This award supports opportunities for undergraduate students to participate in ongoing research projects in experimental physics as structured in a summer REU program at the University of Arizona. Students may choose from a wide variety of forefront physics activities, under the direction of senior faculty members from the Department of Physics at the University of Arizona, or also from in research groups located in several other university academic units including Astronomy, Chemistry, Optical Sciences, Lunar and Planetary Studies, and Atmospheric Sciences. The primary source of participants is students who have completed the equivalent of the first or second year curriculum in science or engineering at Pima Community College, in preparation for transfer to a 4-year degree program (although all undergraduate students are eligible to apply). Graduate Teaching Assistants from the physics department serve as mentors for the participants. Special orientation and skills activities are individually tailored to enable the students to make significant contributions to the research projects.
