REU Site: Integrated Bioengineering Research, Education, and Outreach Experiences for Females and Underrepresented Minorities at WPI

REU研究中心摘要：综合生物工程研究，教育和推广经验，为女性和代表性不足的少数民族在WPI，Camesano，0452809这个REU网站提供综合研究，教育和推广经验，为8个本科生在伍斯特理工学院生物工程。该计划的目标是：1）为生物工程本科生提供研究机会; 2）个人和专业发展培训，以帮助提高女性和少数民族本科生在工程方面的保留率; 3）参与中学生的外联活动。这种作为导师的经历提供了一种公民参与的形式，帮助REU学生认识到他们影响和帮助下一代工程师和科学家的能力。对于中学生来说，参与增加了他们对科学的兴趣，并保留了基本的数学和科学课程，这将使他们能够将工程作为一门学科来追求。这对女性和有色人种学生尤其重要，因为他们在中学阶段可能会在数学课程上落后，从而限制了他们未来的教育机会。与中学生的互动部分是通过为期两周（半天）的中学生实习方案进行的，也通过参与由妇女促进会多样性和妇女方案办公室组织和实施的现有夏令营方案进行的。智力优势。建议的工作的智力价值是，8个本科生/年从事研究的最令人兴奋的和迅速发展的工程领域之一-生物工程。来自生物医学工程，化学工程，电气和计算机工程的六名教师在生物医学信号处理，生物过程控制，组织工程，体内氧运输和微生物感染等领域创造了研究机会。每个学生在实验室与教师导师进行研究，专门为他或她的能力设计的项目，并参加专业发展活动。评估计划侧重于预期成果，使用多种衡量标准，具有形成性和总结性要素，并使用已公布的评价工具。更广泛的影响。对于本科生来说，这种经历不仅使他们接触到学术研究，而且还帮助他们看到科学生涯对他们来说是可能的，与丰富的个人生活并不矛盾，并且可以用来造福下一代学生。每周的研讨会包括研讨会和讨论，主题包括科学伦理，平衡工作和家庭生活，如何选择研究生院等。该计划的每个本科生都被分配了一个为期两周的8年级“实习生”。实习生被分配到一个研究项目的一小部分，团队在夏天结束时制作一个海报。作为一项单独的活动，本科生还与ODWP合作，为女性和有色人种学生的两个（已经存在的）夏令营开发生物工程活动。生物工程，化学，生物医学，电气和计算机工程的本科生从美国机构招募，特别是从缺乏研究生研究项目的学校和少数民族入学人数众多的机构。招聘计划源自已公布的招聘代表性不足群体的最佳做法。这些实践包括一个高度个性化和可见的过程，以及一个包括基于项目的实践学习，指导和在研究实验室中创建学习社区的计划，该计划吸引了所有类型和背景的学生。

Abstract for REU Site: Integrated Bioengineering Research, Education, and Outreach Experiences for Females and Underrepresented Minorities at WPI, Camesano, 0452809 This REU site offers integrated research, education, and outreach experiences for 8 undergraduates in bioengineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The objectives of this program are to provide 1) research opportunities for undergraduate students in bioengineering; 2) personal and professional development training to help increase the retention of females and minority undergraduate students in engineering; and 3) involvement in outreach to middle-school students. This experience as mentors provides a form of civic engagement that helps the REU students realize their ability to influence and aid the next generation of engineers and scientists. For the middle-school students, participation increases their interest in science and their retention in essential math and science courses that will allow them to pursue engineering as an academic discipline. This is especially important for females and students of color, who may fall behind in math courses in the middle-school years, thus limiting the future educational opportunities available to them. The interaction with middle-school students occurs partly through a two-week (half-day) internship program for middle-school students and also through involvement in existing summer-camp programs organized and run through the WPI Office of Diversity and Women's Programs (ODWP). Intellectual Merit. The intellectual merit of the proposed work is that 8 undergraduates/year are engaged in research in one of the most exciting and rapidly developing areas of engineering --- Bioengineering. Six faculty members from Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Electrical and Computer Engineering have created research opportunities in areas that include biomedical signal processing, control of bioprocesses, tissue engineering, oxygen transport in the body, and microbial infections. Each student conducts research in the laboratory with the faculty mentor on a project specifically designed for his or her abilities and also participates in professional development activities. The assessment plan focuses on desired outcomes, uses multiple measurements, has formative and summative elements, and uses published evaluation instruments. Broader Impacts. For the undergraduates, this experience not only exposes them to academic research but also helps them to see how a scientific career can be possible for them, is not inconsistent with a rich personal life, and can be used to benefit the next generation of students. Weekly seminars involve workshops and discussions on topics including ethics in science, balancing work and family life, how to choose a graduate school, etc. In addition, the undergraduates become engaged in the recruitment of new engineers. Each undergraduate in the program is assigned an 8th grade "intern" for a period of two weeks. The intern is given a small portion of a research project to work on, and the team makes a poster presentation at the end of the summer. As a separate activity, the undergraduates also work with the ODWP to develop bioengineering activities for two (already existing) summer camps for females and students of color. Undergraduates from Bioengineering, Chemical, Biomedical, Electrical, and Computer Engineering are recruited from U.S. institutions, especially from schools that lack graduate research programs and from institutions with large minority enrollments. The recruitment program derives from published best practices for recruiting underrepresented groups. These practices comprise a process that is highly personal and visible and a program that includes project-based, hands-on learning, mentoring, and creation of a learning community in the research labs that engages students of all types and backgrounds.