Abstract for Sustainability, Energy and Engineering (SEE) REU Site Institution: North Carolina State University (NCSU) Principal Investigator: Steven W. Peretti
This REU award for a 3 year Site on environmentally sustainable products and processes, and energy supports 11 undergraduate students per year for three years in a 10-week research and professional development program at NCSU. The objectives of this REU Site are threefold: (1) to develop future knowledge leaders in sustainability and green engineering; (2) to enhance the likelihood of successful graduate education in students from predominately undergraduate institutions and groups underrepresented in engineering; and (3) to develop in the participants disciplined thinking related to science, as well as the ethical and economic motivations for implementation of science for sustainable manufacturing practices.
This REU program builds on the momentum established by the previous Green Processing REU at NCSU. Participants in the SEE program will be provided opportunities to perform cutting edge research in many aspects of green processing. That research will be placed within the broader context of sustainability through symposia and attendance at the annual American Chemical Society (ACS) Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference. The students will come from a variety of academic and ethnic backgrounds. Recruiting will be targeted at predominately undergraduate institutions (PUIs) and historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to ensure a diverse student population. Diversity is the philosophical core of this REU Site; therefore, it is embodied in the objectives of the program, the projects selected for inclusion, the organizational structure, and the collaborations that have been established.
