This project aims to provide students from a diverse pool of undergraduate institutions with a memorable and formative experience in physics and astronomy research to solidify their commitment to further study and careers in scientific fields. The leaders will guide participants in short but intense research projects in one of the many active research areas in physics and astronomy at Brigham Young University. The whole cohort is mentored from initial research prospectus to final report and intermediate presentations in addition to the one-on-one faculty mentoring. Professional preparation and skill development are complemented with informal activities for social cohesion and networking. The individual participants' projects explore a broad spectrum of currently unsolved problems through hands-on activities under a faculty mentor's direct supervision to provide significant and lasting educational and intellectual benefits to the participants. As the participants' projects are integrated into the current research program of active research groups, they are likely to contribute to the advance of knowledge and produce results that can be published and/or presented at professional meetings. When it matters most, participants are immersed in an intense collaborative experiment centered around collegiality and scientific practice at a significant time in their educational development. By assembling a vast group of diverse participants from different walks of life but with a common purpose and interest in physics, the program intends to create lifelong connections and a resource network that will benefit all participants, their scientific productivity, and professional trajectory. The project provides cohort diversity by striving towards a 50-50 gender balance and seeking out participation from underrepresented groups. It contributes to the long-term goal of increasing the participation of under-served groups in the STEM fields.
The Department of Physics and Astronomy at Brigham Young University (BYU) proposes to offer a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Site in Physics. The objective is to guide participants in short but intense research projects in one of the university's many active research areas through one-on-one mentoring by faculty. The program also emphasizes the whole cohort's progress from research question to final products through close academic mentoring by the PI and co-PI, as well as weekly meetings to discuss the cohort's progress and provide professional development. These complement informal activities for social cohesion and networking. The site will have twelve REU participants and two RET participants each summer for the next three years. The REU site at BYU has run successfully for the past twenty years. It benefits from a departmental and institutional commitment that allowed it to complete a successful program during the Covid-19 period of 2020 despite nearly all projects being done remotely and a department and institutional commitment to undergraduate research excellence. The leaders strive to bring together a diverse cohort of participants from different institutions and backgrounds, with special efforts to recruit students from underrepresented groups in physics and those from two-year and four-year colleges in the nearby geographical region. The leaders undertake particularly concerted efforts to recruit women and ethnic minorities. Because of the geographical location and past experiences with minority students, the team expects to be particularly effective recruiting students from Hispanic and Native American groups. A particular aspect of the program is the inclusion of two RET participants, typically one local. There are identical research expectations for REU and RET participants, but both groups benefit from the association. The small RET component of the program is a significant asset. The breadth of the projects offered is a valuable asset. Many participants have not yet decided on the particular sub-field of physics they want to pursue as graduate students or professionals. The program offers experimental, computational, and theoretical projects in a wide variety of sub fields of physics. Although each student's project is unique, participants indicate that they the broader exposure to physics through the REU cohort. The areas covered include: Quantum Information and Dynamics, Semiconductor Nanomaterials, Brown Dwarfs and Transiting Planets, Coherent Lenses Imaging and Optics, Local Structure of Quantum Materials, Materials Structure and Properties, Modeling Complex Systems, Nano magnetism, Nonlinear Acoustics, Numerical Relativity, Pulsating Star Astronomy, and Underwater.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
