REU Site: Quantum and Materials Physics

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This award supports a new Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) site in physics at Montana State University. The site will support eight students for ten weeks of summer research per year in cutting edge Quantum and Materials Physics topics. Their work will advance current research knowledge and contribute to publishable results and presentations at scientific conferences. Proposed REU research projects will be well defined and flexible to help ensure completion of the research in the ten-week period. Students will gain unique technical skills and REU experience will inform their future education and career decisions. Student participants will be guided in research projects closely associated with ongoing research activities in Quantum Information Science and other Quantum Physics projects and teamed with experienced researchers who will mentor them during the program. Weekly meetings will be used to develop an awareness of ethical conduct in science, current research, the importance of science in society, and career opportunities in science and engineering. These meetings will also be used to develop communication skills and will foster additional periods of interaction among the REU students and MSU faculty mentors. Assessment will be exercised throughout the program to make certain that each participant is appropriately mentored and reaches their goals. This project is jointly funded by the Division of Physics and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) program.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.