This three year REU Site program will provide an opportunity for undergraduate students to participate in hands-on research in the area of sensor technologies. The research project topics include sensor phenomena and materials, nano and micro-sensor technology, bio-inspired sensors, sensor systems for robotics and bio-medical applications. In addition to the research projects, students will be engaged in a series of enrichment activities that will help them become more confident as researchers, including workshops on doing research, technical writing, giving effective presentations, preparing for and applying to graduate school, safety, and ethics in engineering and science. Social activities will also be an integral part of the students' experience with the goal of building friendships and collegiality between the students and faculty.
The students will contribute to academically based discovery that may lead to better devices for medical, robotics, communications and surveillance applications. Although the main emphasis of the program is to promote discovery through research, another important aspect is the educational and learning component. Students will learn new analytical techniques and sensor principles; become familiar with state-of-the-art equipment, micro and nano-fabrication technologies, and software tools.
Recruitment efforts will be targeted to participants from underrepresented groups and smaller colleges with no or limited research opportunities with the aim to increase the pool of engineering graduate students.
"This site is co-funded by the Department of Defense in partnership with the NSF REU program."
