REU Site: Summer Engineering Research Experiences in Diabetes for Undergraduates

该项目的更广泛意义：美国的研究人员数量必须大幅增加，以保持在研究和技术方面的全球领先地位。高技能研究人员的教育需要各级强有力的教育项目。研究经验可以极大地影响年轻工程师和科学家的未来和动力，并可以为本科生提供专业、智力和个人利益。通过开展与影响美国2500多万人的疾病相关的研究项目，我们有可能增进理解，同时影响您的工程师的职业生涯。该计划专门针对没有研究经验的学生。这一重点与社区大学项目的支持相结合，将提供机会影响处于关键职业转折点的学生。除了研究经验，学生还可以更广泛地了解这种疾病及其对社会的影响。该项目影响到多个学习阶段的学生。将为研究生提供和培养辅导活动，以促进与REU学生的互动，REU学生将为高中STEM计划开发丰富活动。高中生来自不同的背景，他们将接触到尖端的工程研究和在糖尿病领域产生影响的机会。项目描述：这个项目在伊利诺伊理工学院生物医学工程(BME)系的主要目标是：1)学生将通过与IIT的教师一起完成具有挑战性的糖尿病相关项目来体验工程研究。2)在研究生和本科生研究人员中开发和应用指导。3)让学生接触到他们的研究对健康的更广泛影响。4)向没有工程研究经验的学生提供工程研究经验，重点是社区学院的学生。5)将伦理讨论和培训融入学生体验的方方面面。实验室经验是这项研究计划的重要组成部分。然而，为了加强体验，提供了研讨会、辅导讲习班、道德培训、K-12外联活动和临床设施参观。完成暑期课程后，通过完成以下具体目标，学生将拥有不同的研究技能和知识：具体目标(S.O.)1：在IIT的工程导师的帮助下，学生完成与糖尿病相关的研究项目。S.O2：增加目标学生群体的参与，特别是没有研究经验的学生和来自STEM研究机会有限的学院和大学的学生。第四条：通过培训和与不同教育水平的学生互动，培养和应用研究生和REU学生的指导技能。第四条：增加学生对与糖尿病相关的健康影响的认识以及工程研究的重要性。建议5：通过非正式讨论和正式陈述交流研究想法和发现。这项建议针对的是从事工程研究的机会有限的学生和STEM研究机会有限的学院和大学的学生(特别是社区学院的学生)，特别关注妇女和少数族裔群体的学生。这项面向本科生的研究经验项目得到了工程教育和中心分部的支持。

BROADER SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROJECT: The number of researchers in the U.S. must increase significantly to preserve the global leadership in research and technology. The education of highly skilled researchers requires strong educational programs at all levels. Research experiences can greatly influence the future and motivation of young engineers and scientists and can provide professional, intellectual, and personal benefits for undergraduate students.. By performing research projects related to a disease that affects more than 25 million people in the U.S., we have the potential to advance understanding while influencing your engineers in their career. The program specifically targets students without previous research experience. This focus combined with support from community college programs will provide the opportunity to impact students at critical career transition points. In addition to research experience students are provided with a broader understanding of the disease and its impact on society. The program impacts students at multiple academic stages. Mentoring activities will be provided and fostered for graduate students to facilitate interactions with the REU student, and REU students will develop an enrichment activity for a high school STEM program. The high school students are from diverse backgrounds and will be exposed to cutting edge engineering research and opportunities for impact in the field of diabetes.PROJECT DESCRIPTION:The primary goals of this program in the Biomedical Engineering (BME) Department at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) are: 1) Students will experience engineering research by completing challenging diabetes-related projects with faculty at IIT. 2) Develop and apply mentoring in graduate and undergraduate researchers. 3) Expose student to the broader health implications of their research. 4) Provide engineering research experiences to students without previous experience with an emphasis on students from community colleges. 5) Integrate ethics discussion and training into all aspects of the student experience. Laboratory experience is an essential component of this research proposal. However, seminars, mentoring workshops, ethics training, a K-12 outreach activity and tours of clinical facilities are provided to enhance the experience. Upon completion of the summer program students will have a diverse set of research skills and knowledge by completion of the following specific objectives: Specific Objective (S.O.) 1: Students complete a diabetes related research project working with an engineering mentor from IIT. S.O. 2: Increase participation by targeted student populations, specifically students without previous research experience and those from colleges and universities where research opportunities in STEM are limited. S.O. 4: Develop and apply mentoring skills in graduate and REU students through training and interactions with students at multiple education levels. S.O. 4: Increase student knowledge of the health implications related to diabetes and the importance of engineering research. S.O. 5: Communicate research ideas and findings through both informal discussion and formal presentations. This proposal targets students with limited opportunity for engineering research and those from colleges and universities where research opportunities in STEM are limited (specifically community college students), with a specific focus on women and students from underrepresented minority groups. This Research Experiences for Undergraduates program receives support from the Division of Engineering Education and Centers.