REU Site: An Undergraduate Research Summer Program on Sustainable Materials

University Of California-Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz CA

Investigators

Abstract

-Part 1: The objectives of the REU site are to increase the retention and graduation rates of underrepresented minorities in the STEM disciplines, especially Hispanics from low socio-economic backgrounds and women, and furthermore, to encourage these talented students to pursue post-graduate degrees in science and engineering. The approach followed by the program consists of recruiting motivated students from the targeted institutions, and then providing them with interdisciplinary research projects related to materials science and engineering. The research projects take place at the University of California, Santa Cruz, under the auspices of the new Materials Science and Engineering Initiative. Student activities include a three-day training program, weekly group meetings and social hours, team building activities, and intermediate and final oral and poster symposia. Ample opportunities for communication before, during, and after the program between faculty and students and among students exist via the Internet and in person. The authentic research projects for the REU student participants focus on the understanding of materials that could be used in low-power electronics, the health sciences, and other technological fields where sustainability (energy and water conservation) is important. -Part 2: The objectives of the REU site are to increase the retention and graduation rates of underrepresented minorities in the STEM disciplines, especially Hispanics from low socio-economic backgrounds and women, and furthermore, to encourage these talented students to pursue post-graduate degrees in science and engineering. These goals are achieved by focusing specifically on students attending minority-serving two- and four-year undergraduate institutions, and identifying outstanding participants that should be encouraged to attend graduate school at a later stage. The proposed approach consists of recruiting motivated students from the targeted institutions, and then providing them with interdisciplinary research projects related to materials science and engineering. The mentors for the program are full-time faculty at UCSC. The authentic research projects for the REU student participants focus on the understanding of materials that could be used in low-power electronics, the health sciences, and other technological fields where sustainability (energy and water conservation) is important. The research projects include interdisciplinary methodologies to study the fundamental properties of materials that in the future may be used in energy-efficient electronic and optoelectronic devices and new ways of storing and using renewable energy.