9424143 Busch-Vishniac The REU Site established at the Center for Energy Studies and the Department of Mechanical Engineering at The University of Texas (UT) Austin will involve 36 female, African American, Hispanic, and Native American undergraduates in energy research over a three year period. The research will be conducted over a ten week period in the summers by 11 students each year. Student recruiting will be concentrated at institutions of higher education that have historically enrolled and graduated groups underrepresented in engineering. Prairie View A&M University, University of Texas Pan American, Texas Southern University, Lamar University, University of Houston, and University of Texas El Paso will be the primary schools targeted because of the relationships that have been established with engineering faculty and professional staff at these locations. Other campuses in the state will be targeted that have National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), Society of Hispanic Professional Engineering (SHPE), or Society of Women Engineers (SWE) chapters. The goal is to have at least 75% of the participants chosen to be from a campus other than UT Austin. The other 25% would be chosen from the UT Austin campus. Students chosen for the REU program will participate in state-of-the-art energy related research sponsored by industry and the federal government led by faculty members. The students will meet weekly with faculty supervisors and bi-weekly as a group to exchange information and ides about the progress on their various projects. These young engineers will be enrolled for three hours upper-division class credit which they can transfer back to their home institutions. The summer's research activity will culminate in the writing and presentation of a final report summarizing the student's research activities. ***
