REU Site: Summer Research in Physics at the University of Arkansas

REU 网站：阿肯色大学物理学暑期研究

• 批准号: 2244130
• 负责人: Reeta Vyas
• 金额: $ 40.46万
• 依托单位: University of Arkansas
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-04-01 至 2026-03-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2244130&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: REU; Site; Summer; Research; Physics

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARYJointly funded by the Division of Materials Research, the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), and the Division of Physics, the University of Arkansas will host a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site that provides exciting research opportunities to students primarily from, but not exclusively to, undergraduate institutions in the Ozark region and surrounding states with limited or no infrastructure to support undergraduate research. Each year, a diverse group of students including women and underrepresented minorities in the STEM fields are targeted for recruiting by using the resources of the UA minority recruitment program and a network of faculty and alumni contacts at HBCU and institutions with significant Native American and Hispanic populations as well as students who may have not performed well in courses but show indication of originality and creativity. The selected students participate in experimental and theoretical research projects in nanoscale materials, condensed matter, soft matter, biophysics, photonics, lasers, and nonlinear and quantum optics. They acquire skills and practices essential to scientific problem solving by working in a collaborative environment through mentoring by experienced faculty, post-doctoral scholars, and senior graduate students. They visit high-tech industries, participate in professional development activities that include weekly seminars, workshops on laboratory safety, library database searches, graduate school applications, oral and written communications skills, a participatory scientific ethics course, and social/cultural activities with other REU groups. The program evaluation process uses both direct measures of student success and indirect measures (student, mentor, alumni surveys, publications, presentations) of learning and achievements to provide guidance to continually improve the REU program and broaden its impact. Many participants in the REU site continue with graduate studies or find employment directly after graduation in a STEM fields.TECHNICAL SUMMARYEach REU participant works on a carefully selected research project from topics of current interest such as properties of nanoscale materials, atomically thin material quantum devices, solid-state nanopore fabrication for detection of DNA, novel properties of two-dimensional atomic materials beyond graphene, structured light beams, quantum correlations in nonlinear and quantum optics, super-resolution fluorescence microscopy, and statistical and nonlinear physics of extremophiles and the brain. Through engagement with their research projects for ten weeks, the participants receive technical training in using the state-of-the art instruments, and computational and analytical research techniques. Some students work on stand-alone short term research projects while others help solve a small piece of a large ongoing research project. They all contribute significantly by building a device for data acquisition, writing software for data analysis, calibrating an instrument, carrying out a proof-of-principle experiment or an experiment verifying a theoretical prediction. They experience the creative process involved in scientific research starting from the formulation of a problem to its solution, the ups and downs, and the eventual thrill of a discovery. They participate in group seminars, reviews of research, planning, and discussions, and through this interaction develop a professional network of faculty and peers. At the end of the summer, students present their research at a REU research symposium and submit a final report in the format of a Physical Review paper. Many go on to present the results of their research at national/international scientific research conferences and publish papers based on their work in scientific research journals. Each REU participant leaves having acquired scientific and technical skills for advanced scientific research and softer skills to be a productive and thoughtful member of the nation’s scientific and technical workforce.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.

由材料研究部、刺激竞争性研究的已建立计划（EPSCoR）和物理部共同资助，阿肯色大学将主办本科生研究经验（REU）网站，为学生提供令人兴奋的研究机会，主要来自但不限于奥扎克地区和周边州的本科院校，这些院校支持本科生研究的基础设施有限或没有。每年，通过利用亚利桑那大学少数族裔招聘计划的资源，以及HBCU和拥有大量美洲原住民和西班牙裔人口的机构的教师和校友联系网络，以及可能在课程中表现不佳但表现出独创性和创造力的学生，包括女性和STEM领域未被充分代表的少数族裔的学生，都是招聘的目标。入选学生将参与纳米材料、凝聚态物质、软物质、生物物理学、光子学、激光、非线性光学和量子光学等领域的实验和理论研究项目。他们通过经验丰富的教师、博士后学者和高级研究生的指导，在协作环境中工作，获得解决科学问题所必需的技能和实践。他们参观高科技产业，参加专业发展活动，包括每周研讨会，实验室安全研讨会，图书馆数据库检索，研究生院申请，口头和书面沟通技巧，参与性科学伦理课程，以及与其他REU小组的社会/文化活动。项目评估过程既使用学生成功的直接衡量标准，也使用学习和成就的间接衡量标准（学生、导师、校友调查、出版物、演讲），为不断改进REU项目和扩大其影响提供指导。REU网站的许多参与者在毕业后继续研究生学习或直接在STEM领域找到工作。每位REU参与者从当前感兴趣的主题中精心选择一个研究项目，如纳米材料的特性、原子薄材料量子器件、用于检测DNA的固态纳米孔制造、石墨烯以外的二维原子材料的新特性、结构光束、非线性和量子光学中的量子相关性、超分辨率荧光显微镜、以及极端微生物和大脑的统计和非线性物理学。通过参与十周的研究项目，参与者接受使用最先进仪器的技术培训，以及计算和分析研究技术。一些学生从事独立的短期研究项目，而另一些学生则帮助解决正在进行的大型研究项目的一小部分。他们都通过构建数据采集设备，编写数据分析软件，校准仪器，进行原理验证实验或验证理论预测的实验来做出重大贡献。他们经历了科学研究的创造性过程，从提出问题到解决问题，起起伏伏，以及最终发现的兴奋。他们参加小组研讨会，审查研究，规划和讨论，并通过这种互动发展教师和同行的专业网络。在夏季结束时，学生在REU研究研讨会上展示他们的研究，并以物理评论论文的形式提交最终报告。许多人继续在国家/国际科学研究会议上展示他们的研究成果，并在科学研究期刊上发表基于他们工作的论文。每个REU的参与者离开时都获得了先进科学研究的科学技术技能和软技能，成为国家科学技术队伍中富有成效和有思想的成员。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。