REU Site: Collaborative Research: Research Experience for Undergraduates in Underground Infrastructure

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This collaborative Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site award to Colorado School of Mines, located in Golden, CO, Lehigh University, located in Bethlehem, PA, and California State University, Los Angeles, located in Los Angeles, CA, focuses on Underground Infrastructure. Underground infrastructure refers to any physical infrastructure that is placed beneath the surface, including transportation, utilities, building foundations, and any other structures built underground. While the nation’s underground infrastructure is in critical state of disrepair, innovative design, construction methods, and materials with improved durability and longer service lives would lead directly to less frequent maintenance carried out at lower cost, enhanced resilience, and improved safety for the public. Through this multisite REU collaborative award, twelve undergraduate students will participate in a ten-week REU program each summer. This REU program targets qualified science and engineering students from diverse backgrounds and various regions of the US. By engaging students in cutting-edge research, a stimulating opportunity and an impactful program to educate and train future globally competitive researchers in the underground infrastructure area are created. The REU students will work collaboratively with their mentors to advance fundamental research and field applications, which in addition will help students find a permanent set of mentors to aid in the pursuit of their STEM careers. This REU program will result in an increase in the diversity of well-positioned students in the pipeline to graduate school in a STEM field.The objectives of this REU program are to (a) attract, engage, and educate undergraduate students from institutions that have limited research activities in underground construction and engineering research; (b) offer hands-on high-quality research experience in state-of-the-art laboratory and computing facilities in combination with a series of professional development activities; and (c) motivate undergraduate students to pursue and prepare themselves to succeed in advanced degrees in STEM, with an emphasis on women and minorities. The primary outcomes from the project are high-quality research and research capacity development (student training). The program offers hands-on high-quality research experience in state-of-the-art laboratory and computing facilities in combination with a series of professional development activities. The program strengthens the academic credentials and research skills of students through participation in mentored research projects that address underground infrastructure problems with real-world relevance.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.