This three year renewal REU site program will engage 10 undergraduate students in a research project focused on an emerging environmental problem. Undergraduate participants are assigned a self-contained portion of a larger research project, and work with graduate students and faculty mentors from eight departments in the sciences, engineering, social sciences, and humanities. Students participate in research group meetings, present their work at a University-wide undergraduate research symposium, write a final report, and are encouraged to publish their work with their mentor in peer-reviewed publications. Participants will attend three workshops led by faculty mentors related to (1) sustainable energy, (2) sustainable infrastructure, and (3) sensors for detecting and monitoring environmental hazards. Follow-on field trips to nearby locations that tie thematically to the workshops will be used to demonstrate real world applications. Students will be instructed on hypothesis-driven research, analyzing scientific data, and effectively disseminating research results. Community-building activities will foster cohesiveness among students. Formative and summative assessment will ensure that program goals are accomplished.
The program aims to increase recruitment of underrepresented students, increasing diversity from 30% of participants from unrepresented groups to 40% while retaining at least 60% women. The objectives of this program are: (1) serve traditionally underrepresented students by providing them the opportunity to conduct research in interdisciplinary engineering and science; (2)widen the educational pipeline in science and engineering by preparing students and motivating them to continue on to graduate school and successful careers in science and engineering; (3) develop engineers and scientist prepared to meet the energy and environmental quality challenges of 2025; and (4) teach students to effectively communicate scientific research to shape future policy.
", NSF-REU Site Program at Clarkson University engaged 44 students in cutting-edge interdisciplinary research in the sciences, engineering, and mathematics fields. The overarching goal of our program is to advance multidisciplinary approaches needed to address emerging issues of energy supply and environmental quality towards development of engineers and scientist prepared to meet the challenges of our global environment in 2025. The research experiences that REU students had in the program were of high quality. Research products included peer-reviewed scientific and technical publications, presentations at state, national, and international conferences, patent applications for new technologies stemming from the research, and educational modules for high school programs. ASSETs to Serve Humanity REU Site Program participants were also engaged in professional development, graduate preparation, and communications training designed to improve their cross-disciplinarity and ability to adapt to, and resolve, global challenges of 2025. Seventy five percent of our REU participants were from institutions other than Clarkson University located in 19 states (CA, CT, FL, GA, HI, IL, KS, LA, MA, MD, MI, MT, NY, PA, SC, TX, UT, WI, and WV), Puerto Rico (PR), Egypt and the United Kingdom. Our participants also enjoyed a highly diverse program with more than 60% women and 40% students of racial or ethnic groups underrepresented in STEM careers. Through interdisciplinary research, enhanced programming, and extracurricular activities, these students built lasting friendships and professional relationships that they carry through graduate school and into their professional careers. Our REU progam graduates have been highly successful, with 100% placement following graduation. Seventy percent of our REU participants transition to graduate study in presitigious programs such as MIT, UNC at Chapel Hill, and the University of Connecticut School of Medicine among others. Many of these students have received prestigious graduate fellowships to support graduate study. Thirty percent of our graduates enter professional careers upon graduation in leading companies, educational institutions, and government regulatory agencies (e.g., Sysco Sytems, Altera, and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation). The ASSETs to Serve Humanity REU Site program at Clarkson University continues to be a leading opportunity for undergraduate research sustainability sciences and engineering in the U.S.
