REU Site: Vanderbilt University Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Physics & Astronomy

本奖项全部（或部分）由《2021年美国救援计划法案》（公法117-2）资助。该奖项继续资助范德比尔特大学本科生研究经验（REU）网站，该网站为物理学和天文学本科生提供与教师密切合作的机会，在物理学的各个子领域开展前沿研究项目。这些领域包括天文学和多信使天体物理学、生物物理学、凝聚态物理学（包括材料和纳米科学）、核物理学和粒子物理，以及涉及日益重要和交叉领域的大数据和数据科学的项目。研究导师都是著名的研究人员，都致力于亲自指导学生。广泛的研究基础设施，包括几个大型跨学科中心的设施，将提供给学生。物理系学生也将有机会参观国内外政府实验室的主要设施，包括费米实验室、布鲁克海文实验室、橡树岭实验室和欧洲核子研究中心。该计划的一个关键部分将是继续强调高比例未被充分代表的少数民族学生、妇女和/或残疾人的参与，其中一半以上的学生将来自研究机会有限的机构。此外，学校非常强调领导力发展。该计划包括道德研究行为的培训，并且，作为该计划重点发展未来劳动力的一部分，包括前面提到的扩大未被充分代表的群体在物理学中的参与。通过建立这个项目以及与国家物理学会，特别是少数民族物理学会的广泛合作，我们在招募参与者时采用了最佳实践。该项目旨在建立范德比尔特大学导师（他们都是受支持的研究人员）与学生所在机构的教师之间的联系。这建立了一个更大的社区，为学生提供持续的支持，并提高了学生继续指导和研究参与的能力。此外，学生们还有机会参加范德比尔特大学启动前项目（Pre-Launch program），这是一门通过范德比尔特大学NSF I-Corps Site项目提供的介绍创业原则的迷你课程。他们还可以从范德比尔特数据科学研究所和/或范德比尔特超级计算中心提供的计算和数据科学短期课程中受益（两者都由物理和天文学教员指导）。最后，学生们将有机会通过菲斯克-范德比尔特物理与天文学路演推广项目，接受研究与教育相结合的培训。该网站由NSF数学和物理科学理事会内的物理系、天文科学系和材料研究部提供支持。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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 funded in whole (or in part) under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). The award continues the funding of the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) site at Vanderbilt University which offers undergraduate physics and astronomy students the opportunity to work closely with faculty on forefront research projects in a variety of subfields of physics. The areas include astronomy and multimessenger astrophysics, biological physics, condensed matter physics including materials and nanoscience, nuclear physics, and particle physics, as well as projects involving the increasingly important and cross-cutting area of big data and data science. The research mentors are all renowned researchers and all have committed to personally directing the students. An extensive research infrastructure, including the facilities of several large interdisciplinary centers, will be available to the students. Physics students will also have the opportunity to visit major facilities at government laboratories, both domestic and international, including FermiLab, Brookhaven, Oak Ridge, and CERN.A key part of the program will be a continued emphasis on the participation of a high percentage of underrepresented minority students, women, and/or persons with disabilities, and more than half of the students will be from institutions with limited research opportunities. Furthermore, there is a strong emphasis on leadership development. The program includes training in ethical conduct of research, and, as part of the program's emphasis on developing the future workforce, includes the aforementioned focus on broadening participation of underrepresented groups in physics. The best practices learned through building this program and through extensive work with national physics societies, especially the minority physics societies, are employed in recruiting participants. The program is designed to build ties between the Vanderbilt mentors, all of whom are supported researchers, and faculty at the student’s home institution. This builds a larger community, provides for continued support for the student, and enhances the ability for continued mentoring and research participation of the student. In addition, students have the opportunity to participate in the Vanderbilt Pre-Launch program, a mini-course that introduces principles of entrepreneurship, offered through the NSF I-Corps Site program at Vanderbilt. They also can benefit from short courses in computing and data science offered through the Vanderbilt Data Science Institute and/or the Vanderbilt supercomputing center (both directed by members of the Physics & Astronomy faculty). Finally, students are offered the opportunity for training in the integration of research with education through the Fisk-Vanderbilt Physics & Astronomy Roadshow outreach program. This site is supported by the Division of Physics, the Division of Astronomical Sciences, and the Division of Materials Research within NSF's Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate.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.