REU Site: Chemical Energy Storage and Conversion

这项为期三年的REU现场项目将在宾夕法尼亚州立大学大学园区进行，重点是化学能量储存和转换方面的研究。每年将有10名本科生参与实践研究，帮助他们培养对这些技术进行批判性评估所需的技能，并加深对研究过程的理解。REU的参与者还将有机会与将在大学进行暑期研究的大量本科生进行互动和学习。除了研究经验，REU学生还将参加一系列教育会议，重点讨论以下主题：1)实验室安全和知情权法律；2)保持高质量的实验室笔记本；3)图书馆服务、电子数据库和引文索引；以及4)实验数据的统计分析。社会活动将是学生体验中不可或缺的一部分，目的是在学生和教师导师之间建立友谊和共事关系。学生将接受一系列书面和口头陈述步骤的指导，这些步骤将为他们提供创建“虚拟海报”所需的背景--一种可以通过网络共享的关于他们研究的多媒体演示。这张虚拟海报也是可携带的，允许REU的学生与他们所在大学的学生和教职员工、项目合作者以及未来的REU参与者分享他们的工作。最后，首席调查员(PI)将使用虚拟海报作为未来REU申请者的招聘工具。拟议的活动有什么更广泛的影响？REU网站计划的目标是在全国范围内吸引优秀和高度多样化的学生群体。招聘工作将在较小(主要是文科)机构的一些有针对性的自然和物理科学项目中进行，包括布林·莫尔、斯沃斯莫尔、林肯大学和朱尼亚塔。此外，还将努力吸引巴克内尔、维拉诺瓦和拉斐特等规模较小的学校的学生，这些学校有本科工程学课程，但研究生研究活动有限。该计划的参与者将被激励和鼓励继续研究生学习。人们对化石和燃料资源日益减少的认识，加上能源安全和能源消费对环境的影响的挑战，促使人们在改进和开发新的能源储存和转换技术方面做出广泛的研究努力。宾夕法尼亚州立大学在替代能源技术的研究方面走在了前列，整个大学都提出了在能源相关研究中发挥领导作用的倡议。

This three-year REU Site program at Pennsylvania State University, University Park will focus on research in Chemical Energy Storage and Conversion. Ten undergraduate students each year will engage in hands-on research that will help them develop the skills needed for the critical evaluation of these technologies and a deeper understanding of the research process. The REU participants will also have the opportunity to interact and learn from the large number of undergraduates who will be conducting summer research at the university. In addition to the research experience, REU students will be engaged in a series of educational meetings focused on the following topics: 1) Laboratory Safety and Right-to-Know laws; 2) Maintaining a high-quality laboratory notebook; 3) Library services, electronic databases, and citation indices; and 4) Statistical analysis of experimental data. Social activities will be an integral part of the students' experience with the goal of building friendships and collegiality between the students and faculty mentors. Students will be guided through a series of written and oral presentation steps that will provide them with the background they need to create a "virtual poster"- a multimedia presentation of their research that can be shared via the web. This virtual poster will also be transportable, allowing REU students to share their work with students and faculty at their home universities, project collaborators, and future REU participants. Finally, the Principal Investigator (PI) will use the virtual posters as a recruiting tool for future REU applicants.What are the broader impacts of the proposed activity?The goal of this REU Site program is to attract an outstanding and highly diverse group of students nationwide. Recruitment efforts will be done at a number of targeted natural and physical science programs at smaller (primarily Liberal Arts) institutions, including Bryn Mawr, Swarthmore, Lincoln University, and Juniata. In addition, efforts will be made to attract students from smaller schools like Bucknell, Villanova, and Lafayette that have undergraduate engineering programs but limited graduate research activities. Participants in the program will be motivated and encouraged to pursue graduate study.The increasing realization of diminishing fossil and fuel resources, coupled with the challenge of energy security and environmental impact of energy consumption, are motivating extensive research efforts in improving and developing new energy storage and conversion technologies. Pennsylvania State University is at the forefront in research in alternative energy technology, with a university wide initiative to take a leadership role in energy-related research.