REU-Site: Regional Initiative to Promote Undergraduate Participation in Experimental and Computational Materials Research

阿拉巴马大学伯明翰分校 (UAB) 继续运营本科生研究体验 (REU) 网站。该网站由阿拉巴马州立大学物理系主办，阿拉巴马州立大学、西乔治亚大学和蒙特瓦洛大学的教师参与。每年招收八名本科生进行为期十周的暑期研究体验，招收的学生重点关注女性和代表性不足的少数族裔。学生研究项目包括高压材料研究、薄膜生长和表征、微电子材料、浸笔纳米光刻、激光材料、生物陶瓷、聚合生物材料、材料生长中的气相化学和表面建模以及材料的计算机模拟。这些科学研究项目是由由科学和工程教师组成的跨学科团队专门为本科生开发的。除了参加个人研究项目外，REU 学生还将参加有关科学传播和研究伦理的研讨会、校园社交活动，有些学生将在地区和国家会议上发表演讲，并在同行评审期刊上发表他们的研究成果。REU 网站还包括教师研究经验 (RET) 部分，重点是让高中教师接触跨学科、基于探究的材料研究。该站点每年夏天都会邀请两名伯明翰地区高中教师到 UAB 校园进行为期 6 周的教学。教师参与阿拉巴马大学的开放式研究项目，并根据他们的研究主题开发课程材料和简单的演示模型。在内部研讨会上讨论了将课程材料纳入课堂的机会。 RET 参与者还参加研究和科学传播伦理研讨会。

The University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) continues operating a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site. The Site is hosted by the Department of Physics at UAB and includes participation of faculty from Alabama State University, University of West Georgia, and University of Montevallo. Eight undergraduate students are recruited every year for a ten-week summer research experience, with a student recruitment focus on women and underrepresented minorities. Student research projects include high pressure materials research, thin film growth and characterization, microelectronic materials, dip pen nanolithography, laser materials, bioceramics, polymeric biomaterials, modeling of gas phase chemistry and surfaces in materials growth, and computer simulation of materials. The scientific research projects have been specifically developed for undergraduates by an interdisciplinary team consisting of science and engineering faculty. In addition to participating in individual research projects, REU students will attend seminars on scientific communication and ethics in research, on-campus social activities, and some will give presentations at regional and national meetings and publish their research findings in peer-reviewed journals.The REU Site also includes a Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) component, focused on exposing high school teachers to interdisciplinary, inquiry-based materials research. The Site brings two Birmingham area high school teachers every year for 6 weeks in summer to UAB campus. Teachers participate in open-ended research projects at UAB and develop curricular materials and simple demonstration models based on their research topics. Opportunities for incorporating curricular materials in the classroom are addressed in an internal workshop. RET participants also attend the seminars on ethics in research and scientific communication.