University of Alabama at Birmingham Norbert J. Delatte
A Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site in Structural Engineering is proposed for the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). This site will invite eight outstanding undergraduate students to participate in a ten-week research program at UAB. It is anticipated that no more than three students will be from UAB. Other students will be recruited from engineering and pre- engineering programs throughout the nation, with emphasis on programs where students do not have the opportunity to participate in research. Recruiting will focus on four institutions meeting this criterion that we have cooperated closely with in the REU program over the past three years. Agreements have already been made with these four schools, three of which are historically black universities. Providing research opportunities is important for retaining minority students, a mission of UAB, which serves a region with a high minority population. Inviting minority students and those early in their engineering curricula to conduct research for a summer at UAB will encourage them to stay in school, give them the experience of being at a major university, allow them to experience engineering, and allow them to earn money to pay for their education.
Over the past three years, the UAB Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering has operated a highly successful REU Site in Structural Engineering for six students per year, with Dr. Duane Castaneda as Principal Investigator. This proposal seeks to build further on that foundation.
The Structural Engineering faculty and UAB actively provide research experiences for undergraduate as well as high school students. UAB is the only institution in Alabama rated Research I by the Carnegie Foundation. Also, the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering comprised of eight faculty members is active in funded research as evidenced by having $497,000 in research expenditures during the 1997-98 year. The faculty of the department currently has approximately $1.3 million in pending grants and contracts. This REU Site in Structural Engineering will provide talented Alabama and Georgia minority students and those in pre-engineering programs with a unique opportunity to conduct and experience engineering research. As well as these immediate benefits to these students, relationships between the participating colleges and UAB will be strengthened.
