University at Buffalo is considered a Research 1 university which means it does a lot of research compared to other schools. Since the school is big on research, it’s possible to do research starting freshman year.

This site lists most of the research opportunities available on campus: http://curca.buffalo.edu/. It’s a good start, and if you find anything you like then cool. Contact the professor via email, and tell them that you are interested in research (or ask if they are interested in having research assistant if they do not respond). Make sure to include a resume or list of experiences so far and to contact at least 3. Don’t worry about not having enough experience. It is not big deal, you do research to learn more about computer science and engineering. Not everyone goes into their major knowing everything. However this does mean that many of the research opportunities are simply not possible at your current level –most but not all, there are a number of professors who are willing to take in students that are just starting out. Don’t worry, you will not be creating that iron man suit but it’s good practice and gets you experience and contacts. I should also mention that funding is not available for freshmen but possible for students with proven research abilities.

Another option is joining nanosat, it’s the only lab that is run by students and makes small satellites that go into space. It’s by far the largest lab that has 100+ students and is in need of almost every engineering major there is. Most importantly they extremely accommodating to people with no experience and are willing to teach you from scratch. So it’s a great place to start as well.