The University of Houston Clear Lake (UHCL) received a $185,515 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's STEM Education program (CFDA 47.076) with a start date of January 1, 2025 and an ultimate completion date of December 31, 2026. The grant will fund the integration of Electroforce (EF) 3330 equipment and a custom-designed Stress Block (SB) fixture into a freshman Physics course to provide students with course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs). This will allow students to conduct hypothesis-driven research projects related to fatigue loading, bridging theoretical concepts with hands-on learning. The project aims to enhance students' understanding and application of research methods, particularly for underrepresented groups in STEM fields. Key activities include 3D printing of samples, speckle deposition, and digital image correlation (DIC) analysis using free software. Findings will be disseminated through conferences, publications, and outreach to high school students to build a recruitment pipeline for UHCL's STEM programs.