REU Site: Research Experiences for Undergraduates at the National Weather Center

University Of Oklahoma Norman Campus, Norman OK

Investigators

Abstract

Through participation in the National Weather Center Research Experiences for Undergraduates program, fifty undergraduate students over a five-year period will participate in a unique career exploration experience. Each student will collaborate with scientists to conduct research and live the life of a scientist through: attending lectures, participating in workshops to build skills and knowledge relevant to the job, learning and practicing a variety of research methods, and presenting their research in both written and oral formats. Recruitment will seek a wide range of competitive applications from undergraduate students who are capable, but have not had an opportunity to participate in research. Intellectual Merit: Participants will contribute knowledge and understanding in basic science as well as applied research. Past research results have been used for training, emergency management operations, and risk planning. This program has matured sufficiently that recent participants have produced about five conference presentations and 1-2 formal scientific publications each year. This REU program has proven to effectively nurture the next generation of scientists. A combination of individual and entrepreneurial team activities serve to build participants' metacognitive research skills and prepare them for changing career opportunities. This REU site contributes to NSF's goal to create an internationally competitive, globally engaged public, private, and academic scientific workforce. Broader Impacts: Past participants report experiencing scientific discovery while learning skills they report as invaluable to later graduate school and career experiences. The scientific workforce is more diverse because of this program, with 60 percent of prior participants being female and 10-20 percent members of racial and ethnic groups underrepresented in atmospheric sciences. Finally, this program serves to increase collaboration among the academic, public and private sectors.