REU Site: Advancing high-performance computing opportunities in undergraduate research at UW-Eau Claire to meet challenges of multidisciplinary computational science

近年来，涉及大规模数据处理的计算密集型科学和工程研究显著增长，从而推动了STEM学科的突破性创新。这些研究需要跨学科的方法，其中特定领域的专业知识和开发可扩展算法的知识相结合是必要的。为期十周的本科生研究经验（REU）计划在威斯康星州-欧克莱尔大学将提供高性能计算（HPC）的全面研究经验，并激励学生的多元化群体追求与多学科计算科学相关的STEM学科的职业生涯。该REU网站将支持研究10名本科生每年夏天从事他们的合作研究经验与设计计算密集型算法和仿真模型使用HPC的中心主题。该计划的目标是吸引学生从事STEM职业，并培训他们使用先进的硬件和计算资源，提供大多数本科生在学习过程中无法体验的机会。REU网站还将致力于促进国家STEM劳动力多样性目标，方法是在研究机会有限的两年制大学中从STEM代表性不足的群体中招募学生。该项目专注于HPC及其在不同科学学科中的应用，将有助于实现NSF的几个关键目标：促进发现和学习，促进科学和工程劳动力的包容性，并提供一个综合战略，以推进知识的前沿。通过研究导师提供的重点研究经验，学生将有机会开发利用HPC基础设施解决科学问题的新算法。学生将学习完成研究项目，开发模拟和预测模型，分析结果，准备在期刊，会议论文集提交的手稿，并做技术演示。来自计算科学五个独立研究领域的十个项目将提供给学生。这些领域包括（1）深度学习和计算机视觉，应用于生物医学成像，模式识别和地理空间数据分析，（2）机器学习及其在社交媒体分析中的应用，（3）量子化学模拟，以探测电子水平的事件，（4）多尺度建模和模拟，以探索复杂的生物分子结构和功能，（5）恒星结构和演化的计算天体物理研究。此外，REU计划将通过本科研究研讨会，STEM多样性，科学写作，计算道德，研究生院准备，服务学习和职业规划来培养领导力和人际交往能力。REU计划还将通过邀请嘉宾演讲和实地考察来吸引学生。REU网站的成功将由内部评估沿着通过NSF CISE研究经验本科生比较评估（CERP-REU）提供的评估资源和服务进行评估。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。

Recent years have witnessed a significant growth in computationally intensive scientific and engineering studies involving large-scale data processing, thereby driving groundbreaking innovations across STEM disciplines. These studies require an interdisciplinary approach, where a combination of domain-specific expertise and knowledge of developing scalable algorithms is necessary. The ten-week Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program at University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire will provide a comprehensive research experience in high performance computing (HPC) and inspire a diverse group of students to pursue careers in STEM disciplines related to multidisciplinary computational science. The REU site will support research for ten undergraduate students each summer engaging them in a collaborative research experience with the central theme of designing computationally intensive algorithms and simulation models using HPC. The goal of the program is to attract students to careers in STEM and train them to use advanced hardware and computing resources, providing an opportunity that most undergraduate students do not get to experience during their course of study. The REU site will also work to promote national STEM workforce diversity goals by recruiting students from underrepresented groups in STEM at two-year colleges, where research opportunities are limited. With its focus on HPC and its application in diverse scientific disciplines, the project will serve to fulfill several of the key goals of NSF: to advance discovery and learning, to promote inclusion in the science and engineering workforce, and provide an integrated strategy to advance the frontiers of knowledge.Through a focused research experience provided by research mentors, students will have the opportunity to develop new algorithms that utilize HPC infrastructure to solve scientific problems. Students will learn to complete research projects, develop simulation and predictive models, analyze results, prepare manuscripts for submission in journals, conference proceedings, and do technical presentations. A total of ten projects from five separate research domains in computational science will be made available to the students. These domains include (1) deep learning and computer vision with applications in biomedical imaging, pattern recognition, and geospatial data analysis, (2) machine learning and its application to social media analytics, (3) quantum chemical simulation to probe events at the electron level, (4) multiscale modeling and simulation to explore complex biomolecular structure and function, and (5) computational astrophysical study of stellar structure and evolution. Additionally, the REU program will develop leadership and interpersonal skills through seminars in undergraduate research, diversity in STEM, scientific writing, ethics in computing, preparing for graduate school, service learning, and career planning. The REU program will also engage students through invited guest speaker presentations and field trips. The success of the REU site will be assessed by internal evaluation along with evaluation resources and services offered through the Comparative Evaluation for NSF CISE Research Experiences for Undergraduates (CERP-REU).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.