REU Site: A Summer Research Program that Integrates Deaf, Hearing and Sign Language Interpreting Students to Advance Chemistry Research and to Enhance Science Communication

本科生（REU）网站授予詹姆斯麦迪逊大学（JMU），位于弗吉尼亚州哈里森堡，支持12名学生在2022年至2024年的夏季培训10周。该计划由数学和物理科学（MPS）理事会的化学部和多学科活动办公室（OMA）共同资助，将通过为聋人和听力障碍（D/HH）学生，代表性不足的少数民族学生和第一代大学生提供化学科学研究和专业发展机会，扩大参与并培训STEM学生。主要来自研究基础设施有限的机构。此外，美国手语（ASL）口译学生将沉浸在科学界。这既拓宽了口译员的技能，又扩大了具有科学口译经验的专业人才库，从而降低了D/HH学生坚持STEM的障碍。通过REU，聋人和听力参与者一起学习，消除了科学研究环境中的沟通障碍。 预计这一经验将促进文化意识，并提供一个更具包容性的科学界。通过这个REU计划，詹姆斯麦迪逊大学的教师，沿着来自Gallaudet大学的访问教师，将提供化学的所有主要子学科的研究机会，以合成，生物物理化学和材料为中心的专业知识。除了进行研究，REU学生还将参加旨在提高有效的科学传播的专业发展活动。来自JMU媒体艺术与设计学院（SMAD）的一名教师将共同主持关于使用视觉传达的研讨会，以告知科学和非科学观众在JMU进行的研究对科学和社会的影响。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。

This Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site award to James Madison University (JMU), located in Harrisonburg, VA, supports the training of 12 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2022-2024. This program, jointly funded by the Division of Chemistry and the Office of Multidisciplinary Activity (OMA) in the Mathematics and Physical Sciences (MPS) Directorate will broaden participation and train STEM students by providing research and professional development opportunities in the chemical sciences to deaf and hard-of-hearing (D/HH) students, underrepresented minority students and first-generation college students, primarily from institutions with limited research infrastructure. In addition, American Sign Language (ASL) interpreting students will be immersed in the science community. This both broadens the interpreters’ skills and expands the pool of professionals with science-interpreting experience, thus lowering the barriers for D/HH students to persist in STEM. Through the REU, both deaf and hearing participants learn together, removing communication barriers in the scientific research environment. This experience is expected to foster cultural awareness and provide for a more inclusive scientific community. Through this REU program, James Madison University faculty, along with a visiting faculty from Gallaudet University, will provide research opportunities in all major sub-disciplines of chemistry, with expertise centered in synthesis, biophysical chemistry, and materials. In addition to conducting research, REU students will also participate in professional development activities aimed at enhancing effective science communication. A faculty member from JMU’s School of Media Arts and Design (SMAD) will co-host workshops on the use of visual communication to inform both scientific and non-scientific audiences about the impacts of the research conducted at JMU on science and society.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.