REU Site: Consortium for Undergraduate Research Experiences (CURE)

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This award provides renewed funding for the Consortium for Undergraduate Research Experiences (CURE), which is a collaboration between six Los Angeles-area community colleges and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Fifty-five percent of all California State University students, and nearly one third of all University of California students, start their careers in community colleges, and yet these students may never have access to top-notch research and mentoring opportunities while at their local colleges. CURE's mission is to provide these students -- especially females, underrepresented minorities, non-traditional students -- this cutting-edge access. Students will be paired with JPL scientists to conduct research at both JPL and its Table Mountain Observatory. They will perform detailed research into a variety of topics, including space physics instrumentation, observations and analysis of asteroids, and spectroscopy of minerals likely to be found on Mars. By offering high-quality research experiences and dedicated mentoring to students in partnership with one of the world's most prolific space science institutions, CURE aims to propel its participants to transfer successfully to four-year universities and advanced degree programs and careers in STEM fields. Its previous award (AST-1156756) is an exemplar of success: many students have published their research, and almost all have transferred to four-year universities. This new award will enable CURE to place a renewed focus on boosting the numbers of females and African American in the program, which will expand STEM training opportunities to these groups.