This award supports a collaborative Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) site program headed by Dr. Orville Bignall at Tennessee State University (TSU), and Dr. Catherine Pilachowski, at Indiana University, Bloomington (IUB). The program is entitled REACHing Minorities and Women: a TSU/IUB REU Site Partnership, with the acronym REACH meaning "Researchers Enhancing Activities and Curricula by Helping". The goal of this program is to educate future leaders in astronomy and physics, and in particular underrepresented minorities and women. The proposed REU site has academic year and summer programs for math and physics undergraduate students at TSU, and summer internships at IUB. The IUB/TSU partnership is intended to engage TSU majors in a year-round program to enhance their academic training and to provide them with the essential non-academic skill sets to ensure they are competitive, successful and desirous of continuing their education beyond the baccalaureate level. ***
