REU Site: Collaborative Undergraduate Research in Energy

马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特分校的费尔曼、基蒂斯特维德教授及其同事主持了REU网站：能源本科生合作研究(CURE)。该奖项由数学和物理科学局的化学部支持。REU网站每年向10名学生提供广泛定义的可再生能源领域的研究机会。马萨诸塞州大学阿默斯特分校由来自五个学术部门的14名教职员工组成的核心小组提供为期10周的强化研究实习机会。CURE REU计划在智力合作的背景下培训学生进行严格的个人调查，这是针对现实社会挑战的科学解决方案工作的标志。学生们成对地研究一个整体科学问题的不同方面，分享他们的结果和见解，以相互赞扬和加强工作。每对学生都由两名在特定领域进行积极研究合作的教职员工和两名指导参与者日常活动的近乎同行的导师指导。学生完成协作性的提案陈述、教育和外展项目，以及不同形式的手稿写作，以培养向不同受众传播科学的技能。每周一次的研讨会和讨论计划涵盖了广泛的特殊培训模块(实验室安全和科学伦理)和可再生能源战略的当前主题。CURE REU计划将学生带入广泛能源领域的现有合作。具体的合作研究项目应对可再生能源发展中的当前挑战；包括潜在的混合光伏应用的新平台、用于太阳能电池的纳米颗粒的生物分布、电活性聚合物材料和生物质能源技术。参与者的招募利用了由代表不足的学生组成的计划，如东北路易斯·斯托克斯少数族裔参与联盟(NeLSAMP)、麦克奈尔奖学金计划，以及NSF的HBCU-UP计划的机构。REU网站继续与波多黎各大学、曼荷莲学院、史密斯学院和东北联盟LSAMP计划建立长期合作伙伴关系。这些招聘努力成功地增加了STEM专业学生的参与率和留存率，特别是代表性不足的少数群体。参与者在项目完成后进行跟踪，以评估REU经验对他们以后职业发展的影响。学生研究的传播是通过“期刊挑战”手稿的准备来完成的，以期最终出版。参加者还通过编制和介绍外联和教育项目材料，接受公共外联方面的培训。

Professors Fermann, Kittilstved and colleagues at the Univeristy of Massachusetts - Amherst host the REU Site: Collaborative Undergraduate Research in Energy (CURE). This award is supported by the Division of Chemistry in the Directorate of Mathematical and Physical Sciences. The REU site offers research opportunities in the broadly-defined area of renewable energy to 10 students per year. A core group of 14 faculty members from five academic departments at UMass Amherst offer ten-week intensive research internships. The CURE REU program trains students in the rigors of individual investigation in the context of intellectual collaboration that is a signature of work on scientific solutions to real societal challenges. Students work in pairs on separate aspects of one overall scientific question, sharing their results and insight to compliment and reinforce each other's work. Each student pair is mentored by two faculty members with active research collaborations in the specific area and two near-peer mentors who guide the day-to-day activities of the participants. Students complete collaborative proposal presentations, education and outreach projects, and manuscript writing in different formats to develop skills in communicating science to distinct audiences. A weekly seminar and discussion program covering a wide range of special training modules (laboratory safety and scientific ethics) and current topics in renewable energy strategies is also held.The CURE REU program brings students into existing collaborations in the broad area of energy. Specific collaborative research projects address current challenges in the development of renewable energy; including novel platforms for potential hybrid photovoltaic applications, biodistributions of nanoparticles used in solar cells, electroactive polymer materials, and biomass energy technologies. Recruitment of participants leverage programs that comprise underrepresented students such as the Northeast Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (NeLSAMP), the McNair Scholarship Program, and institutions with the NSF's HBCU-UP Program. The REU site continues longstanding partnerships with the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, and the Northeast Alliance LSAMP Program. These recruiting efforts have been successful at increasing the participation and retention of STEM majors, especially underrepresented minority groups. Participants tracked after completion of the program to evaluate the impact of the REU experience on their later career steps. Dissemination of student research is accomplished through the "Journal Challenge" manuscript preparation in anticipation of eventual publication. Participants also receive training in public outreach through the creation and presentation of Outreach and Education Project materials.