REU Site: EURECA: Extensible Undergraduate Research Experience in Communication Applications

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This site is co-funded by the Department of Defense in partnership with the NSF REU program. The site is also co-funded by the Networking Technology and Systems (NeTS) cluster of the NSF/CISE Division of Computer and Network Systems.This award renews an exemplary existing Research Experience for Undergraduates site focused on wireless networking and communications. The project engages students in a wide range of projects in wireless networking lead by a team of faculty mentors in the Wireless Networking and Communications Group, including 5 labs. A key component of every research project is its extensibility providing students with the capacity to build on knowledge provided to them by their mentor and to generate independent results, and to sustain this effort after returning to students' parent institutions. Through a partnership with the Austin Technology Incubator the students will learn about the synergies between research and commercialization. A nationwide recruitment process is used to select cohorts of undergraduate students to participate in a nine-week summer research program at the host institution. Particular emphasis is placed on recruitment of students from under-represented populations. The project includes technical seminars and workshops, student presentations, and field trips and other professional development opportunities. The EURECA team's objective is to generate sustained research interest among undergraduates so that they become tomorrow's leaders in industry and academia.Intellectual Merit: The intellectual merit of this project lies in strong research basis and the expertise of the faculty. The projects are in current research areas that are of interest to the community at large and that have clear practical applications. The research projects are created as a focused plan to guide the students from a passive learning state to the state of being active self-sustaining researchers.Broader Impact: The broader impacts of the project include providing a quality research experience to undergraduate students, particularly students from underrepresented groups. The participating faculty members are committed to including under-represented minority students in their research, particularly through their partnerships with Huston-Tillotson University and professional organizations. 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.