The Vanderbilt Institute for Nanoscale Science and Engineering (VINSE) summer research experiences for undergraduates (REU) site offers science and engineering undergraduate students the opportunity to work closely with faculty on forefront research projects in the field of nanoscale science and engineering. The overarching theme of the research projects are nanomaterials innovation and fabrication. The projects are designed to build a sense of community among the students and the participating faculty, as well as expose the REU students broadly to research at the leading edge of nanoscale science and engineering. REU students are also offered the opportunity for training in the integration of research with education and outreach through participation in the Vanderbilt Summer Academy for high school students. Additionally, to facilitate the continued mentoring of the REU students after the research experience and enhance the probability of the student continuing in research, 'home mentors' are invited to visit Vanderbilt to participate in the capstone events. Historical data shows that following an REU summer, students have a heightened desire for graduate studies, with 88% remaining in science and engineering and 69% entering graduate school, primarily at other institutions ensuring students obtain the richest experience. Long term, the REU site contributes to building a workforce educated in and motivated towards science and engineering disciplines and specifically, interdisciplinary research in nanoscience and nanotechnology. The program places strong emphasis on recruiting students from underrepresented minority groups and schools with limited research opportunities; the REU program and the VINSE faculty have collaborators at several institutions, including nearby HBCU Fisk University that are committed to helping us identify potential REU students. Furthermore, visits from home institution mentors also enables these partnerships to be strengthened and relationships with new institutions developed.
promise of nanoscience and nanotechnology to revolutionize our lives in multiple ways has captured the imagination of scientists, the attention of the media, and the general public. Nanoscience and nanotechnology are based on the ability to synthesize, organize, characterize, and manipulate matter systematically at the nanoscale, creating uniquely functional materials that can be inorganic, organic or biological, or a hybrid of any two or more of these. Thus, nanoscience and nanotechnology pose formidable challenges that cut across traditionally distinct disciplines; to meet these challenges, interdisciplinary training of future scientists and engineers in the broad field of nanotechnology is of paramount importance. To achieve this goal the VINSE summer REU site offers science and engineering undergraduate students the opportunity to work closely with faculty on forefront research projects in the field of nanoscale science and engineering. VINSE faculty provide REU students with a true interdisciplinary research experience in an environment where physicists, chemists, biologists, and all engineers collaboratively solve problems and create new scientific understanding.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
