Incorporating Diverse Majors and Backgrounds in Materials Science Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Sites
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Incorporating Diverse Majors and Backgrounds in Materials Science Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Sites D.F. Bahr and M.G. Norton School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman WA 99164-2920 USA ABSTRACT A summer Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) site program has been operating at Washington State University for the past five summers. Over this time we have experimented with several modes of organized summer research methods, including students working in individual projects as well as students working in teams. We have balanced the academic standing of the students (freshmen to seniors), as well providing a diverse demographic background. The results of these past five summers will be presented, as well as recommendations for which methods have been the most successful in terms of generating publications and presentations from the students as well as the likelihood of students entering graduate school. INTRODUCTION The Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) site program supports active research participation by undergraduate students in any of the areas of research funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). One of the goals of the program is that students are “involved in meaningful ways in ongoing research programs or in research projects specially designed for the purpose” [1]. The REU program has both site (dedicated summer programs) and supplement (part of a larger NSF grant) program. This paper will focus on the site aspect of the REU program. For the past five summers the NSF has funded a summer REU site Characterization of Advanced Materials at Washington State University (WSU). WSU currently has the longest active stand alone REU site program in materials research in the northwest. Our REU site brings students to Pullman to spend between 9 and 10 weeks each summer focused on interdisciplinary materials research. The initial target population for our REU program was primarily students from schools in the Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountain states who do not have access to the modern instrumentation that is needed for materials research. Over the five years of our program the number and popularity of REU programs has increased nationally and we have attracted students from throughout the United States as shown in Table I. To date a total of 55 undergraduates from 23 Universities in 9 majors have participated in on-going research programs in materials science, working closely with primarily seven faculty members and their graduate students, generally in an interdisciplinary environment. This paper describes our experiences in running an REU site. It describes what worked for us and what did not and the outcomes to date of our program. There are many REU sites around the country; some of these may be run along similar lines and have had similar successes. We do not suggest that these observations are unique to our program, and present them primarily to further the discussion of organized undergraduate research in materials scienc
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