This award funds a three-year Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Site at the University of Rochester for research opportunities in optical science and engineering. The REU site will be based at the Institute of Optics in the University of Rochester's School of Engineering and Applied Science. Student participants will work with faculty at the institute and experience the interdisciplinary nature of the field of optics at related on-site facilities - The Rochester Theory Center for Optical Science and Engineering, the Rochester Center for Quantum Information, the Center for the Next-Generation Atom Chips for Quantum Information Technology, the Center for Future Health, the Center for Visual Science, the Laboratory for Laser Energetics, the Center for Optics Manufacturing, and the Center for Electronic Imaging Systems. The program includes mini courses in machining and electronics as well as preparation for the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). REU students will have the opportunity to attend weekly lunches with informal presentations by university faculty and affiliated industrial researchers; tour industrial research facilities; and participate in outings to local community sites and events. The program aims to foster participants' capacity to undertake collaborative research. This REU site offers students an experience in forefront research integrated with the teaching, mentoring, and community outreach activities that sustain scientific enterprise. The program will recruit students nationwide with an effort to attract students from population groups that are underrepresented in research fields in engineering.
