REU Site: Opportunities for Growth and Research in Nuclear Science at the Texas A&M Cyclotron Institute

The goal of this program is to continue to support and inspire the next generation of undergraduate students in the pursuit of their education. This award supports the continuation of the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) site in nuclear science at Texas A&M University. The site will support ten undergraduates per year in ten weeks of research during the summer months. Involvement in research at the undergraduate level is a critical component in helping students decide whether they wish to pursue graduate school, STEM careers and the research subfield of choice. Research has shown that these research opportunities increase the number and preparation of students who do choose to enter the STEM field. This site primarily targets students who lack opportunities to contribute to research in nuclear science at their home institutions, however, all students are considered for participation. The student projects will contribute to research endeavors that are at the leading edge of nuclear science, including sub-fields such as nuclear astrophysics, weak interactions, nuclear dynamics and thermodynamics, nuclear structure, the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), atomic ionization, radiation effects, and medical isotope production. Students will complete projects that can primarily be described as either theoretical, experimental, or computational/analytical. All students will be given the opportunity to learn about each research aspect during the program. The Cyclotron Institute is a Department of Energy (DOE) Nuclear Physics Center of Excellence. The facilities include a K500 superconducting cyclotron, a K150 cyclotron, and associated state-of-the-art detector systems. The Cyclotron Institute and the physics department are also home base for involvement in experiments at other facilities. The faculty are leading scientists in the field and have a long history of working with undergraduates in their research programs. 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.