Integrated Optics for Undergraduate Native Americans (IOU-NA)

技术摘要：在工程教育和中心分部的坚定支持下，Cian的IOU-NA REU项目将在2014-2016年夏季为8名美洲原住民STEM本科生提供为期10周的研究培训。Cian的研究涉及用于光通信的光子材料和设备，这些材料和设备将成为未来互联网技术的基石。许多为互联网设备开发硬件的领先公司，如英特尔、思科、甲骨文、阿尔卡特朗讯和富士通，都是中资工业子公司，热衷于招聘具有这些专业技能的学生。在15年的时间里，要保持美国在信息技术领域的领先地位，就需要开发密集、集成的光电子系统，以扩展当前光纤网络核心的能力，同时保持与今天的电子接入网络相同的成本。此外，在互联网数据中心和云计算基础设施内，光子学的全新应用已经在涌现。IOU-NA的学生将加入在改进的光纤光学、波导材料、短脉冲激光、纳米制造、硅光子学和非线性光子学方面工作的有经验的Cian研究团队，以及COS的团队，特别是在水文学和环境科学领域。这种跨学科的方法将为REU参与者提供更全面的研究体验。为该计划选定的研究项目有可能推动美国各地的光学科学和环境科学领域的发展。IOU-NA计划通过提供一系列培训和研讨会，向学生提供在STEM职业和教育领域取得成功的信息和战略，练习沟通他们研究项目的应用和动机，并鼓励他们在会议上发表和分享研究成果的雄心，鼓励他们在部落和城市社区内分享这些发展起来的技能。非技术概述：2012年，NSF报告称，在美国授予美国公民的近3500个工程学博士学位中，授予土著美国人的不到0.17个。越来越明显的是，有巨大的需要支持美洲原住民从事STEM领域，并与国家努力增加和改善代表不足的少数族裔的STEM教育相一致。由于只有42%的美洲原住民在接受任何形式的高等教育，只有13%的人获得学士学位或更高学位，因此迫切需要在本科STEM领域支持美洲原住民的计划。Cian的REU，IOU-NA项目是确保这些有独特障碍的学生获得毕业于STEM学士学位和攻读研究生学位所需的信心和工具的重要一步。Cian目前的REU项目是一个经过验证的、多学科、多机构的项目，为本科生提供研究经验，如果没有这个项目，他们将几乎没有本科经验的选择。通过指导8名公民身份为美国原住民的学生或就读于美国印第安人服务学院或大学的本科生，在Cian的REU中增加对美国原住民的关注，这符合这个国家的优先事项。Cian的IOU-NA计划将增加未被充分代表的少数民族成功毕业于高等教育STEM专业并从事STEM职业和研究生学习的机会。除了参与尖端研究，IOU-NA的学生还将参加研讨会和STEM美洲原住民演讲者系列。这个IOU-NA是Cian为简化STEM为美洲原住民青年开发的管道而开发的几个教育项目之一。

TECHNICAL SUMMARY:With the committed support from the Division of Engineering Education and Centers, CIAN's IOU-NA REU program will provide research training for 8 Native American STEM undergraduate students, for 10 weeks during the summers of 2014-2016. CIAN's research addresses photonic materials and devices for optical communication that will be the cornerstone of future Internet technologies. Many leading companies that develop hardware for Internet equipment such as Intel, Cisco, Oracle, Alcatel-Lucent, and Fujitsu are CIAN industrial affiliates with a keen interest to recruit students with these specialized skills. Over a fifteen year horizon, keeping the U.S. as a leader in information technology will require developing dense, integrated optoelectronic systems that extend the capabilities of the current fiber network core while retaining the same cost as today's electronic access network. In addition, entirely new applications for photonics with internet data centers and within the infrastructure of cloud computing are already emerging. IOU-NA students will join experienced CIAN research teams working on improved fiber optics, waveguide materials, short-pulsed lasers, nanofabrication, silicon photonics, and nonlinear photonics, as well as teams in the COS, specifically in the area of Hydrology and Environmental Sciences. This interdisciplinary approach will provide REU participants with a more rounded research experience. The research projects selected for this program have the potential to advance the fields of optical sciences and environmental sciences across the United States. The IOU-NA program prepares students for the challenges of modern engineering by providing a series of trainings and workshops that deliver information and strategies for success in STEM careers and education, practice in communicating the application and motivation of their research projects, and encouraging ambition to publish and share research at conferences, encouraging them to share these developed skill sets within their tribal and urban communities.NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY:In 2012, NSF reported that of the nearly 3500 engineering doctorate degrees awarded to U.S. citizens in the United States, fewer than .17 went to Native Americans. It has become increasingly evident that there is an enormous need to support Native Americans pursuing STEM fields, and is aligned with national endeavors to increase and improve STEM education for underrepresented minorities. With only 42% of Native Americans pursuing any form of higher education and only 13% of that number attaining a bachelor's degree or higher, the need for programs to support Native Americans in undergraduate STEM fields is immediate. CIAN's REU, IOU-NA program is an essential step ensuring these students with unique obstacles gain the confidence and tools needed to graduate with STEM bachelor's degrees and pursue graduate degrees. CIAN's current REU program is a proven, multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional program that provides research experiences to undergraduate students, who, without this program, would have minimal alternatives for undergraduate experiences. Adding a Native American focus to CIAN's REU by mentoring 8 students who are either Native American by citizenship or undergraduate students attending an American Indian serving college or university is in line with the priorities of this nation. CIAN's IOU-NA program will increase opportunities for underrepresented minorities to successfully graduate with higher education STEM majors and pursue STEM careers and graduate studies. In addition to participation in cutting-edge research, IOU-NA students will participate in workshops and a STEM Native American speakers series This IOU-NA is one of several education programs that CIAN has developed in an effort to streamline the STEM pipeline for Native American youth.