REU Site: Summer Research Program for Community College Students in Physics and Astronomy at Texas A&M University-Commerce.

德克萨斯农工大学-商业学院的本科生研究体验(REU)网站每年夏天为六名学生提供为期十周的机会，他们来自美国中南部地区靠近德克萨斯州东北部的两年制社区学院，该地区毗邻俄克拉荷马州、阿肯色州和路易斯安那州。在这个与世隔绝的地区，学生几乎没有研究机会，可能来自STEM资源很少的学区。这些学生将参加物理教育、核物理、天体物理、实验表面物理、实验有机半导体物理和天文学。除了与研究顾问一起参与研究外，REU的学生还将参加每周的活动，以确保他们的研究保持在正轨上，并拥有一次引人入胜的大学和学术体验。在项目结束时，每个学生将写一篇研究论文，并在校园内的小组会议上展示他们的工作成果。这个REU网站将产生几个更广泛的影响，重点是为本科生提供研究机会，帮助他们为未来的科学、技术、工程和数学职业做准备。它还专注于为两年制社区学院的学生提供研究机会，并促进四年制大学的过渡。该网站制定了战略，以确保非传统学生、女性和代表性不足的少数族裔能够参与暑期研究体验。从第一年开始及早参与研究是吸引和留住STEM职业生涯中有才华的本科生的最有效方式之一。在不久的将来，将特别努力帮助REU的学生成为独立的研究人员。这一奖项反映了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。

This Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site at Texas A&M University-Commerce provides opportunities for six students each summer for ten weeks from 2-year community colleges in the middle south region of the US near northeast Texas, which borders the neighboring states of Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Students in this isolated region have very few research opportunities and may come from school districts with few STEM resources. The students will participate in physics education, nuclear physics, astrophysics, experimental surface physics, experimental organic semiconductor physics, and astronomy. In addition to participating in research with a research advisor, the REU students will engage in weekly activities to ensure that their research stays on track and have an engaging collegial and scholarly experience. At the end of the program, each student will write a research paper and present their work results in a small group conference on campus.This REU site will have several broader impacts, focusing on providing research opportunities for undergraduates to help prepare them for future science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers. It also focuses on providing research opportunities for students in two-year community colleges and facilitates four-year universities' transition. The site has developed strategies to ensure that non-traditional students, women, and underrepresented minorities can participate in a summer research experience. Early involvement in research beginning in the first year is one of the most effective ways to attract and retain talented undergraduate students in STEM careers. Special efforts will be made to help the REU students to become independent researchers in the near future.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.