REU Site: Summer Research Program for Community College Students in Physics and Astronomy at Texas A&M University-Commerce.

这个研究经验的本科生（REU）网站在得克萨斯州农工大学商务部提供了六名学生每年夏天十周的机会，从2年制社区学院在美国中南部地区靠近得克萨斯州东北部，毗邻俄克拉荷马州，阿肯色州和路易斯安那州。这个孤立地区的学生很少有研究机会，可能来自STEM资源很少的学区。学生将参加物理教育，核物理，天体物理，实验表面物理，实验有机半导体物理和天文学。除了与研究顾问一起参与研究外，REU学生还将参加每周的活动，以确保他们的研究保持在正轨上，并拥有引人入胜的大学和学术经验。在课程结束时，每个学生将撰写一篇研究论文，并在校园内的小组会议上展示他们的工作成果。REU网站将产生多个更广泛的影响，重点是为本科生提供研究机会，帮助他们为未来的科学，技术，工程和数学职业做好准备。它还侧重于为两年制社区学院的学生提供研究机会，并促进四年制大学的过渡。该网站制定了战略，以确保非传统的学生，妇女和代表性不足的少数民族可以参加夏季研究经验。从第一年开始早期参与研究是吸引和留住有才华的本科生从事STEM职业的最有效方法之一。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site at Texas A&M University-Commerce provides opportunities for six students each summer for ten weeks from 2-year community colleges in the middle south region of the US near northeast Texas, which borders the neighboring states of Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Students in this isolated region have very few research opportunities and may come from school districts with few STEM resources. The students will participate in physics education, nuclear physics, astrophysics, experimental surface physics, experimental organic semiconductor physics, and astronomy. In addition to participating in research with a research advisor, the REU students will engage in weekly activities to ensure that their research stays on track and have an engaging collegial and scholarly experience. At the end of the program, each student will write a research paper and present their work results in a small group conference on campus.This REU site will have several broader impacts, focusing on providing research opportunities for undergraduates to help prepare them for future science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers. It also focuses on providing research opportunities for students in two-year community colleges and facilitates four-year universities' transition. The site has developed strategies to ensure that non-traditional students, women, and underrepresented minorities can participate in a summer research experience. Early involvement in research beginning in the first year is one of the most effective ways to attract and retain talented undergraduate students in STEM careers. Special efforts will be made to help the REU students to become independent researchers in the near future.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.