REU: Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Nanoscience and Microsystems Engineering

这是新墨西哥大学本科生成功研究经验(REU)网站的三年续展，题为纳米科学和微系统工程中的REU，重点是纳米材料在生物系统和生物成像以及能量转换和储存方面的应用，这些领域代表着当前的国家利益。21世纪的材料合成和加工需要一种新的范式，将物理科学、工程学和计算模型结合在一起。解决健康、能源和环境领域的一些最紧迫的挑战为这个REU网站提供了具有挑战性的研究项目。这个项目的独特之处在于跨学科环境，这是材料研究的重要组成部分。这种基于跨学科团队的方法反映了这些学生在过渡到工业、学术或国家实验室职业生涯时将遇到的环境。纳米科学和微系统交叉学科计划的前提是，为了造福社会，纳米材料的独特性质必须集成到微观和宏观尺度的设备中，然后进一步集成到系统中。项目包括药物输送、杀生剂、蛋白质聚集和传感、纳米粒子动力学、催化剂、纳米流体和能源转换。学生将来自不同的种族、教育和文化背景。这包括来自社区学院的学生，主要是全国各地的本科生。学生在一名研究顾问和一名导师(研究生/博士后)的指导下工作10个暑期。其目的是通过将研究与教育相结合来灌输探究精神，并提高学生在科学和工程领域从事职业的兴趣。指导学生完成研究的各个方面，准备一个提案，制定一个研究计划，执行这个计划，并分析和展示他们工作的意义。通过这种方式，学生从相对依赖的状态过渡到他们开始提出问题和建议新实验的状态。学生们还将参加一系列研讨会，其中包括教师、国家实验室和行业演讲者。到国家实验室和当地行业的实地考察增加了他们接触职业机会和令人兴奋的研究问题的机会。暑期研究项目为学生提供了参与开放式研究的兴奋，同时将这一研究与他们的学术课程联系起来。

This three year renewal of a successful Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site at the University of New Mexico, entitled REU in Nanoscience and Microsystems Engineering, focuses on the application of nanomaterials to biosystems and bioimaging as well as to energy conversion and storage, representing areas of current national interest. The synthesis and processing of materials in the 21st century requires a new paradigm where the physical sciences, engineering and computational modeling come together. Solving some of the most pressing challenges in the areas of health, energy and the environment provides challenging research projects for this REU Site. The unique aspect of this program is the interdisciplinary environment, which is an essential component of materials research. The interdisciplinary team-based approach reflects the environment these students will encounter as they transition to their careers in industry, academe or in national labs. The Nanoscience and Microsystems interdisciplinary program is based on the premise that to benefit society the unique properties of nanoscale materials must be integrated into micro- and macro-scale devices and then further into systems. Projects include drug delivery, biocides, protein aggregation and sensing, nanoparticle dynamics, catalysts, nano fluidics and energy conversion.Students will be recruited from diverse ethnic, educational as well as cultural backgrounds. This includes students from community colleges and primarily undergraduate institutions across the country. Students work for 10 summer weeks with a research advisor and a mentor (graduate student/post-doc). The aim is to instill a spirit of inquiry by integrating research and education, and to enhance student interest in pursuing careers in the sciences and engineering. Students are guided through all aspects of research, preparing a proposal, making a plan of research, executing this plan and analyzing and presenting the significance of their work. In this manner, students transition from a relatively dependent status to one where they start to ask questions and suggest new experiments. Students also participate in a series of seminars that will include faculty, national lab and industry speakers. Field trips to the National Laboratories and to local industries enhance their exposure to career opportunities and exciting research problems. The summer research program provides students the excitement of participating in open-ended research, at the same time connecting this research with their academic curriculum.