REU Site: Research Experience for Undergraduates in Physics at Lehigh University

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This award supports the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site at Lehigh University, which will provide fourteen undergraduate students each summer the opportunity to participate in ten weeks of research on topics in astrophysics, atomic and molecular physics, biophysics, condensed matter physics, optics, nanotechnology, plasma physics, and statistical physics. The program involves research, weekly faculty seminars and lab tours, a student symposium at the end of the summer, other professional development opportunities, and various social functions that foster the interaction of undergraduate students with faculty and graduate students. A group housing arrangement greatly enhances both the academic and social experiences of the participants.Program participants gain research experience at a critical point in their undergraduate careers, as well as an excellent preview of graduate school. The students make significant contributions to a wide range of research projects during their summer work. Over the past 25 years, more than two-thirds of the participants in Lehigh's program have gone on to graduate studies in science and engineering, and most of the remaining students obtained jobs in fields of science and technology. The program has an important impact in enabling promising students to pursue careers in science and other technical disciplines, and is informed by an on-going evaluation.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.