REU Site: Research Experiences in Algorithm Design and Analysis for Students in Undergraduate Institutions

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This award provides funding for a new Research Experiences for Undergraduate site focused on algorithm design and analysis at the University of Houston ? Downtown. The University of Houston-Downtown has been recognized as a Hispanic Serving Institution as well as a Minority Serving Institution by the U.S. Department of Education. The objective of the REU site is to provide talented undergraduate students genuine research experience and place them into the pipeline from college to graduate school and scientific-based employment. The project recruits students locally and nationally from undergraduate institutions with emphasis on minority and women students. Each year 8 students participate in on-going research to investigate problems related to algorithm design and analysis. The students receive10-week intensive training in the research areas as well as basic research skills including effective literature review, algorithm design and implementation, experiment setup, result analysis, technical writing, and presentation. Teamwork and collaboration is emphasized and encouraged. The mentor team consist of both faculty and industrial experts to provide students both academic and industry research experience and career opportunities. Intellectual merit: The proposed projects represent innovative research on a level in which undergraduates would not normally participate, and their work should advance the state of knowledge in the field of algorithm design and analysis. There is potential for computer science curricula to benefit from the adoption of class projects and class modules spawned from the research projects.Broader Impacts: The broader impacts of the project include providing a quality research experience to undergraduate students, particularly women and students from underrepresented groups. The participating faculty members are committed to including under-represented minority students in their research. Thus this project has the potential to produce new computer science graduate students and faculty members and to advance discovery and understanding while promoting learning.This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).