REU Site: Functional Nanostructures

摘要，0453436：该奖项支持中佛罗里达大学（UCF）先进材料加工和分析中心（AMPAC）的REU站点，该站点每年招收10名本科生进行10周的纳米技术研究和其他教育经验。这些项目的主要重点是鼓励有才华的本科生，特别是女性、少数民族和残疾人，在纳米科学和工程领域进行研究生学习。经验丰富的教师担任这个项目的研究主管。该计划包括：(1)纳米技术基本原理的入门课程；(2)由学院领导的本科生研究研讨会；(3)每两周对奥兰多地区众多重工业进行工业考察；(4)关于工程研究中的伦理问题的研讨会、讲习班和讨论会；(5)由主要研究人员通过每周讨论小组持续监测学生的进步。夏季项目以海报会议结束，REU学生向AMPAC，纳米中心和UCF社区展示他们的研究成果。研究报告被装订成REU年鉴，由学生和PI编写。该项目通过帮助学生获得研究生院的录取和奖学金来跟进。REU网站的工作人员跟踪前参与者的职业发展。REU网站的一个新特点是成立了一个外部监督委员会，该委员会每年评估学生体验的质量和网站在满足其和NSF目标方面的总体成功。该项目的另一个新颖之处在于，有几名来自英国和日本的学生参与其中。智力优势：世界范围内的研究已经清楚地表明，纳米科学/纳米技术的动态学科可以带来许多好处。知识渊博的UCF教师，结合非凡的资源，创建了一个跨学科的科学家，工程师，教育工作者的团队，通过他们个人和联合的研究活动，在纳米科学和纳米技术方面发挥自己的才能。参与的学生融入了这个刺激的智力环境。更广泛的影响：该计划的课程提供了纳米科学和纳米技术的新学习机会，并帮助参与者制定他们的职业道路（科学，学术或工业）。特别强调实际和动手经验。传统上很少有机会参与研究工作的少数民族和妇女，特别是社区大学的学生，通过拓宽职业机会的视角，获得了立竿见影的好处。因此，一个重要的结果是保留这些学生在科学和工程学科的高级学习。这种跨学科的努力有助于STEM教师的专业成长，并为PI提供了一个研究新的教学范式和教学合作的机会。该项目的结果将通过相关的国家科学基金会教师研究经验（RET）项目进一步传播给K-12教师。

Abstract, 0453436:This award supports an REU Site at the Advanced Materials Processing and Analysis Center (AMPAC) at the University of Central Florida (UCF) which engages ten undergraduate students per year for ten weeks of research and other educational experiences in nanotechnology. The primary emphasis of these programs is placed on encouraging talented undergraduate students, in particular women, minorities and persons with disabilities, to pursue graduate studies in the fields of nanoscience and engineering. Experienced faculty serve as research supervisors in this program. The program includes: (1) Introductory coursework on the basic principles of nanotechnology; (2) Research seminars for undergraduates led by the faculty; (3) Bi-weekly industrial visits to the numerous heavy industries in the Orlando area; (4) Seminars, workshops, and discussion sessions on issues of ethics in engineering research; and (5) Continuous monitoring of the students' progress by the principal investigators via weekly discussion groups. The summer program concludes with a poster session in which the REU students present their research results to the AMPAC, Nanocenter, and UCF communities. Research reports are bound into an REU yearbook, which the students and PI compile. The program follows up by helping students to obtain admission and scholarships for graduate school. The REU site staff track the career progress of former participants. A new feature of the REU site is the formation of an External Oversight Committee, which evaluates annually the quality of the students' experiences and the Site's overall success in meeting its and NSF's goals. Another novel dimension of the program is the participation of several students from England and Japan.Intellectual Merit: Worldwide research has clearly demonstrated that many benefits can be derived from the dynamic discipline of nanoscience/nanotechnology. Knowledgeable UCF faculty, combined with the availability of extraordinary resources, have created an interdisciplinary team of scientists, engineers, educators to advance their own talents in nanoscience and nanotechnology through their individual and combined research activities. The participating students are incorporated into this stimulating intellectual environment.Broader Impact: The curriculum of this program provides new learning opportunities in nanoscience and nanotechnology and aids the participants in formulating their career paths (scientific, academic, or industrial). Special emphasis is placed on practical and hands-on experience. Minorities and women and especially community-college students, who traditionally have little opportunity to become involved in research work, realize immediate benefits through broadened perspectives on career opportunities. Thus, an important result is the retention of these students in advanced study of science and engineering disciplines. This interdisciplinary effort contributes to the professional growth of the STEM faculty involved and provides the PI's with an opportunity to investigate new teaching paradigms and teaching collaborations. The outcomes of the program will be disseminated further to inform K-12 teachers through a related NSF Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program.