computer hardware and her passion for research and computers.

“It’s been a very enriching and rewarding experience,” said Aggrawal. “The professional team at Caterpillar has been very supportive, sharing their knowledge with us and providing us with constructive feedback to help us improve projects.”

Aggrawal worked on the lab’s Legacy Software project where the student researchers explored and proposed options to allow legacy software to be executed on a new microprocessor. They conducted industry research, understood the current issue with legacy hardware/software, and worked on solutions to mitigate those issues.

“Through the Caterpillar project, I have gained in-depth knowledge about both the functioning and manufacturing of microprocessors,” said Aggrawal. “There were company tours which helped us understand the manufacturing line of the microprocessors. Also, in our project, we worked with internal microprocessor coding which includes handling peripherals and functionality of other parts in the microcontroller.”

While working on her field research in Korea, UIC PhD Candidate Doyeon Shin worked remotely as a student researcher and looks at her experience fondly.

“My experience as a remote researcher was great,” said Shin. “I participated in weekly meetings and analyzed interviews. My team members were very generous, accommodating, and inclusive. I never felt too distant, even though there is a great physical and temporal distance between the U.S. and Korea.”

As an anthropologist, Shin brought her discipline’s focus on qualitative research methods and the significance it places on diverse perspectives to the lab. She worked on two projects. The most current project is a Maintenance and Reliability project where lab members are working on developing a platform that helps users engage in their assets’ health.

“I decided to apply to the CAT lab because I was interested in how the corporate world functions and I thought it would be an excellent opportunity to think about my research interests in the context of the industry, which revolves around machines,” said Shin. “I would recommend the UIC Caterpillar lab to online students. You can keep yourself engaged in the industry and research environment and make use of what you have learned at UIC.”

As an undergraduate in computer engineering, Roman Meshkov has gained a lot of real-world experience working in the Caterpillar Inc. Research Lab. He feels as though this experience has alleviated a lot of the interview anxiety, he felt prior to working in the lab.

“I’ve gained valuable communication skills by working in multi-disciplinary teams, as well as learned the design tool, Figma, which I never would have learned in my program because it predominantly focuses on programming.” said Meshkov. “I’ve also learned the right language to use in certain situations and I’ve gained expertise in preparing for stakeholder presentations.”