REU Site: Internships in Nanosystems Science, Engineering and Technology (INSET)

University Of California-Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara CA

Investigators

Abstract

This three year REU Site program is a continuation of a highly successful program at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), which brings community college students from across California to engage in interdisciplinary research. This program, entitled "Internships in Nanosystems Science, Engineering and Technology"(INSET), will expand opportunities for community college students, promoting their future academic and career success in science and engineering through multi-tiered mentorship. The INSET program will be hosted by the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI), where research explores the richness of opportunities in forming new materials and complex systems by integrating nanoscale building blocks from both biological and electronic materials. Interns performing research within the CNSI will gain hands-on experience in the development of cutting-edge technologies that fall outside the traditional boundaries of science and engineering disciplines. Additionally, the INSET program will collaborate with the Center for Nanotechnology in Society, which will engage students in discussions and research projects on the societal impacts of new nanotechnologies. This collaboration will foster students' and researchers' abilities to enable broadly multi-disciplinary research, engaging not only the natural sciences and engineering, but also social sciences and mathematics. INSET recruitment efforts will build on established relationships with California community colleges that have sizable underrepresented and disadvantaged populations. INSET will have extensive impact on the greater UCSB community. The program will also enhance the role of mentorship and the professional development of graduate student mentors through training workshops and networking. Additionally, program staff will take a leadership role in coordinating activities with several other UCSB undergraduate research programs during the summer, including a campus-wide undergraduate research colloquium. Nationally, this program will enhance the capacity of other institutions to support community college transfer students by raising the profile of high-achieving community college student researchers, promoting successful university/community college partnership models, and disseminating INSET evaluation findings through publications and professional conferences.