REU Site: An Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Research Experience in Solar and Space Physics

首席研究人员(PI)将继续他们成功的暑期研究计划，向本科生介绍研究环境中太阳和空间物理的跨学科性质。作为整个计划的一部分，科罗拉多州REU网站将提供为期一周的暑期课程，涵盖与太阳、日光层、地球磁层和高层大气以及耦合的太阳-地球系统有关的研究主题。本周的学术讲座和实验室将调整和利用波士顿大学团队开发的暑期研究生班课程，该团队管理着美国国家科学基金会的科学和技术中心，被称为“综合空间天气建模中心”，科罗拉多大学是其中的合作伙伴。科罗拉多州REU课程将强调太阳和空间物理研究的实用计算机技能。在为期一周的暑期学校体验之后，REU的学生将在博尔德地区合作研究所的科学家导师的指导下进行个人研究项目，涵盖太阳和空间物理的所有科学研究课题。REU计划的最后将是每个学生制作一张研讨会级的海报，并做30分钟的口头陈述，介绍他们的研究和科学发现。PIS指出，国家研究委员会对太阳和空间物理的十年调查引发了对与太阳和空间物理相关的学术部门招生人数下降以及与该领域相关的学术课程减少的担忧。由于这威胁到社区未来研究人员的供应，科罗拉多州REU团队决心通过鼓励本科生从事太阳和空间物理学的研究事业来扭转这一趋势。这一非常成功的REU项目已经为70多名本科生提供了从事太阳和空间物理研究所需的动机和技术背景，这些学生中的大多数在获得本科学位后进入了该领域的研究生课程。这一成功预计将继续下去。

The Principal Investigaotrs (PIs) will continue their successful summer research program that introduces undergraduate students to the interdisciplinary nature of solar and space physics in a research setting. As part of the overall program, this Colorado REU site will offer a one week summer school covering research topics related to the Sun, the heliosphere, the Earth's magnetosphere and upper atmosphere, and the coupled Sun-Earth system. This week of academic lectures and laboratories will adapt and exploit the graduate summer school curriculum developed by the Boston University team that managed the NSF's Science and Technology Center known as the "Center for Integrated Space weather Modeling" (CISM), in which the University of Colorado was a partner. This Colorado REU curriculum will emphasize practical computer skills for solar and space physics research. After the one week summer school experience, REU students will perform individual research projects guided by scientist mentors from collaborating institutes in the Boulder area, spanning the full range of scientific research topics in solar and space physics. The REU program will conclude with each student creating a workshop-quality poster and giving a 30 minute oral presentation covering their research and their scientific findings.The PIs note that the National Research Council's decadal survey of solar and space physics raised concerns about declining enrollments in academic departments related to solar and space physics, as well as reductions in the availability of academic courses relevant to the field. Since this threatened the supply of future researchers in the community, this Colorado REU team has been determined to reverse this trend by encouraging undergraduates to pursue research careers in solar and space physics. This highly successful REU program has already provided over 70 undergraduates with the motivation and technical background needed to pursue research in solar and space physics, and the majority of these students have entered graduate programs in the field after having earned their undergraduate degrees. This success is expected to continue.