This three-year renewal REU Site will introduce and involve undergraduate students in research focused in the areas of metrology and sensors. The participants will research foundational research areas such as coordinate tolerance metrology, machining tribology, roughness metrology as well as emerging areas such as Scanning Probe Microscopy, Laser Doppler Velocimetry, sensor networks, optical interferometry, spectroscopy and Nano, Enviro- and Bio sensors. The students will participate in individual as well as team research. Also, each participant will learn to conduct literature surveys, formulate hypotheses, design experiments to collect data, analyze and interpret the data and communicate their work through written and oral presentations. An ethics component will be incorporated in this REU program. Faculty presentations of research, workshops, lab/industry tours, progress reports, and social activities will all be structured.
Recruitment efforts will be targeted to underrepresented minorities in engineering to include women, Native Americans, Hispanic and African-American students. Students will be recruited nationally, specifically targeting those that come from non-research institutions where such opportunities may not be available. The program will attempt to motivate students to participate in future research leading to graduate and doctoral work. Further, this experience is expected to prepare students in the process of research that will benefit their place of employment, regardless of whether it is academe, the research laboratory or industry.
