REU Site: Application of Microscopy and Microanalysis in Multidisciplinary Research

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TECHNICAL SUMMARY:The Division of Materials Research at the NSF will fund the summer REU site at Portland State University (PSU). While the objective of the program will continue to focus on inspiring undergraduate students to pursue careers in science and engineering by involving them in hands-on research, US military veterans will be added to the targeted demographic in order to fulfill a pressing need for educational and technical training for our returning troops. This addition to the program further broadens the reach of this multi-disciplinary program that encompasses seven fields of study represented by seventeen faculty mentors. The combination of faculty enthusiasm, cutting-edge research projects, and thoughtfully designed training activities motivates students to pursue further education and careers in related fields. Specifically, the site will offer students nationwide the opportunity to take part in cutting-edge research spanning nanomaterials synthesis, characterization of biological and geological samples, nanodevice fabrication and investigations concerning the impact of atmospheric trace gases on climate change. Through a concentrated summer program, the participants will obtain technical training, conduct independent research, visit local high-tech industries, present their research at an REU symposium, and publish their papers in a specially designed online journal. The summer program will begin with a three-day research orientation including workshops on laboratory safety, library database searches, and graduate school applications. Also offered is an intensive short course that trains students in using electron & focused ion beam microscopy and spectroscopy for material and device characterization. Students will then use these acquired skills in research projects offered by faculty from seven departments. It is highly anticipated that REU participants will leave the summer program with a quintessential skill (electron microscopy) applicable to all disciplines and a broader perspective of the impact and feasibility of sustainable technologies. NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARYOver the last several funding cycles, the REU site at Portland State University has achieved a high level of participation from women and minorities and remains the first and only NSF sponsored REU site at PSU and the only one in the Portland metropolitan area as well. Concerning the broader impact, this site provides opportunities for underrepresented female and minority students as well as students who are veterans of the US Armed Services across disciplines to participate in research critical to their career development. Furthermore, the PIs have developed relationships with other principle investors and project leaders, allowing their interns and students to participate in well-structured training activities. This, in turn, exposes the REU participants to multiple perspectives. This dovetails nicely with the multi-disciplinary nature of this program and helps to magnify the program's effort to produce a unique cohort of graduates - a group that honors diversity, values teamwork, and prizes multi-disciplinary approaches to research and technology development.