REU Site: Integrating Research in Sustainable Energy and the Environment across Disciplines (IR-SEED)

德克萨斯农工大学金斯维尔分校(TAMUK)的本科生研究体验(REU)网站旨在为新兴的可持续能源和环境领域的未被充分代表的学生提供有影响力的暑期研究机会和经验。这将使他们了解自己在科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)领域的能力和兴趣水平，并为他们提供工具，为下一阶段的教育和职业发展做准备。REU网站的学术价值在于为下一代可持续能源研究人员建造了一条新的急需的管道，以解决可持续能源研究以及社会和环境问题的广泛主题，这是一个具有地方意义和全球影响的主题。该项目提供的研究、教育和职业指导旨在鼓励学生以新的视角看待他们的学术工作，并为可能的学术研究或产业创新职业提供火花。参与的学生将通过与其他参与者的合作来解决各种研究课题，与来自不同工程系的教师导师和博士生互动，并发展可持续能源和环境研究的整体视角。该网站旨在引导学生独立工作和协作工作，每个团队由两名本科生组成。每个学生将被要求为他们的研究撰写一份会议论文风格的报告以供发表，并在为期10周的课程结束时的最后一场比赛中口头和海报陈述他们的暑期研究项目。REU网站符合TAMUK工程学院的一项倡议，该倡议旨在让本科生参与研究，并促进美国公民(尤其是拉美裔和女性学生)参与研究生研究。REU网站建立在一个愿景的基础上，即从代表不足的群体中培养有抱负的研究人员，以迎接能源研究的挑战，并培养积极为国家能源自力更生议程做出贡献的未来领导者。该REU网站旨在开发和实施一个多学科合作努力的示范环境，其中研究和教育紧密结合在可持续能源和环境研究的不同方面。来自不同工程和理工系的10名学生将通过全国范围的搜索进行招募，重点是西班牙裔和女性学生。它以为期10周的跨学科团队方法为特色，指导学生进行不同的研究项目。拟议的可持续能源研究包括三个主要研究领域：1)能源收获，2)能源利用，3)能源政策，环境和社会影响。具体目标是：1)向本科生，特别是西班牙裔和女性本科生提供能源研究不同方面的研究机会；2)增加参加研究生教育的人数不足的学生人数；3)在TAMUK不同工程系的教职员工和学生之间建立合作关系。通过与在各自学科前沿工作的教师导师一起参与尖端研究，学生将参与关于可持续能源和环境研究主题的复杂科学研究。该计划旨在教授学生如何在他们的研究导师的指导下制定研究问题和制定/修改研究计划。除了实践的协作研究体验，技术和社交活动将被纳入该项目，为学生提供坚实的分析、写作和演示技能基础，有助于加强REU学生和教师导师之间的互动。学生还将获得在多个环境中报告和讨论他们的研究成果的经验。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site at Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK) seeks to provide impactful summer research opportunities and experiences to underrepresented students in the emerging fields of sustainable energy and environment. This will enable them to understand their own levels of aptitude and interest in a career in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and give them the tools to prepare for the next stage in education and career development. The intellectual merit of this REU Site lies in constructing a new and critically needed pipeline for the next generation of sustainable energy researchers, equipped to address the broad theme of sustainable energy research and social and environmental issues, which is a theme of local significance and global implications. The research, educational, and career mentorship provided by the program is envisioned to stimulate the students to look at their academic work in a new light and to provide a spark for possible careers in academic research or industrial innovation. Participating students will tackle various research topics by working collaboratively with other participants, interact with faculty mentors and Ph.D. students from different engineering departments, and develop a holistic perspective of sustainable energy and environment research. The site is designed to guide students to work both independently and collaboratively, with each team consisting of two undergraduate students. Each student will be required to write a conference paper style report of their research for publication and deliver an oral and poster presentation of their summer research projects in the final competition at the end of 10-week program. The REU site fits within an initiative in the College of Engineering at TAMUK to involve undergraduate students in research and boost the participation of US citizens (especially Hispanic and female students) in graduate research. The REU site builds on a vision of grooming aspiring researchers from underrepresented groups to embrace the challenge of energy research and developing future leaders who proactively contribute to the nation's energy self-reliance agenda.This REU Site is designed to develop and implement a model environment for multidisciplinary collaborative efforts where research and education are tightly integrated around the different facets of sustainable energy and environment research. Ten students from various engineering and science departments will be recruited through a nationwide search with special emphasis on Hispanic and female students. It features a 10-week interdisciplinary team approach to mentoring students on different research projects. The proposed sustainable energy research consists of three major research areas: 1) Energy Harvesting, 2) Energy Utilization, and 3) Energy Policy, Environmental and Social Impacts. The specific objectives are: 1) providing research opportunities in the different aspects of energy research to undergraduate students, especially Hispanic and women; 2) increasing the number of underrepresented students who participate in graduate education; and 3) building collaborative links among faculty and students from different engineering departments at TAMUK. Through participation in cutting-edge research with faculty mentors working at the forefront of their respective disciplines, students will engage in complex scientific studies on sustainable energy and environment research topics. The program is structured to teach students how to formulate research questions and develop/modify research plans with the guidance of their research mentors. In addition to the hands-on collaborative research experience, technical and social activities will be incorporated into the program to provide students with a solid foundation in analytical, writing, and presentation skills, helping to enhance the interaction between REU students and faculty mentors. The students will also gain experience with reporting and discussing their research results in multiple settings.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.