REU Site: Integrated Bioengineering Research, Education, and Outreach Experiences for Females and Underrepresented Minorities at WPI

该REU网站为伍斯特理工学院生物工程专业的8名本科生提供综合研究、教育和推广经验。该计划的目标是为生物工程专业的本科生提供研究机会；2)个人和专业发展培训，以帮助增加工程专业女性和少数民族本科生的保留率；3)参与中学生外展活动。这种作为导师的经历提供了一种公民参与的形式，帮助REU的学生意识到他们影响和帮助下一代工程师和科学家的能力。对于中学生来说，参与增加了他们对科学的兴趣，并使他们保留了基本的数学和科学课程，这将使他们能够将工程作为一门学科来学习。这对女性和有色人种的学生尤其重要，因为他们在中学阶段可能会在数学课程上落后，从而限制了他们未来的教育机会。与中学生的互动部分是通过一个为期两周（半天）的中学生实习项目，也通过参与由WPI多样性和妇女项目办公室（ODWP）组织和运行的现有夏令营项目。知识价值。这项工作的智力价值在于，每年有8名本科生从事工程学中最令人兴奋和发展最快的领域之一——生物工程的研究。来自生物医学工程、化学工程、电气和计算机工程的六名教员在生物医学信号处理、生物过程控制、组织工程、体内氧运输和微生物感染等领域创造了研究机会。每个学生都在实验室与教师导师一起进行研究，并根据其能力专门设计一个项目，并参加专业发展活动。评估计划侧重于期望的结果，使用多种测量方法，具有形成性和总结性元素，并使用已发布的评估工具。更广泛的影响。对于本科生来说，这种经历不仅使他们接触到学术研究，而且还帮助他们看到科学事业对他们来说是如何可能的，与丰富的个人生活并不矛盾，并且可以用来造福下一代学生。每周的研讨会包括研讨会和讨论，主题包括科学伦理，平衡工作和家庭生活，如何选择研究生院等。此外，本科生也参与了新工程师的招聘。该项目的每个本科生都被分配到一个八年级的“实习生”，为期两周。实习生被分配到一个研究项目的一小部分，团队在夏季结束时做一个海报展示。作为一项单独的活动，本科生还与ODWP合作，为两个（已经存在的）女性和有色人种学生夏令营开发生物工程活动。生物工程、化学、生物医学、电气和计算机工程专业的本科生从美国的机构招聘，特别是从缺乏研究生研究项目的学校和少数民族学生较多的机构招聘。招聘计划源自已公布的招聘代表性不足群体的最佳实践。这些实践包括一个高度个性化和可见的过程，以及一个包括基于项目、实践学习、指导和在研究实验室中创建学习社区的计划，该社区吸引了所有类型和背景的学生。

Abstract for REU Site: Integrated Bioengineering Research, Education, and Outreach Experiences for Females and Underrepresented Minorities at WPI, Camesano, 0452809 This REU site offers integrated research, education, and outreach experiences for 8 undergraduates in bioengineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The objectives of this program are to provide 1) research opportunities for undergraduate students in bioengineering; 2) personal and professional development training to help increase the retention of females and minority undergraduate students in engineering; and 3) involvement in outreach to middle-school students. This experience as mentors provides a form of civic engagement that helps the REU students realize their ability to influence and aid the next generation of engineers and scientists. For the middle-school students, participation increases their interest in science and their retention in essential math and science courses that will allow them to pursue engineering as an academic discipline. This is especially important for females and students of color, who may fall behind in math courses in the middle-school years, thus limiting the future educational opportunities available to them. The interaction with middle-school students occurs partly through a two-week (half-day) internship program for middle-school students and also through involvement in existing summer-camp programs organized and run through the WPI Office of Diversity and Women's Programs (ODWP). Intellectual Merit. The intellectual merit of the proposed work is that 8 undergraduates/year are engaged in research in one of the most exciting and rapidly developing areas of engineering --- Bioengineering. Six faculty members from Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Electrical and Computer Engineering have created research opportunities in areas that include biomedical signal processing, control of bioprocesses, tissue engineering, oxygen transport in the body, and microbial infections. Each student conducts research in the laboratory with the faculty mentor on a project specifically designed for his or her abilities and also participates in professional development activities. The assessment plan focuses on desired outcomes, uses multiple measurements, has formative and summative elements, and uses published evaluation instruments. Broader Impacts. For the undergraduates, this experience not only exposes them to academic research but also helps them to see how a scientific career can be possible for them, is not inconsistent with a rich personal life, and can be used to benefit the next generation of students. Weekly seminars involve workshops and discussions on topics including ethics in science, balancing work and family life, how to choose a graduate school, etc. In addition, the undergraduates become engaged in the recruitment of new engineers. Each undergraduate in the program is assigned an 8th grade "intern" for a period of two weeks. The intern is given a small portion of a research project to work on, and the team makes a poster presentation at the end of the summer. As a separate activity, the undergraduates also work with the ODWP to develop bioengineering activities for two (already existing) summer camps for females and students of color. Undergraduates from Bioengineering, Chemical, Biomedical, Electrical, and Computer Engineering are recruited from U.S. institutions, especially from schools that lack graduate research programs and from institutions with large minority enrollments. The recruitment program derives from published best practices for recruiting underrepresented groups. These practices comprise a process that is highly personal and visible and a program that includes project-based, hands-on learning, mentoring, and creation of a learning community in the research labs that engages students of all types and backgrounds.