REU Site: Integrated Optics for Undergraduate Native Americans (IOU-NA)

由亚利桑那大学（UA）、工程研究中心（ERC）、综合接入网络中心（CIAN）主办的为期三年的本科生综合光学研究经验（REU）现场计划，将为来自研究机会有限的机构的主要美国原住民学生提供研究经验和支持活动，重点是光学和光子学以及环境科学。他的研究领域包括光通信系统、光子子系统和器件以及光学材料，这些领域在未来将像电子技术一样普及。为了保持美国在信息技术领域的领先地位，需要开发高密度、集成的光电系统，以扩展当前光纤网络核心的能力。入选该项目的研究项目有可能推动美国光学科学和环境科学领域的发展。IOU-NA的活动是专门根据研究开发的，目的是留住STEM专业的美国原住民学生，并鼓励他们攻读科学和工程专业的研究生课程。印第安人迫切需要积极地看待科学和技术对他们生活的影响，因为他们的土地通常位于自然资源之上或周围。该项目旨在提高REU参与者对光学和其他STEM概念对美国社区，特别是美国原住民社区的影响的认识，以便他们能够回到自己的家庭-机构和土地上，成为他人的领导者和导师。亚利桑那大学将招收10名本科生参加为期10周的暑期项目，该项目将为学生提供机会加入研究团队，研究改进光纤、波导材料、短脉冲激光器和纳米制造等前沿课题。IOU-NA站点是一个多学科的REU，将为参与者提供与教师导师一起工作的机会，研究正在美国制造集成光子学研究所（AIM）和美国国家科学基金会集成接入网工程研究中心（CIAN）进行的研究。研究活动将通过本科研究机会联盟（UROC）进行补充，该联盟将提供专业发展和研究生准备讲习班。这个项目的招聘计划针对的是那些可能在工程学研究生学习中面临重大障碍的美国原住民学生。IOU-NA计划通过提供一系列培训活动和研讨会，为学生提供在STEM职业和教育中取得成功的信息和策略，在交流研究项目的应用和动机方面进行实践，鼓励学生在会议上发表和分享研究成果，并鼓励学生在部落和城市社区内分享这些发展起来的技能，为学生应对现代工程的挑战做好准备。该计划的预期影响是鼓励代表性不足的早期学术生涯学生扩大他们的研究能力，并在教师导师的指导下成为独立的研究人员，目标结果是他们追求STEM研究生学习。

This three year Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site Program, Integrated Optics for Undergraduate Native Americans (IOU-NA) hosted by the University of Arizona (UA), Engineering Research Center (ERC), Center for Integrated Access Networks (CIAN) will provide a research experience and supporting activities focused on optics and photonics, as well as environmental sciences, to primarily Native American students from institutions with limited research opportunities. CIAN's research addresses optical communication systems, photonic subsystems and devices, and optical materials, which in the future will become as pervasive as electronic technology. Keeping the U.S. in an information technology leadership position will require developing high-density, integrated optoelectronic systems that extend the capabilities of the current fiber network core. The research projects selected for this program have the potential to advance the fields of optical sciences and environmental sciences across the United States. Activities in the IOU-NA have been specifically developed based on research for retaining Native American students in STEM majors, and encouraging them to pursue graduate studies in science and engineering. There is a critical need for Native Americans to positively view the impact science and technology have on their lives, as their land is often located on or surrounding natural resources. This program is specifically designed to increase REU participants' awareness of the impacts optics and other STEM concepts have on U.S. communities, particularly Native American communities, so that they can return to their home-institutions and lands as leaders and mentors to others. The University of Arizona will host 10 undergraduate students for a 10 week summer program which will provide students an opportunity to join research teams working on improved fiber optics, waveguide materials, short-pulsed lasers, and nanofabrication, among other cutting edge topics. The IOU-NA site is a multidisciplinary REU that will provide participants the opportunity to work with faculty mentors on research being conducted at the American Institute for Manufacturing Integrated Photonics (AIM) and the NSF Engineering Research Center for Integrated Access Networks (CIAN). The research activities will be supplemented through the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Consortium (UROC) which will provide professional development and graduate preparation workshops. This program's recruitment plan addresses Native American students who likely face significant barriers to graduate studies in engineering. The IOU-NA program prepares students for the challenges of modern engineering by providing a series of training activities 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, encouraging ambition to publish and share research at conferences, and encouraging students to share these developed skill sets within their tribal and urban communities. The intended impact of this program is to encourage underrepresented, early-academic career students to expand their research capabilities and become independent researchers under the guidance of a faculty mentor, with the targeted outcome being their pursuit of STEM graduate studies.