This award for an REU site, Drexel Research Experience in Advanced Materials (DREAM) has the primary goal of engaging undergraduate students in cutting-edge materials related research in the areas of Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, and Design and Processing of Advanced Materials.
The objectives of the DREAM program are: 1) to use research as a vehicle to ignite interests of the students in science and technology relatively early in their educational program; 2) to encourage participants to explore and seek science and engineering careers in materials related fields; 3) to encourage the participants to seek graduate education and research careers in emerging technology areas; and 4) to provide the participants a taste of the excitement associated with research and discovery and help build a sense of achievement and self-esteem.
Additionally, the REU students will participate in weekly lunch-time seminars, weekly demos of cutting-edge research equipment, technical communications and research workshops, and field trips to nearby industrial and national research laboratories. Participants will produce a poster and written paper at the conclusion of the program based on their research work.
The DREAM program will motivate and influence students to pursue graduate programs and exciting careers in emerging fields of science and technology. The participants of the program will be selected from a broad range of backgrounds. Particular attention will be paid to recruit students from two and four-year community colleges, as well as women and other underrepresented groups, and schools that offer two and four-year undergraduate programs in engineering, the physical and biological sciences, and mathematics, but do not have the advanced infrastructure that is available at Drexel University.
