Research Experience for Undergraduate in Materials Science and Engineering

This REU Site award to The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) will support the training of diverse undergraduate students in cutting edge research for 10 weeks during the summers of 2025-2027. A total of 30 students will be supported by the REU site in a three-year comprehensive engineering research activity. The students will be exposed to hands-on learning experience in the basics of materials science and engineering, involved in cutting-edge multidisciplinary research activities with aim to enrich their skills in the interrelationship between structure-processing-properties and performance of materials and nano/biomaterials. Exposure to these engineering research frontiers will arouse the students’ interest in pursuing higher education and considerably help increase both the number of students who choose engineering as their careers and the education standards of UG students from minority and underrepresented groups across the USA. The REU site will also expand the knowledge and understanding of the technical projects by the students to develop and use diverse materials in real applications. The impact of this project will be already broadened by the direct participation of a HSI in engineering (UTRGV) as well as enhancing and maintaining an engineering-going (and a college-going) culture in a Hispanic- concentrated population. The REU site will also change the stereotypical gender and race assumptions in engineering and STEM study and career choice, especially for underrepresented Hispanic and women students. The proposed research activities will benefit society and national interest by advancing the existing knowledge in materials science and engineering and supporting diversity, research, and education at the national level.