REU Site - Internships in Nanosystems Science, Engineering, and Technology

这项REU-site资助扩展了加州大学圣巴巴拉分校（UCSB）一个非常成功的项目，该项目吸引了来自加州各地的社区大学生参与跨学科研究。这个名为“纳米系统科学、工程和技术实习”（INSET）的项目为社区大学生提供了更多的机会，通过多层次的指导，促进他们未来在科学和工程领域的学术和职业成功。INSET计划的目标是：o促进不同群体的社区大学生成功转到加州大学，支持他们最终完成学位，并鼓励他们追求更高的学位；o透过校园范围内的培训工作坊、论坛及网络，建立学术研究导师社群；通过传播有助于转学和未来成功的因素，提高加州大学圣迭戈分校和其他研究型大学支持社区学院转学学生的能力。智力优势：INSET项目由加州纳米系统研究所（CNSI）主办，这是一个由加州州立大学和加州大学洛杉矶分校联合建立的研究中心。CNSI专注于纳米系统，通过整合来自生物和电子材料的纳米级构建模块，在形成新材料和复杂系统方面提供了丰富的机会。UCSB的60多名CNSI研究人员代表了生物科学、化学、化学工程、计算机科学、电气工程、材料、数学、机械工程和物理等学科。在CNSI内进行研究的实习生获得了在科学和工程学科传统界限之外的尖端技术开发方面的实践经验。为社区大学生设计有益的教育机会的一个关键因素是认识到这些学生的独特需求和关注。INSET项目评估与教育研究生院联合进行，调查社区学院的研究实习生和大学生实习生，以确定期望、目标、动机、个人收益和成就方面的差异。这样的研究结果将对其他旨在吸引这一高度服务不足人群的项目和大学有价值。更广泛的影响：社区大学为科学和工程学科提供了一个明显未被充分利用的人才库。社区大学服务的是不成比例的少数族裔和女性学生，以及不成比例的非传统学生。INSET的招聘工作建立在与加州社区大学建立的关系之上，这些社区大学有相当数量的弱势群体。在参加INSET项目前三年的45名学生中，42%是女性，42%是代表性不足的少数民族，因此INSET对更大的UCSB社区有广泛的影响。INSET通过组织培训讲习班、讨论论坛和网络来提高指导的有效性。此外，项目工作人员在夏季期间与其他几个UCSB本科生研究项目协调活动，包括全校范围的本科生研究研讨会。在全国范围内，该项目将提高其他机构支持社区学院转学生的能力，方法是提高成绩优异的社区学院学生研究人员的知名度，推广成功的大学/社区学院合作模式，并通过出版物和专业会议传播INSET评估结果。

This REU-site grant extends a highly successful program at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), which brings community college students from across California to engage in interdisciplinary research. This program, entitled "Internships in Nanosystems Science, Engineering and Technology" (INSET), expands opportunities for community college students, promoting their future academic and career success in science and engineering through multitiered mentorship. INSET program objectives are:o To promote the successful transfer of a diverse cohort of community college students to the University of California, support their eventual degree completion, and encourage their pursuit of advanced degrees;o To build a community of academic research mentors through campus-wide training workshops, forums and networking; ando To enhance the capacity of UCSB and other research universities to support community college transfer students by disseminating the factors which contribute to their transfer and future success.Intellectual Merit: The INSET program is hosted by the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI), a research center established by the State of California, based jointly at UCSB and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). CNSI's focus on nanosystems looks to the richness of opportunities in forming new materials and complex systems by integrating nanoscale building blocks from both biological and electronic materials. Over 60 CNSI faculty researchers at UCSB represent disciplines ranging over the biological sciences, chemistry, chemical engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, materials, mathematics, mechanical engineering, and physics. Interns performing research within the CNSI gain hands-on experience in the development of cutting-edge technologies that fall outside the boundaries traditional of science and engineering disciplines.A critical factor in designing beneficial education opportunities for community college students is recognizing the unique needs and concerns of such students. INSET program evaluation, conducted jointly with the Graduate School of Education, surveys community-college research interns and university-student interns to identify differences in expectations, goals, motivations, personal gains and achievements. The findings of such research will be valuable for other programs and universities that aim to engage this highly under-served population.Broader Impacts: Community colleges offer a significantly underutilized pool of talent for science and engineering disciplines. Community colleges serve a disproportionate number of underrepresented minority and female students, as well as a hugely disproportionate number of nontraditional students. INSET recruitment efforts build on established relationships with California community colleges that have sizable underrepresented and disadvantaged populations. Of the 45 students who have participated in the first 3 years of the INSET program, 42% were female and 42% were underrepresented minorities so INSET has extensive impact on the greater UCSB community. INSET enhances the effectiveness of mentorship through organization of training workshops, discussion forums and networking. Additionally, program staff take a leadership role in coordinating activities with several other UCSB undergraduate research programs during the summer, including a campus-wide undergraduate research colloquium. Nationally, this program will enhance the capacity of other institutions to support community-college transfer students by raising the profile of high-achieving community-college-student researchers, promoting successful university/community college partnership models, and disseminating INSET evaluation findings through publications and professional conferences.