HR: 0800h
AN: ED31A-1201    [Abstracts]
TI: Unique aspects of Colorado State University`s REU Program in Radar and Remote Sensing
AU: * Hefner, E
EM: ehefner@engr.colostate.edu
AF: Colorado State University, 1373 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO 80525 United States
AU: Chandrasekar, V
EM: chandra@engr.colostate.edu
AF: Colorado State University, 1373 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO 80525 United States
AB: The primary mission for CSU`s REU program on radars is to create a real-life research experience for the undergraduates participating during the summer. The students are provided with a basic description of their unique research project and paired with a graduate mentor and/or faculty member. Even though the students are paired with a graduate mentor that has extensive knowledge of the assigned topic, the students are responsible for developing the project through their own efforts. Each student is also required to obtain a fundamental grasp of radar basics through independent study and a series of small lectures put on by researchers at CSU. As part of the real-life research each student is exposed to, every student has to develop and hone his or her presentation and writing skills with weekly presentations and mandatory proposal and report submittals. The program is structured such that each student has access to a vast resource of technical knowledge in the form of published documents and other researchers. This allows students that learn through different mediums to have all the necessary resources available to them. While the students are performing research in areas that have not been explored before, they are also given the opportunity to explore the differences between undergraduate and graduate school. Each student is given the ability to participate in GRE prep courses. Students are given the opportunity to assess their educations, and if they find through their research that they enjoy a specific topic or are lacking necessary background information, then they can choose to register for specific courses in the upcoming fall semester. Along with influencing course selection among the REU students, the students bring their experiences and newly developed research skills back to school with them.
DE: 0810 Post-secondary education
DE: 0825 Teaching methods
DE: 0840 Evaluation and assessment
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005