REU Site: Preparing a Diverse Workforce through Interdisciplinary Astrophysics Research

该奖项是为西北大学(NU)天体物理跨学科探索与研究中心(Ciera)的REU站点提供的新资金。REU网站利用了Ciera的跨学科性质，为学生提供了跨系导师的机会，并深入了解天文学、天体物理学和其他STEM学科之间的跨部门联系。该项目将每年向8名学生提供。可用的导师来自以下系：物理和天文学；应用数学；地球和行星科学；电子工程和计算机科学。可用的研究项目涵盖天文学主题和方法，涉及理论、计算、仪器和实验。学生们将有机会接触到广泛的尖端设施，包括仪器实验室和NU的Quest高性能计算设施。通过这次接触，REU的学生将了解天文研究如何为他们培养广泛的技能并引导他们走向不同的职业道路。NU Ciera的REU网站为学生提供了进行跨学科天文研究的经验，让他们接触到天体物理学中一系列令人兴奋的研究领域，并在学生和NU研究人员之间建立了一个社区。该网站通过与芝加哥地区的少数族裔服务机构合作，从STEM中代表性不足的群体中招募了相当大一部分参与者。通过高质量的研究经验和专业开发活动，NU Ciera REU网站将为发展一支多样化、复杂和具有高度竞争力的STEM工作队伍做出贡献。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。

This award is for renewed funding of the REU Site at Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) at Northwestern University (NU). The REU site takes advantage of CIERA's interdisciplinary nature, providing students with access to mentors across departments, and insight into the cross-departmental connections between astronomy and astrophysics and other STEM disciplines. The program will be offered annually to 8 students. The available mentors come from the departments of: Physics and Astronomy; Applied Math; Earth and Planetary Science; and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Available research projects cover astronomical topics and methods ranging across theory, computation, instrumentation, and experimentation. The students will have access to a wide range of cutting-edge facilities, including instrument labs and the Quest high performance computing facility at NU. Through this exposure, the REU students will learn how astronomical studies prepare them with a wide range of skills and can lead them to diverse professional paths. NU CIERA's REU site gives students the experience of doing interdisciplinary astronomical research, exposes them to a wide array of exciting research areas in astrophysics, and builds a community among the students and NU researchers. The Site recruits a significant fraction of its participants from underrepresented groups in STEM by partnering with Chicago-area minority serving institutions. Through high-quality research experiences and profesional development activities, the NU CIERA REU Site will contribute to the development of a diverse, sophisticated, and highly competitive STEM workforce.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.