REU-RET Mega-Site: Research Experiences for Undergraduates and Teachers in Smart and Connected Cities

该项目名为“reut - ret大型站点：智能和互联城市本科生和教师的研究经验”（由摩根州立大学领导），其目标是招募和培训在少数族裔服务的K-12学校和社区学院工作的少数族裔学生和教师，专注于高度相关的电气和计算机工程研究课题。该项目涉及开发本科生和教师联合研究经验（reut - ret）大型站点，该站点围绕以下与智能和互联城市相关的研究主题：物联网安全，可再生能源，储能，智能电网，人机交互和先进材料。参与这项工作的机构联盟是14所传统黑人学院和大学（HBCUs）和1所西班牙裔服务机构（HSI）。该项目的目标是低年级学生，他们不太可能有机会作为本科生参与研究。参与这种类型的经验已被证明具有变革性，并有可能提高这些机构的留校率和毕业率。RET参与者将从当地社区大学和高中招募，这些学校是财团机构的附属学校。为服务不足的本科生和教师群体提供高质量的研究经验，将为未来几年工程系学生的保留和毕业产生积极影响奠定基础，同时也将增加最终攻读研究生学位的少数民族学生的数量。此外，该计划将提高当地高中和社区大学的科学和工程教育质量，进一步激发少数族裔学生的兴趣和想象力，否则他们可能不会倾向于在科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）领域接受高等教育。该项目将成为如何通过成功实施多机构本科研究项目来扩大工程参与的国家模式，其他机构可以采用/适应和发展。这项工作的评估将由SageFox咨询集团进行，项目的结果将通过摩根州立大学的网站、会议报告和发表在同行评议期刊上的文章广泛传播。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The goal of this project, REU-RET Mega-Site: Research Experiences for Undergraduates and Teachers in Smart and Connected Cities (led by Morgan State University), is to recruit and train a diverse population of underrepresented minority students and teachers who work in minority-serving K-12 schools and community colleges - focusing on highly relevant Electrical and Computer Engineering research topics. The project involves the development of a combined Research Experiences for Undergraduates and Research Experiences for Teachers (REU-RET) Mega-Site that is centered on the following research topics that are related to Smart and Connected Cities: IoT Security, Renewable Energy, Energy Storage, Smart Grid, Human Computer Interaction, and Advanced Materials. The consortium of institutions involved in this effort are 14 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and 1 Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). The project targets lower division students who are less likely to have the opportunity to participate in research as undergraduates. Participation in this type of experience has been demonstrated to be transformative and to have the potential to increase retention and graduation rates at these institutions. RET participants will be recruited from local community colleges and high schools that serve as feeder schools to the consortium institutions.Providing quality research experiences to an underserved group of undergraduate students and teachers will lay the foundation for positively impacting the retention and graduation of engineering students for years to come, while also increasing the number of minority students who will eventually pursue graduate degrees. In addition, the program will improve the quality of science and engineering education at local high schools and community colleges, further stimulating the interest and imagination of underrepresented minority students who might not otherwise be inclined to pursue higher education in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. The project will serve as a national model for how to broaden participation in engineering by successfully implementing multi-institution undergraduate research programs, which others can adopt/adapt and build upon. The evaluation of this effort will be conducted by the SageFox Consulting Group and the project's outcomes will be broadly disseminated through Morgan State University's website, presentations at conferences, and articles that are published in peer-reviewed journals.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.