This REU site will provide an opportunity for 10 students every year, for the next three years, to gain research experience in the area of application of Geomechanics and Geophysics to environmental problems. The program will identify exceptional students by sending posters to different universities/colleges, and informal interviews during national meetings, each attended by over 200 undergraduates. Four students recruited will be at the sophomore level, while the remaining six will be at the junior/senior level. There will be a major emphasis on participation by women and minority students. The goal of this program is to provide undergraduates with an experience of the excitement of conducting research, along with frustrations and failures when doing so. The projects are designed to provide students with an improved understanding of research, in general, as well as exposure to the specific topics they will be working on. It is anticipated that participating in this program will inspire and motivate students, increase student-student and faculty-student interactions and expand the choices available to them upon graduation to include research careers and graduate school.
The student participation will start with an intensive workshop on "what research is all about" which will include techniques of data recording and analysis, computer skills, report writing and public speaking, safety issues, and an introduction to the specific projects they will be working on. Following this, the students will work on their research projects for nine weeks. Some of the projects planned for undergraduates are integral components of ongoing research projects while the others are designed specifically for them. The research activities span the areas of expertise of faculty members in the field of Geotechnical Engineering. The specific topics for research projects are as follows: 1) utilization of mine waste, 2) fluid flow in fractured rock, 3) effect of fluids on rock strength, 4) use of image processing to study the discontinuities in rock and their impact on strength/flow behavior, and 5) geophysical modeling of subsurface fluid migration. To promote teamwork, the students will work in groups of two or more. At the end of each summer/semester, the program will conclude with a mini conference/seminar series to include presentations/posters by participants on their research findings, successes and failures, and an open discussion on their learning experience. The students will be allowed to use their work as 2/3 units of "Independent Study", if they want to.
