REU Site: FIRE: Facilitating Inclusive Research Experiences in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

这是一个为期三年的新提案，名为“REU站点：FIRE：促进机械工程和材料科学的包容性研究经验”。每年将有10名学生进行与机械工程和材料科学相关的研究。目标是确定和验证有助于解决URM学生就读研究生院的差距并改变其机构文化的最佳实践。为了解决工程研究生院中存在的性别和种族差距问题，REU项目将重点放在本科生和研究生院之间的管道“泄漏”上。该项目将开发有效的实践，以减少学生的障碍，以现有的STEM包容性研究为基础，并从之前的夏季研究项目中吸取教训。每个学生将被分配多个导师。这一策略将创造一个鼓励和专业的环境。专业、技术和社会技能的互动工作坊将有助于为学生和导师建立持久的社会和专业网络。该项目将建立不同本科生的信心，技能和网络，并在教师和REU学生攻读研究生课程时培养更具包容性的文化。这是一个为期三年的新提案，名为“REU站点：FIRE：促进机械工程和材料科学的包容性研究经验”。每年将有10名学生进行与机械工程和材料科学相关的研究。我们将采用两种互补的策略来扩大在ME/MSE研究生院的代表性：1)建立不同本科生的信心、技能和网络；2)在教师和研究生中培养更具包容性的文化。该项目的计划是每年通过REU招收10名不同的本科生，并将这些学生与匹兹堡大学的内部资助学生配对。该计划还将直接包括教师、研究生作为技术导师，本科生作为同伴导师，从而在系里的很大一部分内促进变革。该项目将开发有效的实践，以减少这些学生的障碍，以现有的STEM包容性研究为基础，并从之前的暑期研究项目中吸取教训。每个学生都有多个协调和训练有素的导师，这将创造一个鼓励和专业的环境。专业、技术和社会技能的互动工作坊将有助于为学生和导师建立持久的社会和专业网络。这项工作将进一步发展和传播有效的最佳实践，以解决本科到研究生院的管道“泄漏”问题，并最终增加具有研究生学位的机械工程师和材料科学家群体的多样性，以促进这些项目教员的更大多样性。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。

This is a three-year new proposal for an REU Site titled, "REU Site: FIRE: Facilitating Inclusive Research Experiences in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science” at the University of Pittsburgh. Ten students each year will conduct research related to mechanical engineering and material science. The goal is to determine and validate best practices that will help address gaps in URM students attending graduate school and change the culture at their institution. To address the well-documented gender- and race-gaps in engineering graduate school, this REU program focuses on the “leak” in the pipeline that occurs between undergraduate and graduate school. The project will develop validated practices for reducing barriers for students, building on existing research in STEM inclusion, and lessons learned from prior summer research programs. Multiple mentors will be assigned to each student. This strategy will create an encouraging and professional environment. Interactive workshops for professional, technical, and social skills will help build lasting social and professional networks for the students as well as the mentors. The project will build the confidence, skills, and networks of diverse undergraduates and foster a more inclusive culture among faculty and REU students as they pursue graduate studies.This is a three-year new proposal for an REU Site titled, "REU Site: FIRE: Facilitating Inclusive Research Experiences in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science” at the University of Pittsburgh. Ten students each year will conduct research related to mechanical engineering and material science. Two complementary strategies will be applied to broaden representation in ME/MSE graduate school: 1) Build the confidence, skills, and networks of diverse undergraduates; 2) Foster a more inclusive culture among faculty and graduate students. The plan for the program is to recruit ten diverse undergraduate students per year through the REU and to pair these with an internally-funded cohort of students from the University of Pittsburgh. The program will also directly include faculty members, graduate students as technical mentors and undergraduate students as peer mentors, thus fostering change within a large segment of the department. The program will develop validated practices for reducing barriers for these students, building on existing research in STEM inclusion, and lessons learned from prior summer research programs. Multiple coordinated and trained mentors per student will create an encouraging and professional environment. Interactive workshops for professional, technical, and social skills will help build lasting social and professional networks for the students as well as the mentors. This work will further develop and disseminate validated best practices for addressing the undergraduate-to-graduate school pipeline “leaks” and, ultimately, increase the diversity in the pool of mechanical engineers and materials scientists with graduate degrees, for the purpose of fostering greater diversity of faculty in these programs.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.