REU Site: A Materials Science and Engineering Research Experience Focusing on Sustainability

University Of California-Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz CA

Investigators

Abstract

NON-TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: The Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site continues its mission to increase the retention and graduation rates of underrepresented minorities in the science and engineering disciplines and to encourage these talented students to pursue post-graduate degrees in science and engineering. Motivated students from two-year and non-Ph.D. degree granting institutions are exposed to interdisciplinary research projects related to materials science and engineering. The research projects for the REU student participants focus on the understanding of materials that could be used in electronics, the health sciences, and other technological fields where sustainability (energy and water conservation) is important. TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: The objectives of the REU site are to increase the retention and graduation rates of underrepresented minorities in the science and engineering disciplines, especially Hispanics/Latinos 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 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 REU site’s 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 research activities take place at the University of California, Santa Cruz, under the auspices of the new Materials Science and Engineering Initiative. Student activities include professional training, weekly group meetings, team building activities, and the final poster symposia. The mentors for the REU site are full-time faculty at UC Santa Cruz. 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, quantum computing, and new ways of harvesting, storing, and using renewable energy. 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.