The PI's goal for this REU site is to introduce students to the interdisciplinary nature of solar and space physics as a model for integrated research in a competitive academic environment. The REU site program will include a two-week undergraduate summer school in solar and space physics that will emulate the successful NSF-funded CISM graduate summer school. This undergraduate course will take a 'whole system' approach to studying the Sun and its interactions. The summer school will be required for all REU site undergraduates, but will be open to any qualified undergraduate interested in participating. After the summer school, 12 REU undergraduates (8 supported by NSF and 4 supported by consortium members) would participate in a 6- to 8-week research experience involving science projects across the institutions and spanning a wide range of topics, from helioseismology to spacecraft operation anomalies.
Participating institutions of the consortium include the University of Colorado, NCAR's High Altitude Observatory, NOAA's Space Environment Center, NWRA's Colorado Research Associates (all located in Boulder, Colorado) and the Center for Integrated Space Weather Modeling hosted at Boston University. The associated student research will be performed at the facilities of consortium members in Boulder.
The National Research Council, in its 2003 decadal study of solar and space physics, raised concerns regarding the number of solar and space physicists engaged in the field. Declining enrollments in undergraduate programs in both physics and Earth sciences has led to limited availability of courses in solar and space physics, threatening the pipeline of future researchers in the field. As part of their recommendation, the National Research Council panel suggested that undergraduates should be encouraged to pursue research in solar and space physics through programs such as the NSF's REU program. This REU site will support that effort through its broad-based consortium of solar and space physicists. This REU program and its associated summer school has the potential to generate a significant number of undergraduates with increased interest and backgrounds in solar and space physics, and this will supply graduate programs across the country. At the end of the award period, 60 undergraduates will have participated in the research program, with an even larger number enrolling in the summer school.
This site is co-funded by the Department of Defense in partnership with the NSF REU program.
This REU program brings undergraduate students from around the country to do research in solar and space physics each summer. The NSF award funds eight students per year. We were able to leverage those funds to attract funding from our partner institutes to fund a total of 72 students over the five years. These students have a greater understanding of how to do scientific research, and 94% of them go on to graduate school in a scientific field. This program introduces students to the interdisciplinary nature of solar and space physics in a research setting. The REU site program begins with a one-week summer school on the Sun, the Earth’s magnetosphere and upper atmosphere, the heliosphere, and the Sun-Earth system. This week of lectures and labs borrows heavily from the CISM graduate summer school curriculum and includes an emphasis on practical computer skills for solar and space physics research. After the summer school, the students work on individual research projects guided by scientist mentors from the consortium institutes in Boulder spanning the full range of topics in solar and space physics. The program concludes with the students each giving a 30 minute oral presentation of their work as well as a poster of their findings. Intellectual Merit: The National Research Council’s decadal survey of solar and space physics raised concerns about the number of scientists in this field of research. Declining enrollments in relevant departments have led to a reduction in the availability of courses in solar and space physics. This downward spiral threatens the pipeline of future researchers in this field. The panel’s recommendation was that undergraduates should be encouraged to pursue research in solar and space physics through opportunities such as the NSF’s REU program. Our REU site supports that effort and accomplishes that goal by providing research opportunities to a wide range of undergraduates over the full spectrum of topics in solar and space physics. The accompanying image shows the results of followup survey three years after a student has completed the program. The students not only found the program to be rewarding, they also all agreed that the program helped prepare them for their academic or professional career.
