REU Site: An Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Research Experience in Solar and Space Physics

University Of Colorado At Boulder, Boulder CO

Investigators

Abstract

The Principal Investigaotrs (PIs) will continue their successful summer research program that introduces undergraduate students to the interdisciplinary nature of solar and space physics in a research setting. As part of the overall program, this Colorado REU site will offer a one week summer school covering research topics related to the Sun, the heliosphere, the Earth's magnetosphere and upper atmosphere, and the coupled Sun-Earth system. This week of academic lectures and laboratories will adapt and exploit the graduate summer school curriculum developed by the Boston University team that managed the NSF's Science and Technology Center known as the "Center for Integrated Space weather Modeling" (CISM), in which the University of Colorado was a partner. This Colorado REU curriculum will emphasize practical computer skills for solar and space physics research. After the one week summer school experience, REU students will perform individual research projects guided by scientist mentors from collaborating institutes in the Boulder area, spanning the full range of scientific research topics in solar and space physics. The REU program will conclude with each student creating a workshop-quality poster and giving a 30 minute oral presentation covering their research and their scientific findings. The PIs note that the National Research Council's decadal survey of solar and space physics raised concerns about declining enrollments in academic departments related to solar and space physics, as well as reductions in the availability of academic courses relevant to the field. Since this threatened the supply of future researchers in the community, this Colorado REU team has been determined to reverse this trend by encouraging undergraduates to pursue research careers in solar and space physics. This highly successful REU program has already provided over 70 undergraduates with the motivation and technical background needed to pursue research in solar and space physics, and the majority of these students have entered graduate programs in the field after having earned their undergraduate degrees. This success is expected to continue.