This REU Site program at the University of Arkansas will focus on applied research in the development of monitoring and detection Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) systems for a variety of multidisciplinary purposes, such as structural and environmental monitoring, radio frequency identification (RFID), telemetrics, smart home, biomedical sensing, etc. This three year REU site program will engage 10 undergraduate students each year in hands-on research in this important research area.
The objectives of this program include the following: 1) introduce WSN concepts and applications to undergraduate students; 2) provide opportunities for collaborative project-based research with hands-on experience in a multidisciplinary atmosphere; 3) attract undergraduate students from traditionally underrepresented groups to conduct research in an emerging field; 4) provide students with the opportunities to apply the knowledge learned in the classroom to solve real-world problems; 5) provide a unique opportunity for participants to carryout research projects specifically designed for them in state-of-the-art laboratories; 6) provide opportunities for the REU students to serve as mentors to younger students; 7) foster a strong bond and team spirit among the participants; and 8) motivate the participants to pursue advanced graduate-level degrees in STEM disciplines.
The REU Site program will culminate with the participants giving a final presentation, demonstrating a working prototype system, and writing a conference paper on their work to be presented at an appropriate conference.
What are the broader impacts of the proposed activity? Recruitment efforts will be targeted to participants from underrepresented groups. Students who participate in this REU program will be encouraged and motivated to pursue graduate-level degrees.
"This REU Site is co-funded by the Department of Defense in partnership with the NSF REU program."
This REU Site’s objectives included: 1) introducing wireless sensor network (WSN) concepts and applications to undergraduate students; 2) providing opportunities for collaborative project-based research with hands-on experience in a multidisciplinary atmosphere; 3) attracting talented undergraduate students from traditionally underrepresented groups to conduct research in an emerging field; 4) providing students with opportunities to apply the knowledge learned in the classroom to solve real world problems; 5) providing a unique opportunity for undergraduate students to carryout research projects specifically designed for the REU participants in state-of-the-art laboratories under the guidance of faculty and graduate student mentors; 6) providing opportunities for the REU participants to themselves act as mentors to younger students; 7) fostering a strong bond and team spirit amongst the participants; and 8) motivating the REU participants to pursue advanced graduate-level degrees in STEM disciplines. The REU Site hosted 33 undergraduate participants, for 10 weeks each over the past 4 summers (2010-2013), who worked in interdisciplinary groups to design, prototype, and test novel WSN systems for a variety of applications. The 33 REU participants included 11 females and 11 racial minorities. These REU student groups developed the following 7 unique WSN systems: 1) Smart Home System; 2) Remote Digital Wildlife Camera Triggered by Spatially Deployed Infrared Sensors; 3) Ultra-Low Power Remote Infrastructure Monitoring System; 4) Unexploded Ordnance Detection with Cooperative Mobile Robots; 5) Livestock Management System; 6) Remote Fish Monitoring System; and 7) Patient Monitoring System. Of these 7 REU projects, 5 resulted in conference publications, and 1 from the summer 2013 program is currently under review. Many of the REU students attended these conferences to personally present their paper. More than half of the undergraduate REU participants subsequently continued their education in graduate school in a STEM discipline.
