This award for an REU Site in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities is focused on encouraging a culturally diverse group of individuals to pursue successful careers in STEM areas beyond the undergraduate level. The program will provide 8 undergraduate students and 2 teachers an integrated research and educational experience. The program centers on a ten-week summer research experience in which participants are paired with electrical and computer engineering faculty and work in cutting-edge research within their faculty mentor's research group. In particular, the program is designed to give science and math teachers from inner city and smaller rural districts exposure to electrical and computer engineering research and practice.
Participants will also be involved in extensive complementary educational activities, including a weekly seminar focusing on their research, workshops on career options, ethics, and graduate school issues, opportunities for exploring the teaching and outreach aspects of academia, and company visits. To culminate this REU experience, participants will prepare final written reports and give presentations at the concluding departmental poster session and an all-campus research program symposium. Social interaction between students, faculty, mentors, and other research personnel will be facilitated through organized social events and field trips.
Recruitment of undergraduate students will be focused on two target populations: 1) women and underrepresented minorities and 2) students from undergraduate colleges and universities without extensive research opportunities.
Teachers on this project are supported by the Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) program.
