REU/RET Site: Physics and Astronomy at the University of Minnesota

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This award supports the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) and Research Experience for Teachers (RET) site in Physics at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. In order to encourage students to pursue careers in scientific research, the REU/RET provides an opportunity for students and high school teachers to participate first hand in cutting-edge scientific research in astrophysics, biophysics, condensed matter physics, cosmology, high energy particle physics, nuclear physics, physics education, and space and planetary physics. The students receive guidance in applying to graduate school, and preparing for the Graduate Record Examination in Physics. Students get experience and coaching on effective scientific communication including the writing of a research report, a poster presentation, and an oral presentation of their research results. Both students and teachers participate in safety and ethics sessions to prepare them for physics research. To emphasize the bigger intellectual picture, both populations are introduced to frontier physics research outside the subject in which they are doing research. The high school teachers are also introduced to the latest research on pedagogy and encouraged to integrate their research experiences into their teaching by the Physics Education Research Group. The teachers benefit from their interaction with the students in the REU program as do the students in their interaction with the teachers.