REU Site: Wellman-HST Summer Institute for Biomedical Optics

Wellman-HST生物医学光学暑期研究所是由NSF工程教育和中心部门支持的一个新的REU网站，将招收10名本科生从事生物医学光学的前沿研究。学生将在马萨诸塞州总医院的韦尔曼光医学中心进行为期九周的全职实验室研究。它在实验室创新和现实世界应用的界面上提供了一个高度多学科的环境。具有物理，化学和工程背景的教师将担任导师。在生物医学光学领域提供了各种各样的研究项目，但有凝聚力的主题，重点是将光学物理和工程与生物问题和医学问题相结合的多学科方法。该研究计划将提高学生对广泛的前沿课题进行跨学科研究的能力，包括光学相干断层扫描，生物集成光子器件，细胞激光器，生物力学和光动力学治疗。将确定产生重大成果的学生，并鼓励他们向年度会议提交摘要，并提供全额旅行支持。除了研究，学生参加讲座，研讨会和专业发展研讨会上介绍，道德和知识产权。所有的学生参与者都被安排在麻省理工学院校园的宿舍里，靠近实验室和讲座地点，他们参加各种社交活动。将提供津贴和旅行支助。充满活力的暑期课程将使他们的暑期体验远远超出在单个实验室中提供的典型研究体验。 生物医学光学是一个快速发展的领域，有望影响生物科学和人类健康。学生们将见证实验室的创新研究如何帮助解决现实世界的问题，从而为我们生活的社会带来实实在在的好处。这种经验将帮助学生获得更广泛和更深入的研究视角，并可能进一步激励学生追求跨学科科学和工程的未来。与导师的互动为学生提供了榜样，同时帮助他们评估自己未来的职业道路。REU网站也将通过促进积极的互动和合作对教师导师产生积极的影响。学生将在其他正在进行的国际项目中与海外暑期学生互动，建立全球网络。反过来，通过提供积极的经验，这种互动可以通过吸引海外有才华的本科生到美国接受高等教育来提高美国科学和工程的国际认可度。REU网站是很好的定位，成为一个国家和国际模式，为本科生高度跨学科和激烈的夏季研究经验。

TECHNICAL SUMMARY:The Wellman-HST Summer Institute for Biomedical Optics, a new REU site supported by the NSF Division of Engineering Education and Centers, will admit ten undergraduate students to work on cutting-edge research on biomedical optics. Students will pursue full-time laboratory research for nine weeks from June to August at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. It provides a highly multidisciplinary environment at the interface of laboratory innovations and real-world applications. The faculty with backgrounds in physics, chemistry, and engineering will serve as mentors. A variety of research projects are offered in diverse, yet cohesive, themes in the field of biomedical optics, with emphasis on multidisciplinary approaches that integrate optical physics and engineering with biological questions and medical problems. The research program will enhance the ability of students to undertake interdisciplinary research on a broad range of cutting-edge topics including optical coherence tomography, bio-integrated photonic devices, cell lasers, biomechanics, and photodynamic therapy. Students who produce significant results will be identified and encouraged to submit abstracts to annual conferences with full travel supports. In addition to research, students attend lectures, seminars, and professional development workshops on presentation, ethics, and intellectual properties. All student participants are accommodated in the dormitory at the MIT campus in close proximity to the labs and lecture sites, and they participate in various social activities. Stipends and travel supports will be provided. The vibrant summer program will make their summer experience go way beyond what could be provided by a typical research experience in a single lab. NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY:Biomedical optics is a rapidly growing field, well poised to impact biological sciences and human health. Students will witness how innovative research in the lab can help solve real-world problems and thus provide tangible benefits to the society we live in. This experience will help students gain a broader and deeper perspective on research and possibly further motivate the students to pursue a future in interdisciplinary science and engineering. Interactions with mentors provide role models to the students while helping them evaluate their own future career paths. The REU site will also have a positive impact on faculty mentors by fostering active interactions and collaborations. Students will interact with overseas summer students in other ongoing international programs, building global networks. In turn, by providing positive experiences, this interaction can increase the international recognition of science and engineering in the U.S. by attracting talented undergraduates from overseas to the U.S. for higher education. The REU site is well positioned to become a national and international model for highly interdisciplinary and intense summer research experiences for undergraduates.