This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
This award establishes a new Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Site program in Physics at Case Western Reserve University (Case). Ten students from outside Case majoring in physics or a related field will be recruited for the ten week summer program each year for the next three years. The program encourages participation from students at institutions with limited research resources and also from groups that are traditionally under-represented in Science and Engineering. The program is designed to introduce undergraduate students to cutting-edge research environment and to help them develop professional skills needed to pursue advanced degrees in physics and related areas. The REU program includes a broad selection of interdisciplinary research projects in condensed matter physics and particle-astrophysics, for example in the areas of nanoscale physics, electronic materials including semiconductors, optics, biological and imaging physics, dark matter, cosmic rays and cosmic microwave background, covering experimental, theoretical and computational aspects. The research projects are designed specifically for undergraduates and mentored by a faculty member. In addition to being engaged in research, the REU students participate in weekly discussion meetings, professional skills development workshops, a workshop on ethical issues in science research, an end-of-the-summer poster symposium, and other professional and social networking activities for undergraduate summer researchers hosted by the institution.
This REU Site program is funded by the Division of Materials Research in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate of National Science Foundation.
