The proposers presented a plan to continue an ongoing Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program at Montana State University (MSU) in solar physics, involving student analysis of data from space missions such as Yohkoh, SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory), TRACE (Transition Region And Coronal Explorer), and RHESSI (Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager), as well as from ground-based observatories. The Principal Investigators (PIs) target undergraduates majoring in physics, mathematics, and computer sciences. The program provides solar physics research opportunities for students through an introductory course in solar physics, lectures by visiting scholars, independent research projects carried out with a faculty mentor, and web publication of the students' final reports. Student research projects frequently result in joint professional publications or presentations with the MSU faculty mentor.
This MSU REU program provides an important service to the discipline of solar physics, since the subject is being taught at relatively few United States colleges and universities. The PIs are successful in recruiting women (achieving a 3-to-1 female-to-male ratio in 2005) and participate in three programs for Native American students and teachers. MSU now plans to recruit other minorities and to add an ethics component to this project. Their program offers other benefits to society through its strong space weather component. Past participants have reported that the exposure to professional research in a university environment helped them to decide whether to continue their education in graduate school, and whether to pursue solar physics research as a profession.
The Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program at Montana State University focuses on solar physics and the space environment. Throughout the duration of this program at MSU, the student participants have performed cutting-edge research, each mentored by one or two faculty or graduate students. At the end of the ten-week program each student gives a PowerPoint presentation on their project and its findings. The research often results in publications in the refereed literature, and presentations at professional conferences. An online list of publications is maintainted at http://solar.physics.montana.edu/REU/reu-publications.html A list of conference presentations is maintanted at http://solar.physics.montana.edu/REU/reu-presentations.html Most of the participants go on to graduate school afterwards, and many have stayed in the discipline of solar physics. In addition to the research component, the participants receive a lecture series on solar physics and the Sun, and a guest lecturer (usually Prof. Eric Priest from the University of St. Andrews) provides a series of lectures on solar magnetohydrodynamics. The students also have the option to participate in a public outreach event, giving astronomy "tours" to visitors at Yellowstone National Park; many of the students have enjoyed this opportunity. The schedule of events for a typical year can be seen in the online calendar, http://solar.physics.montana.edu/home/www/reu/2011/calendar.html Unlike many other REU programs, we accept some applications from non-US citizens. These students (who comprise a minority of our participants) are supported by non-NSF funds, typically research grants or internal support. Our participants have greatly enjoyed the chance to interact and collaborate with colleagues from non-US institutions.
