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

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Proposal: 0754996PI Name: Billiar, KristenThis three-year REU Site program at Worcester Polytechnic Institute will engage eight undergraduate students each summer in research experiences focused in the area of Bioengineering. A unique feature of the program is that the undergraduate students will participate in outreach by becoming mentors to middle school students during a two-week Bio-Discovery Program. The objectives of the REU program are to provide: 1) meaningful research experiences for the participants in bioengineering; 2) to facilitate personal and professional development of the students in areas important for careers in engineering; and 3) to provide middle school students with one-on-one mentored laboratory experiences with positive roles that they can identify with. Research projects in diverse areas of bioengineering will be offered including tissue engineering, biomaterials, biomechanics, microbial infections, and bio-sensing. Faculty mentors will come from the departments of Biomedical Engineering (BME) and Chemical Engineering (ChE). In addition, undergraduate participants will be involved in weekly seminars and workshops on topics including mentoring skills, ethics in science, balancing work and family life, how to choose a graduate school, etc.Undergraduates from Bioengineering, Chemical, Biomedical, Electrical, and Computer Engineering will be recruited from institutions, especially from those schools that lack graduate research programs. The Principal Investigator will place special emphasis on the recruitment of women and members of underrepresented groups. Through participation in the Bio-Discovery Program, undergraduate students will gain a desire to support the next generation of young scientists and engineers, and gain mentoring and team work skills which are highly valued in the engineering workplace. Likewise, middle school students will be encouraged to remain in math and science.