The University of Florida Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site on Infrastructure Materials provides 10 students each year the opportunity to work on interdisciplinary research that focuses on the behavior of infrastructure materials and components, particularly with respect to long-term durability and performance. Several different academic disciplines, including Materials Science, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Electrical Engineering are represented, exposing students to a broad, interdisciplinary environment and providing them with diverse possibilities for research projects.
Two major events bookend the research experience. The activities begin with a two-day workshop introducing the students to the issues of infrastructure materials and corresponding research methods. At the end of the summer there is a two-day conference, at which the REU students give presentations and/or posters. In addition to the core research experience, students participate in activities to enhance their professional development, including seminars, laboratory tours, and a workshop on professional communications. There is also an extensive set of social activities at which students interact with each other and students from REUs in other disciplines in order to develop a broader social and professional network.
This award is co-supported by the Division of Materials Research and the Division of Engineering Education and Centers.
The American Society of Civil Engineers 2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure shows that significant investments are needed to rehabilitate the nation’s infrastructure. They report that 25% of the nation’s bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete and that 32% of the major roads are in mediocre to poor shape. Overall the nation’s infrastructure was given a grade of D+. This REU will focus on infrastructure materials for a number of reasons: (i) the aging infrastructure is placing increasing demands on the materials used for both repair and new construction, while at the same time there is a drive to develop greener alternatives to current materials; there are thus strong demands to develop new materials and obtain fundamental understanding of existing ones; (ii) there is a strong integrated intellectual theme, including materials synthesis, characterization, and microstructure that unifies these issues. The centerpiece of the REU was a 10 week summer program for included a research experience and professional development opportunities. A total of 29 projects were mentored by 16 different faculty across five different departments/programs. Projects ranged from improving hurricane protection by examining the force needed to withdraw roofing nails, to development of self-healing materials that can repair themselves when cracked. Professional development activities included workshops on professional skills such as using library databases and effective communication, a seminar series on research activities in engineering at the University of Florida, and tours of research labs, both at UF and locally. The REU culminated in a poster session at which the REU participants presented the results of their research to the UF community. The REU provided research experiences for undergraduates with a diversity of backgrounds. The demographics of the REU students across all 3 years can be summarized as follows: - 38% women, 14 % minority (Hispanic or African-American), 52% total from underrepresented groups (women and minorities). - 14% from Baccalaureate institutions as given by their Carnegie classification, 28% from Master’s institutions, and 55% from Research University institutions. (One student was from an institution that does not have a Carnegie classification.) - By major, 34% mechanical engineering, 31% materials engineering, 10% civil engineering, 15% another engineering field, and 10% a science field (typically physics). We met our diversity goal of 50% of the participants being from underrepresented groups, although we recognize that the number of minority participants was lower than we had hoped for. We also were able to attract a diverse set of participants with regards to both type of institution and major. The interdisciplinary nature of this REU allowed students from diverse backgrounds to participate and gain from their experience.
