REU Site: Consortium for Undergraduate Research Experiences (CURE)

这一奖项为本科生研究体验联盟(CURE)提供了新的资金，该联盟是洛杉矶地区的六所社区学院和NASA喷气推进实验室(JPL)的合作项目。55%的加州州立大学学生和近三分之一的加州大学学生在社区大学开始他们的职业生涯，但这些学生在当地大学期间可能永远没有机会获得一流的研究和指导机会。CURE的使命是为这些学生--特别是女性、代表性不足的少数族裔和非传统学生--提供这种前沿途径。学生们将与喷气推进实验室的科学家一起在喷气推进实验室及其桌山天文台进行研究。他们将对各种主题进行详细研究，包括空间物理仪器、小行星的观测和分析，以及可能在火星上发现的矿物的光谱。通过与世界上最多产的空间科学机构之一合作，为学生提供高质量的研究经验和专门的指导，CURE旨在推动其参与者成功地转到四年制大学以及STEM领域的高级学位课程和职业生涯。它之前的奖项(AST-1156756)是成功的典范：许多学生发表了他们的研究成果，几乎所有人都转到了四年制大学。这一新的奖项将使CURE能够重新将重点放在增加该计划中的女性和非裔美国人的数量上，这将扩大STEM培训机会给这些群体。

This award provides renewed funding for the Consortium for Undergraduate Research Experiences (CURE), which is a collaboration between six Los Angeles-area community colleges and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Fifty-five percent of all California State University students, and nearly one third of all University of California students, start their careers in community colleges, and yet these students may never have access to top-notch research and mentoring opportunities while at their local colleges. CURE's mission is to provide these students -- especially females, underrepresented minorities, non-traditional students -- this cutting-edge access. Students will be paired with JPL scientists to conduct research at both JPL and its Table Mountain Observatory. They will perform detailed research into a variety of topics, including space physics instrumentation, observations and analysis of asteroids, and spectroscopy of minerals likely to be found on Mars. By offering high-quality research experiences and dedicated mentoring to students in partnership with one of the world's most prolific space science institutions, CURE aims to propel its participants to transfer successfully to four-year universities and advanced degree programs and careers in STEM fields. Its previous award (AST-1156756) is an exemplar of success: many students have published their research, and almost all have transferred to four-year universities. This new award will enable CURE to place a renewed focus on boosting the numbers of females and African American in the program, which will expand STEM training opportunities to these groups.