Washington University in St. Louis Dr. Shirley J. Dyke
The Structural Engineering division of the Department of Civil Engineering at Washington University proposes the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. This five-year program is designed to invite eight exceptional students to spend ten weeks during the summer at Washington University. The primary goals of the REU program are to introduce undergraduate participants to research and develop their research skills. The undergraduate research assistants will select independent research projects that contribute to ongoing programs within the department, and are suitable for the level of the participants. Participants will be recruited nationwide from both universities and four-year colleges. To achieve high participation from underrepresented groups, application materials will be widely distributed by directly contacting directors of minority and disabled student services offices at various institutions, and distribution through professional societies associated with underrepresented groups in engineering. Moreover, the PI and other faculty advisors will actively distribute information on the program through colleagues at other institutions.
A variety of activities are planned to enhance the communication skills of the participants and introduce them to common ethical issues one might experience in the workplace. Faculty-supervised meetings will be held weekly throughout the summer and each participant will be required to make a (videotaped) presentation of his/her individual project. Periodic status reports will be required of the REUs. Further technical tours and site visits are planned to give the REUs an opportunity to interact with industry. Additionally, ethics discussions will be held in which a prominent local practitioner will be invited to discuss an ethics issue in a case-study format. The summer will culminate with the Washington University Undergraduate Research Colloquium, which is devoted to providing a forum for the REU participants to present the results of their research. Further, participants will be strongly encouraged to publish their results, and present their research experience at an undergraduate conference. A complete evaluation plan is discussed herein, which includes both formative and summative evaluation, and uses several tools to provide information on the efficacy of the program. Social activities (e.g., lunches picnics) are planned throughout the summer to create a comfortable atmosphere and promote interaction within the group.
