The proposers plan to provide opportunities for seven undergraduate students each summer to become active participants in solar physics research in the Earth-Sun Exploration Division in the Science and Exploration Directorate at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. These opportunities will combine the advantages of the multi-disciplinary environment of a NASA laboratory with the guidance provided by researchers committed to education, as well as the encouragement of women, underrepresented minorities, and students with disabilities. The proposers' previous fourteen years of experience managing an NSF REU site has enabled them to establish a formal program for students interested in Solar and Space Physics at the National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA), and to develop NASA-funded opportunities in addition to those funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). During its existence as an NSF REU site, Catholic University of America (CUA) has seen over 250 students actively participate in over 270 different research opportunities, with many students continuing their space physics studies during the academic year.
This proposal will allow CUA to provide promising undergraduates the opportunity to perform research in solar and space physics while working with scientists and engineers at one of the nation's premier scientific laboratories. Many of the students participating in this program become future engineers and scientists, and those who choose other careers greatly benefit themselves and society by having a deeper understanding of the importance of space science.
The program we have organized, and proven over time, has significantly benefited the students as well as enhanced the scientific productivity of the research projects on which they have worked. Our mentors represent scientists with world-class reputations and have brought a winning combination of offering top-notch research projects and a real desire to train future scientists and engineers in the field. For example, students supported by previous NSF/REU funding have had the honor of working with the Nobel Prize Laureate, Dr. John Mather. Projects are offered to the students that are of the highest importance to the mentors. In addition, the students select from a variety of mentors/projects most interesting to them. This procedure optimizes the probability of a productive research experience for both the student and mentor. The results have more than rewarded the care and attention given to recruitment and selection. The intellectual merit of our proposed activity is that we will provide promising undergraduates the opportunity to work with some of our nation’s leading scientists and engineers and do research at one of our country's premier scientific laboratories in the area of solar and space physics. The broader impact of this activity is that the students participating in this program will be the future engineers, scientists and teachers of our nation. Even those, who might choose other careers not related to the recognized STEM disciplines, will greatly benefit both themselves and our society by having a deeper understanding of the importance of science and technology in our society. Our NSF/REU students come from a wide range of institutions, such as Colorado College, CUNY- Medgar Evers College, Univ. of Colorado, Georgia Tech., Johns Hopkins Univ., Kenyon College, Lycoming College, Univ. of Maryland, Univ. of Michigan, New Jersey Institute of Tech., RPI, Rice Univ., SUNY – Binghamton, Yale, and CUA. Below are the results of an e-mail survey sent to approximately 60 addresses of our REU program alumni (both NASA and NSF supported) for the years 2006- 2009. We received 28 responses. The breakdown of where they are now is shown in Table 1. Table 1: Responses of SESI Interns for Years 2006 - 2009 Total Number of Responses 28 Female 12 Male 16 Currently attending graduate school 11 Currently pursuing PhD 9 Currently pursuing masters 2 Will attend graduate school in near future (have B.S) 7 Will attend for masters 4 Will attend for PhD 3 Currently attending undergraduate 4 Published work 14 Published work done during summer at GSFC 7 Continued work done during summer at GSFC 14 Graduated with a bachelors degree 24 Graduated with a master degree 4 Graduated with a PhD 0 Teaching or taught in a STEM field 1 Statistics for our program show that many of the undergraduates, who have participated have continued their education and/or still in STEM-related disciplines. Of those responding in Table 1, none will have had time to complete a PhD. Of those that did respond, one was working at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, one received an NSF graduate fellowship, one was working on mission operations for SOFIA, and one completed the Navy’s officer candidate school for nuclear engineering. One student has been a teacher in a STEM-related discipline. Close examination of Table 1 indicates that all respondents are well on their way to successful scientific or technical careers, while 18 out of 24 with a B.S. degree are either now in, or plan to go to, graduate school in the near future. Half (14 out of 28) continued their research initiated during the first summer in our SESI program.
