University of California-Berkeley James Casey
The Department of Bioengineering and the Center for Underrepresented Engineering Students (CUES) in the College of Engineering at the University of California at Berkeley request REU (research Experiences for Undergraduates) support for SUPERB (Summer Undergraduate Program of Engineering Research at Berkeley) in the research area of Bioengineering. We are asking for support of nine students per year for five years. The NSF funding will be highly leveraged with campus, College, and industry support. Recruiting will be targeted to underrepresent engineering students. The College of Engineering and the SUPERB program have a strong record of undergraduate participation in research and diversity projects. The proposed research focus in Bioengineering was chosen, as it is has become increasingly popular with undergraduate students and has become strategically important to academia and industry. SUPERB offers outstanding students the opportunity to gain research experience by working with a faculty member and graduate student on a research project in their area of interest. By providing students who have had limited or no opportunity to participate in stimulating research and faculty and graduate student mentoring, SUPERB addresses a critical area that affects their decision to attend graduate school. Each student is carefully matched with a faculty member, who is a member of the Bioengineering program and a graduate student mentor. In addition to the research work, weekly academic support meetings are held for SUPERB students. These meetings provide information on graduate school admissions and fellowships, time management; research methodology; presentations and technical report presentations and other related topics. The program culminates in a daylong forum in which students make oral presentations to their faculty and graduate student mentors, and other members of the engineering community. Written reports are required by each student and compiled for dissemination.
