THE OVERALL GOAL OF THIS EXPERIENTIAL RESEARCH PROGRAM IS TO TRAIN COMPETENT, CONFIDENT UNDERGRADUATES IN THE AREA OF BIOFUELS AND BIO-PRODUCTS RESEARCH WITH AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE IMPORTANCE OF BIOENERGY LITERACY EDUCATION. BY EXCITING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS (IN PARTICULAR UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES) ABOUT CUTTING EDGE RESEARCH, THEY WILL BE MORE LIKELY TO REMAIN IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS (STEM) FIELDS. THE PROPOSED PROGRAM WILL BUILD UPON AN EXISTING SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH EXPERIENCE (SURE) DEVELOPED AS PART OF A LARGE-SCALE SCIENCE-BASED INNOVATIVE AVIATION BIOFUELS PROJECT THAT WAS AWARDED A GRANT FROM THE USDA-NIFA (GRANT NO. 2011-68005-30416) IN 2011. THIS GRANT, THE NORTHWEST ADVANCED RENEWABLES ALLIANCE (NARA) IS DEVELOPING A SUSTAINABLE AVIATION BIOFUELS AND BIO-BASED CO-PRODUCTS INDUSTRY IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST USING FOREST SLASH FROM LOGGING OPERATIONS AS FEEDSTOCK. NARA SURE INTERNS (8 PER YEAR) WILL CONDUCT RESEARCH IN ALL ASPECTS OF THE PROGRAM, FROM FEEDSTOCK DEVELOPMENT, TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS FOR K-12 BIOENERGY LESSONS. WE WILL BUILD ON AND EXPAND OUR CONNECTIONS WITH STATE WIDE COMMUNITY AND TRIBAL COLLEGES TO RECRUIT A DIVERSE GROUP OF STUDENTS THAT HAVE LIMITED RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES. OVER 4 YEARS, 32 UNDERGRADUATES WILL EXPERIENCE A SUMMER IMMERSION, HIGH-IMPACT RESEARCH PROGRAM AIMED AT GIVING THEM HANDS ON SKILLS IN BIOFUELS AND BIO-PRODUCTS RESEARCH, THUS FEEDING THE PIPELINE INTO ENERGY RESEARCH CAREERS. THIS ADDRESSES THE AFRI EDUCATION AND LITERACY INITIATIVE (ELI) DIRECTLY BY PROMOTING RETENTION IN THE STEM DISCIPLINES AND TRAINING OUR FUTURE WORKFORCE WITH SKILLS TO ADDRESS THE GRAND CHALLENGE RELATED TO SECURING AMERICA'S ENERGY FUTURE.