Proposal No.: 9732420 PI: Hagan University: U of Central Florida ABSTRACT The REU Site at the Center for Research and Education in Optics and Lasers (CREOL) at the University of Central Florida (UCF) will expose ten undergraduate students per year, recruited nationally, to twelve weeks of research and other educational experiences in lasers and optics. A primary emphasis of these programs will be on encouraging talented undergraduate students, in particular women, minorities and persons with disabilities, to pursue graduate studies in the field of optics and lasers. Ten internationally recognized faculty in CREOL will be research supervisors in this program. CREOL is a world-leading center of excellence in optics and laser research. The program will include: (1) Introductory informal coursework on the basic principles of optics, lasers and optical materials; (2) Research seminars for undergraduates by the CREOL Faculty; (3) Bi-weekly industrial visits to the numerous optics and laser companies in the Orlando area; (4) Seminars and workshops and discussion sessions on issues of ethics in engineering research, research group tutorials; and (5) Continuous monitoring of the students' progress by the principal investigators, primarily via twice weekly tutorial discussion groups. The summer program will conclude with a poster session in which the REU students will present their research results to the CREOL and UCF Community. Research reports will be bound into the REU yearbook, which the students compile. The program will be followed up by helping students to obtain scholarships for graduate school. The program organizers will track the career progress of former participants. A new feature of the REU site is the formation of an External Oversight Committee, which will annually evaluate the quality of the students' experiences and the site's overall success in meeting its and NSF goals.
