REU Site: Collaborative Undergraduate Research in Energy

马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特分校的Fermann教授、Kittilstved教授及其同事主持了REU网站：能源本科合作研究（CURE）。该奖项由数学和物理科学理事会化学处支持。REU网站每年为10名学生提供广泛定义的可再生能源领域的研究机会。来自马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特分校五个学术部门的14名教员组成的核心小组提供为期10周的密集研究实习机会。CURE REU项目训练学生在智力合作的背景下进行严格的个人调查，这是为真正的社会挑战提供科学解决方案的标志。学生们结对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，以赞扬和加强彼此的工作。每个学生组由两名在特定领域有积极研究合作的教师和两名指导参与者日常活动的同行导师指导。学生们以不同的形式完成合作提案演示，教育和推广项目，以及手稿写作，以培养向不同受众传达科学的技能。每周举办一次研讨会和讨论计划，涵盖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项目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解决当前可再生能源发展中的挑战；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技术。参与者的招募利用了由代表性不足的学生组成的项目，如东北路易斯斯托克斯少数民族参与联盟（NeLSAMP）、麦克奈尔奖学金项目，以及美国国家科学基金会的HBCU-UP项目。REU网站继续与波多黎各马亚圭斯大学，霍利奥克山学院，史密斯学院和东北联盟LSAMP计划的长期合作伙伴关系。这些招聘努力成功地提高了STEM专业学生的参与度和保留率，尤其是代表性不足的少数群体。参与者在项目完成后进行跟踪，评估REU经历对他们后来职业发展的影响。学生研究的传播是通过“期刊挑战”手稿准备完成的，预期最终出版。参与者还通过制作和展示外展和教育项目材料，接受公众外展方面的培训。

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.