REU Site: Application of Microscopy and Microanalysis in Multidisciplinary Research

Portland State University, Portland OR

Investigators

Abstract

NON-TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: This Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site continues its operation to enable undergraduate students to gain multidisciplinary research experience. This site has been successfully operating for the past eighteen years and has achieved a high level of participation from women, minorities, and student veterans of the US Armed Forces. This REU site unites undergraduates from different disciplines, ethnic backgrounds, and institutions, and provides hands-on research experiences to assist them in pursuing careers in science and engineering. This renewal project broadens impact by including nontraditional students (who have a delay after high school graduation before starting their college education). TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: The REU site ties diverse research projects together under the overarching theme of electron microscopy for multidisciplinary applications. Through a concentrated summer program, the participants obtain technical training, conduct independent research, visit local high-tech industries, and present their research at an REU symposium. The activities begin with a training week including workshops on laboratory safety, library database searches, and graduate school applications. Students are offered an intensive short course in using scanning electron microscope or focused ion beam microscope for material and device characterization. Students use these newly-acquired skills in research projects mentored by faculty from the departments of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Geology. It is highly anticipated that REU participants leave the summer program with a quintessential skill (electron and ion microscopy) applicable to all disciplines and a broader perspective of the impact of research on their higher education and career choices. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.