REU Site: Preparing a Diverse Workforce through Interdisciplinary Astrophysics Research

该奖项将在西北大学天体物理学跨学科探索和研究中心（CIERA）建立一个REU站点。该网站将利用CIERA的跨学科性质，为学生提供跨部门的导师和经验，并深入了解天文学和天体物理学与其他STEM学科之间的跨部门联系。教师导师（都是CIERA的成员）来自四个系：物理与天文系、应用数学系、地球与行星科学系、电子工程与计算机科学系。现有的研究项目涵盖了广泛的天文学主题和研究方法，从理论到计算，从仪器到实验。此外，这些项目将使用广泛的尖端设施，包括仪器实验室和NU的Quest高性能计算设备，费米实验室和阿贡国家实验室的仪器，以及加州理工学院亚毫米天文台。通过这种接触，REU的学生将学习天文研究如何为他们提供广泛的技能，并引导他们走向不同的专业道路。NU CIERA的REU网站将为学生提供跨学科天文学研究的经验，使他们接触到天体物理学中广泛的令人兴奋的研究领域，并在学生之间以及与NU研究人员之间建立社区。该网站还旨在通过与芝加哥地区少数族裔服务机构合作，从STEM中代表性不足的群体中招募相当一部分参与者。通过高质量的研究经验和专业发展活动，NU CIERA REU网站将有助于发展多样化，复杂和高度竞争的STEM劳动力。

This award will establish an REU Site at Northwestern University (NU)'s Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA). The Site will take advantage of CIERA's interdisciplinary nature, providing students access to mentors and experience across departments, and insight into the cross-departmental connections between astronomy and astrophysics and other STEM disciplines. The Faculty Mentors (all of whom are members of CIERA) come from four departments: the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Applied Math, Earth and Planetary Science, and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Available research projects cover a wide range of astronomical topics and research methods, from theory to computation and from instrumentation to experimentation. Furthermore, the projects will use a wide range of cutting-edge facilities, including instrument labs and the Quest high performance computing facility at NU, instruments at Fermilab and Argonne National Laboratory, and the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory.Through this exposure, the REU students will learn how astronomical studies prepare them with a wide range of skills and can lead them to diverse professional paths. NU CIERA's REU site will give students the experience of doing interdisciplinary astronomical research, expose them to a wide array of exciting research areas in astrophysics, and build community among the students themselves and with NU researchers. The Site also aims to recruit a significant fraction of its participants from members of underrepresented groups in STEM by partnering with Chicago-area minority serving institutions. Through high-quality research experiences and professional development activities, the NU CIERA REU Site will contribute to the development of a diverse, sophisticated, and highly competitive STEM workforce.