REU Site: Quantitative Research in the Life and Social Sciences: an interdisciplinary and intergenerational REU experience

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This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). In a modern world highly driven by data, quantitative reasoning and quantitative literacy has become increasingly important. The Quantitative Research for the Life and Social Sciences Program (QRLSSP) is an 8-week Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program that will host 12 students each summer. This summer program will offer undergraduate research opportunities that involve solving problems in the life sciences and social sciences using quantitative tools from mathematics, statistics, and data analysis. The program is uniquely structured to incorporate student-selected research projects on problems that lie in applied mathematics and statistics, with applications to the life and social sciences. The program will recruit, train, and mentor underrepresented minority students, first generation students, and students enrolled at small, non-PhD-granting institutions and community colleges, which will help broaden the participation of students pursuing graduate degrees and STEM careers. The students will participate in professional development activities, and the program is structured to follow and support student participants for up to 6 years post-REU.Students will be trained to propose research questions that interest them, with the intention of naturally increasing engagement. The program will expose the students to mentors with a wide variety of expertise to develop a greater understanding of universal issues in the biological and social sciences. Students will also be trained to use software for mathematical modeling to enhance their computing toolkit for their future use and research. Participants will be encouraged to give presentations at a variety of conferences to improve presentation skills, build confidence, and disseminate their work to a broader audience. The program will expose participants to a diverse set of successful faculty and researchers who will serve as role models, and will provide opportunities for networking, community building, and peer support. Mentorship training and opportunities for new faculty and for graduate students seeking to join academia as a profession will help improve STEM education and educator development as well.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.