REU Site: Undergraduate Computer Research (UnCoRe)

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Abstract: The primary objective of the REU Site is to promote graduate studies in Computer and Information Science and Engineering to bright, talented undergraduate students with little exposure to research. The recruited participants will - Spend 10 summer weeks on campus where they are immersed into a research environment with all its facets; - Participate actively in shaping the research project and in defining its solution; - Communicate to peers and other audiences about their progress and their findings; - Visit research laboratories and attend presentations about all aspects of research and research careers; - Be provided ample opportunities to form protégé-mentor relationships with faculty mentors, graduate students, and other researchers involved in the program's activities; - Meet with successful professionals from academia and industry and discuss all aspects of their lives and careers in computing; and - Submit the result of their research to professional conferences and, most do attend at least one conference and present their work. Student participants are strongly encouraged to continue their involvement in research beyond the 10-week program. Follow up contacts with past participants show that most of them do, and almost all who have graduated have enrolled in graduate school. The intellectual merit and broader impact of the project are four-fold. First, it consists of the research results produced by the students. Their efforts contributed fresh ideas to ongoing large scale projects, or serve as seed ideas to start up new projects that are continued later by the same or other students. The second intellectual merit is of a pedagogical nature and consists of the lessons learned by the faculty in terms of successful recruiting, mentoring, and retention. Third, the program has a direct impact on the student participants especially when they enroll in graduate studies as a direct result of their participation. Most of the activities related to the program, from recruiting to the many special events open to the public have an indirect impact on a much larger number of students by raising their awareness of the nature of graduate studies and research careers. Finally, the mentors benefit from working with students in a structured setting.