REU Site: Solar Physics Program at Montana State University

提名者提出了一项继续在蒙大拿州立大学进行中的本科生研究体验方案的计划，该方案涉及学生分析来自Yohkoh、SOHO(太阳和日球层天文台)、TRACE(过渡区与日冕探测器)和RHESSI(拉马蒂高能太阳光谱成像仪)等空间飞行任务以及地面观测站的数据。首席调查员(PI)的目标是物理、数学和计算机科学专业的本科生。该计划通过太阳物理入门课程、访问学者的讲座、与教师导师开展的独立研究项目以及学生期末报告的网络发布，为学生提供太阳物理研究机会。学生研究项目经常导致与密歇根州立大学教师导师联合发表专业出版物或发表演讲。密歇根州立大学的REU项目为太阳物理学科提供了一项重要的服务，因为这门学科在相对较少的美国学院和大学中教授。投资促进机构成功地招募了妇女(2005年实现了3：1的男女比例)，并参加了三个针对美洲原住民学生和教师的方案。密歇根州立大学现在计划招募其他少数民族，并在这个项目中增加道德因素。他们的计划通过其强大的太空天气部分为社会提供了其他好处。过去的参与者报告说，在大学环境中接触专业研究有助于他们决定是否继续在研究生院接受教育，以及是否将太阳物理研究作为一种职业。

The proposers presented a plan to continue an ongoing Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program at Montana State University (MSU) in solar physics, involving student analysis of data from space missions such as Yohkoh, SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory), TRACE (Transition Region And Coronal Explorer), and RHESSI (Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager), as well as from ground-based observatories. The Principal Investigators (PIs) target undergraduates majoring in physics, mathematics, and computer sciences. The program provides solar physics research opportunities for students through an introductory course in solar physics, lectures by visiting scholars, independent research projects carried out with a faculty mentor, and web publication of the students' final reports. Student research projects frequently result in joint professional publications or presentations with the MSU faculty mentor. This MSU REU program provides an important service to the discipline of solar physics, since the subject is being taught at relatively few United States colleges and universities. The PIs are successful in recruiting women (achieving a 3-to-1 female-to-male ratio in 2005) and participate in three programs for Native American students and teachers. MSU now plans to recruit other minorities and to add an ethics component to this project. Their program offers other benefits to society through its strong space weather component. Past participants have reported that the exposure to professional research in a university environment helped them to decide whether to continue their education in graduate school, and whether to pursue solar physics research as a profession.