How WVU researchers are reshaping the future of civil engineering education with virtual reality

Professor Fei Dai is utilizing a NSF grant to improve civil engineering education through the use of virtual reality (WVU Photo/Paige Nesbit).

As tech transforms industries in unique ways, researchers at West Virginia University continue to lead the charge. Fei Dai, a professor in the Wadsworth Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, has been awarded a prestigious National Science Foundation grant through its Building Capacity in STEM Education Research program.

Story by Kaley LaQuea, Marketing Strategist
Photos by Paige Nesbit, Director of Communications

Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Using virtual reality, Dai’s initiative aims to transform how civil engineering students are trained to consider sustainability and material impacts in their decision-making processes.

Dai’s project leverages the immersive power of VR to provide civil engineering students with self-directed, hands-on learning experiences. As part of a three-year study, Dai will integrate VR into an undergraduate civil engineering course to explore how virtual tools can enhance material-impact awareness, engagement and decision-making. Through VR, students will be able to visualize and interact with construction materials and processes, gaining insight into their environmental and social implications.

VR immersion allows students to engage with complex engineering scenarios in ways that traditional textbooks and lectures can’t match. As Dai points out, “By integrating immersive and material-impact-aware learning experiences, we’re preparing students to make smarter, more responsible decisions in future construction careers.” 

Students will have the flexibility to explore scenarios, make decisions and experience the consequences of those decisions in a controlled virtual environment. This method aims to boost student engagement, retention and critical thinking, fostering the real-world skills that engineers need to address today’s global challenges.

“The research findings will offer critical insights into how immersive tools can support better student outcomes and engage the next generation of engineers,” Dai explains. “We are working to push the boundaries of how STEM education can evolve, using evidence-based methods to shape teaching strategies across disciplines.”

Another exciting aspect of the project is the commitment to open access — Dai’s research will generate instructional resources, research tools and study materials to be shared publicly, allowing educators and researchers nationwide to adapt and incorporate them into their own curricula.

Associate professor and evaluation coordinator at the WVU Center for Excellence in STEM Education Lynnette M. Michaluk will serve as project mentor to support Dai in educational research methods and learning outcome evaluation.

VR’s integration into civil engineering education is just one example of how technology is transforming how we learn and teach, and Dai’s work supports the shaping of a resilient STEM workforce through innovation in education. The project holds potential to influence best practices in technology-enhanced learning — paving the way for smarter, more sustainable construction practices in the future.

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