REU Site: An Energy Research REU focusing on Wyoming Community Colleges

该奖项由美国国家科学基金会化学部(CHE)和刺激竞争研究实验计划(EPSCoR)支持，支持由John O.Hoberg和Brian Leonard教授领导的怀俄明大学(UW)本科生研究体验(REU)网站。怀俄明州的教育系统由一所四年制研究生水平的大学和七所社区学院(CC)组成。每个CC支持一个化学系和总共22名教职员工。因此，这项提案针对并将招收这七所院校的学生，预计将对社区学院、怀俄明州和周边各州的学生产生重大的科学影响。该网站旨在通过提供使用复杂仪器的实践经验，并提供社区大学教育中通常不提供的专门研究方法，来培训学生进行现代研究。项目与参加研讨会、伦理课程以及到国家实验室和煤矿实地考察相结合，以教育学生与国家和全球能源需求和管理有关的当前科学问题。该项目还为学生在新兴的高科技能源领域就业做好准备，该领域将继续增长。该计划的一个影响是利用当前的能源和气候问题吸引学生进入科学职业生涯，这将激励和激励那些希望继续生活在美国西部的学生。在这个项目中，怀俄明大学(UW)化学系将在每年夏天将怀俄明州社区学院(CC)的七支社区大学教授及其本科生团队带到怀俄明州大学。这些团队将在化学研究小组中就能源科学和能源资源管理中的突出问题开展工作。这个为期10周的暑期研究项目包括实践研究以及各种活动，以教育和培训学生的能源科学。每名学生与11名参与的教师导师中的一人密切合作，这些导师是根据他们的研究成就和与本科生研究人员合作的成功经验而精心挑选的。

This award, supported by the Division of Chemistry (CHE) and the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) Program both at the National Science Foundation support a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Site at the University of Wyoming (UW), led by Professors John O. Hoberg and Brian Leonard. Wyoming's educational system is comprised of a single 4-year graduate-level university along with seven community colleges (CC). Each of these CC's supports a chemistry department along with a total of 22 faculty. Thus, this proposal targets and will recruit students from these seven institutions and is expected to produce a significant, scientific impact on the community colleges, students in the state of Wyoming, and surrounding states. The site is designed to train students in modern research by providing hands-on experience with sophisticated instrumentation, and providing access to specialized research methods not typically available in their community college education. Projects are integrated with participation in seminars, an ethics course, and field trips to a national lab and coal mine to educate students on the current scientific issues related to both national and global energy demand and management. The program also serves to prepare students for careers in the emerging high-tech energy field, which will continue to grow. An impact of this program is to attract students into science careers using current energy and climate problems that will motivate and impassion students who desire to continue living in the western United States.In this project, the Department of Chemistry at the University of Wyoming (UW) will bring seven teams of community college professors and their undergraduate students from Wyoming community colleges (CC) to UW each summer. These teams will work in chemistry research groups on outstanding problems in energy science and energy resource management. This 10-week summer research program involves hands-on research along with a variety of activities to educate and train students in energy science. Each student works closely with one of the 11 participating faculty mentors who have been carefully selected for their research accomplishments and successful experiences in working with undergraduate researchers.