REU/RET Site in Nanomaterials

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Non-technical summaryThe University of Minnesota (UMN) will host a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site that brings 10 talented undergraduates from a nationwide pool of applicants for an intensive 10-week research experience that includes extensive training and development of career-building skills. Each participant pursues an independent research project within the laboratory of a Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) faculty member and delivers a poster and a formal oral presentation at the program’s conclusion. The RET component draws six middle and high school teachers from the greater Twin Cities for a six-week research experience and 25 additional teachers for a three-day RET-led workshop. RET participants have their own research projects and work to develop and disseminate standards-based, crosscutting, engineering laboratory activities for middle and high school classrooms. The goal of the REU/RET site is to train the next generation of science and engineering professionals while increasing participation of traditionally under-represented groups. The MRSEC REU program expands its extensive network of four-year colleges, Tribal Colleges and Native American Serving Nontribal Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and Community Colleges to provide high-quality research experiences in MS&E, primarily to students from undergraduate institutions with limited research opportunities, and to high school teachers from the Twin Cities.Technical summaryThe REU Site brings 10 talented undergraduates from a nationwide pool of applicants to the UMN campus for an intensive 10-week research experience that includes extensive training and development of career-building skills. The UMN MRSEC REU Site enhances the overall awareness and self-expectation of the participants, while increasing their knowledge and appreciation of Materials Science and Engineering (MS&E). This is particularly important for undergraduates from two-year and four-year colleges and minority serving institutions (MSIs), who do not have extensive research experience, and who have little or no exposure to MS&E. The UMN MRSEC comprises two Interdisciplinary Research Groups (IRGs) addressing pressing problems over a wide range of hard to soft materials: IRG-1, Ionic Control of Materials and IRG-2, Mesoscale Network Materials. Each IRG integrates the six basic elements of materials science and engineering – synthesis, theory, structural characterization, property evaluation, processing, and applications – required for effective innovation in materials research and development. MRSEC faculty and students are based in five different science and engineering departments, assuring a particularly broad and interdisciplinary experience for all participants. The research advisors represent an appealing blend of junior, senior, and mid-career faculty; all are acknowledged leaders in their fields and have proven records of mentoring undergraduate researchers.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.