REU Site: Promoting Leadership in Advanced-Research-Computing for INterdisciplinary Sectors (PLAINS)

我们国家的劳动力要求毕业生精通计算，能够随时将基础研究应用于新的挑战，并具有技术和人际交往技能。在包括工程、生物、医学和数字农业在内的各种STEM学科中，理解和应用高保真建模和模拟的能力正变得越来越重要。Plains REU网站将邀请STEM本科生参与协作小组项目，这些项目使用高性能计算、大数据和计算密集型模型作为中心组织主题。这些学生代表了多个STEM学科，这些学科使用类似的模拟技术，但具有显著不同的应用。他们将在STEM劳动力队伍中获得竞争优势，将计算理论和应用的广泛视角与研究完整性和专业技能(如技术沟通和领导能力)的发展相结合。通过经验、培训和指导，学员将从这个项目中脱颖而出，具备在STEM继续深造和职业生涯的技能、能力和愿望。该项目服务于国家利益，并推进NSF的使命，即通过让本科生参与最先进的工程应用和计算研究来促进科学进步，并通过加强STEM劳动力队伍和增加未被充分代表的群体和非传统学生的参与来促进国家的健康、繁荣和福利。该网站由国防部与NSF REU计划合作支持。该REU网站的目标是提高学生的能力：1)使用高性能计算(HPC)和其他计算工具和资源进行创新和有意义的研究；2)在协作研究环境中工作；3)以诚信和社会责任进行研究；4)在专业生涯中取得成功；5)毕业后从事STEM研究生项目和/或研究机会。项目主任每年将从传统上代表性不足的人群(小型农村学院、社区学院、部落学院和非传统学生)的一年级和二年级STEM专业的多样化人才库中招收10名学生。每个学生每天都将与研究生助理和教师导师密切合作，每周还将与行业导师密切合作几次。参与者将学习如何使用高保真模型来表示物理现象，如何在大型计算环境中实施模型，以及如何分析、解释和使用模拟结果来洞察理论和应用问题。学生将获得宝贵的经验，包括工程分析中的模拟工具，计算中最先进的研究工具，基于真实数据集和模拟的统计分析，以及包括高性能计算中的并行算法在内的高级数值方法。切实的成果将包括学生撰写的期刊文章、会议记录和技术演示。REU网站的成功将由外部评估者通过形成性和终结性评估、学生反思、面试和STEM研究生项目的入学情况以及CISE REU工具包进行评估。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Our nation's workforce demands graduates who are computationally proficient, can readily apply fundamental research to new challenges, and have both technical and interpersonal skills. The ability to understand and apply high fidelity modeling and simulations is becoming increasingly important in a wide variety of STEM disciplines, including engineering, biology, medicine, and digital agriculture. The PLAINS REU Site will engage STEM undergraduates in collaborative group projects that use High Performance Computing, Big Data, and computationally-intensive models as a central organizing theme. The students represent multiple STEM disciplines that employ similar simulation techniques but have significantly different applications. They will gain a competitive edge in the STEM workforce by combining a broad perspective on the theory and application of computing with training in research integrity and the development of professional skills, such as technical communication and leadership. Through experience, training, and mentoring, participants will emerge from this program with the skills, aptitude, and desire to pursue further study and careers in STEM. This project serves the national interest and advances NSF's mission to promote the progress of science by engaging undergraduate students in state-of-the art research in engineering applications and computation, and promotes the nation's health, prosperity, and welfare by strengthening the STEM workforce and increasing the participation of underrepresented groups and nontraditional students. This site is supported by the Department of Defense in partnership with the NSF REU program.The goals of this REU Site are to enhance students' abilities to: 1) conduct innovative and meaningful research using high performance computing (HPC) and other computing tools and resources, 2) work in a collaborative research environment, 3) conduct research with integrity and social responsibility, 4) succeed in a professional career, and 5) pursue graduate STEM programs and/or research opportunities post-graduation. Program directors will recruit ten students per year from a diverse pool of first- and second-year STEM majors from traditionally under-represented populations (small rural colleges, community colleges, tribal colleges, and non-traditional students). Each student will work closely with graduate assistant and faculty mentors every day, and with industry mentors several times per week. Participants will learn how high fidelity models can be used to represent physical phenomena, how the models are implemented within a large computing environment, and how the simulation results are analyzed, interpreted, and used to gain insight for theoretical and applied problems. Students will gain valuable experience with simulation tools in the context of engineering analysis, state-of-the-art research tools in computation, statistical analysis based on real datasets and simulations, and advanced numerical methods including parallel algorithms in HPC. Tangible outcomes will include student-authored journal articles, conference proceedings, and technical presentations. The REU Site's success will be assessed by an external evaluator through formative and summative evaluations; student reflections, interviews, and enrollment in STEM graduate programs; and the CISE REU Toolkit.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.