This REU Site activity directly addressed the challenge of increasing the enrollment of women and minorities in engineering graduate study. The key aspects of this program are: 1) the active recruitment of minorities and women by visiting carefully selected "target" schools, and 2) a student oriented research program that contains social as well as instructional aspects designed for successful integration of the participants into an exciting research environment. Ten faculty members have volunteered to support recruitment, instruction, and research supervision. The projects offered span a wide range of research, from plant tissue culture, to thermodynamics held together by common chemical engineering principles. REU participants will be matched with projects prior to selection to maximize mutual interests and capabilities. The participants will enroll in a three credit undergraduate research course during the 1990 summer semester. An instructional program at the beginning of the program has been designed to give the students a quick start on research. To stress the importance of communication, an introductory final and oral presentation, as well as a final written report will be required of each student.
