This Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site is for a nine-week summer program at Colorado State University. The Site focuses on the scientific study of mind and brain, including the topics of perception, cognition, perceptual neuroscience, and cognitive neuroscience. Ten students will be selected from across the country, focusing on undergraduates from minority serving institutions and non-Ph.D. granting institutions.
Intellectual Merit: The centerpiece of the program is an intensive research experience in which each participant develops, runs, and analyzes her or his own experiment under the mentorship of a faculty member who specializes in the study of perception or cognition using behavioral and/or neuroscientific approaches. Participants will also attend a weekly research seminar on mind and brain, in which faculty present and lead the discussion of topics within their own areas of expertise; attend an additional weekly seminar that covers topic pertaining to research ethics and professional development; attend additional meetings in which speakers from other disciplines discuss research and applications pertaining to mind and brain; participate in workshops on the use of our state-of the-art equipment (driving simulator, EEG equipment, eyetracker, etc.); participate in additional workshops on experiment construction and data analysis using E-Prime and SPSS; go on a site visit to the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center to gain experience with fMRI and MEG methods; and, optionally, complete a sophomore-level course entitled Mind, Brain, & Behavior, either as a guest or for course credit. As a capstone experience, students will present their work in poster format during a research symposium held at the end of the nine-week session.
Broader Impacts: A central goal of the program is to stimulate interest in the science of mind and brain by integrating research and education, and by providing knowledge, skills, and experiences that are rare at the undergraduate level. In doing so, the program enhances participants' prospects for pursuing graduate study and careers in science, especially for those participants who do not have comparable opportunities at their home institution.
