REU Site: Preparing a Diverse Workforce through Interdisciplinary Astrophysics Research

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This award is for renewed funding of the REU Site at Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) at Northwestern University (NU). The REU site takes advantage of CIERA's interdisciplinary nature, providing students with access to mentors across departments, and insight into the cross-departmental connections between astronomy and astrophysics and other STEM disciplines. The program will be offered annually to 8 students. The available mentors come from the departments of: Physics and Astronomy; Applied Math; Earth and Planetary Science; and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Available research projects cover astronomical topics and methods ranging across theory, computation, instrumentation, and experimentation. The students will have access to a wide range of cutting-edge facilities, including instrument labs and the Quest high performance computing facility at NU.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 gives students the experience of doing interdisciplinary astronomical research, exposes them to a wide array of exciting research areas in astrophysics, and builds a community among the students and NU researchers. The Site recruits a significant fraction of its participants from underrepresented groups in STEM by partnering with Chicago-area minority serving institutions. Through high-quality research experiences and profesional development activities, the NU CIERA REU Site will contribute to the development of a diverse, sophisticated, and highly competitive STEM workforce.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.