REU Site in Nanoscale Science and Engineering

Northwestern University, Evanston IL

Investigators

Abstract

This three year renewal REU Site program at Northwestern University(NU)in Nanoscale Science and Engineering will support a diverse group of ten undergraduates from colleges and universities around the country in meaningful hands-on nanoscale science and engineering focused research for a 9 week period over the summer. The program will be enhanced by educationl activities including technical writing and professional speaking workshops, an ethics seminar,weekly meetings/seminars,and a field trip to Argonne National Laboratory. At the close of the program, participants will have opportunities; to their enhanced skills to use at the Closing Symposium,and by writing and submitting a paper for possible publication in Nanoscape: The Journal for Undergraduate Research in Nanoscience or professional technical journals. The site program builds upon nine years of experience developing and providing meaningful hands-on research and educational opportunities for undergraduates from around the country through the NU Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center(NSEC). The program will empower a diverse group of students, enable them to complete a summer research project and prepare them for graduate education. Recruitment efforts will target underrepresented minorities and women. Already established partnerships, which have resulted in a highly diverse participant population in the past, will be continued for this program. These partnerships include, the Illinois Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP), Chicago State University, and Harold Washington College. Additional program recruitment efforts include attendance at annual recruitment fairs and society conferences (e.g., The National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), direct mailing of promotional posters to a list of 114 historically Black colleges around the country, and disseminating internet program announcements through the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans (SACNAS), the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES), the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), NSBE, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), Mexican-American Engineers Society (MAES), and the Association for Women in Science (AWIS). Results will be disseminated broadly through the Nanoscape journal and other professional publications. The inclusion of undergraduates in the nanoscience and engineering research at NU will help to advance the research to applications that have the potential to significantly benefit society.