Support from the NSF Division of Engineering Education and Centers will establish a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site focused on the sustainable management and beneficial reuse of residual wastes and byproducts. Faculty at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo will manage the REU site.
The REU program at Cal Poly will engage undergraduates on research leading to the discovery of new knowledge, provide mentoring for a diverse research team, promote graduate study as a future professional goal, and provide instructive and appealing learning components. The program will support ten undergraduates per year for a period of three years. Extensive time will be provided for research and discovery. In addition, specific periods will be set aside for structured learning and professional development activities designed to provide the participants with skills, tools, and training essential for success in research. These activities include workshops and seminars on interpersonal communication, research best-practices, ethics, data analysis, project reporting, graduate school expectations, and contemporary issues. As part of the research experience, the participants will formulate a hypothesis, develop a research plan, carry out a research investigation, prepare progress reports using a variety of technology-enriched approaches, present findings to a group of peers and research mentors through a variety of presentation modes, and reflect on achievements. Assessment of participant knowledge, skills, and abilities will take place before, during, and after the research appointments to evaluate the level of achievement of program objectives and student learning outcomes. The REU program will engage students on research supported by the Global Waste Research Institute (GWRI), an interdisciplinary organization at Cal Poly focused on promoting collaborative and cutting-edge research and educational activities. Institute goals are to advance current practices in resource management and to conduct research on and provide anticipatory solutions to the entire lifecycle of large quantities and wide varieties of wastes and byproducts. The GWRI fosters collaboration between the colleges of Engineering, Science, Agriculture, and Business, where experts from complementary disciplines work together to develop innovative and sustainable solutions to existing and emerging challenges in waste and byproduct management. Fundamental research to be undertaken as part of the REU program involves waste management, pollution prevention, waste to energy conversion, and beneficial reuse of wastes and byproducts. Focused GWRI research topics, conscientious recruiting, targeted mentoring, open communication, and emphasis on generating publications will ensure state-of-the art research by the undergraduates, leading to rapid dissemination of research findings into the scientific literature.
All members of society are affected by wastes and byproducts due to the ubiquitous nature of these materials. The REU program at Cal Poly will engage undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty members, and collaborating engineering practitioners on interdisciplinary research related to the sustainable management and beneficial reuse of wastes. Advancements in the management of existing, new, and emerging waste and byproduct streams will contribute significantly to the protection of the environment as well as human health and safety. Opportunities for entrepreneurship will be encouraged through various ongoing programs and projects. The well-developed dissemination strategy will affect stakeholders at the home institutions of the undergraduate participants as well as the engineering research and education communities at large. A primary objective of the REU program is to have faculty and graduate students mentor a diverse team of undergraduates, thereby broadening research opportunities for women and minorities. A focused and well-targeted recruitment goal calls for at least sixty percent of the program participants to be members of underrepresented groups. Graduate students will be trained as program mentors using current best-practices. Each graduate student will receive regular feedback on his or her mentor performance to motivate interest in research careers and/or further graduate study and to help ensure successful research experiences for the undergraduates.
