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REU Site for Solar Physics at Montana State University David E. McKenzie, for the MSU Solar Physics Group
The Solar Physics Group at Montana State University (MSU) has had an NSF funded REU program since 2003. Prior to that the group had a much smaller independently funded REU program since 1999. Our REU website provides much informaJon, including final presentaJons and tesJmonials from former students, and applicaJon materials for the coming year: h"p://solar.physics.montana.edu/REU The students’ main acJvity is carrying out individual research projects in Solar Physics under the supervision of MSU faculty for ten weeks during the summer. Most of the projects involve the analysis of data from space missions such as Hinode, SDO, and RHESSI, and ground-‐based observatories such as Mees Solar Observatory of the University of Hawai’i, and the NaJonal Solar Observatory. AddiJonally, each year there are opportuniJes for REU research in the solar-‐stellar connecJon (dynamo theory, data analysis), solar magnetohydrodynamics, plasma physics, and space hardware development, the laVer through our affiliated Space Science and Engineering Lab.
ObjecJves: • Provide a high-‐quality state-‐of-‐the-‐art research experience; • Develop independence, creaJvity, and interest in physics and astronomy
graduate study; • Demonstrate how academic knowledge acquired in classes relates to
real-‐world research problems; • Develop and strengthen pracJcal research skills; • Encourage parJcipaJon by women and minoriJes in scienJfic research.
Targeted student parJcipants for our REU program are undergraduates who major in Physics, Astronomy, MathemaJcs, or Computer Sciences, although we do not restrict applicaJons to any group. Student acJviJes during the ten-‐week summer program include: (1) research project, (2) InteracJve Data Language (IDL) primer, (3) introducJon to Solar Physics, (4) visiJng scholars’ lectures, (5) final presentaJons, (6) web-‐based final reports, and (7) social and cultural acJviJes with peers, frequently campus-‐wide. A vital element for the organizers is the exit interview and quesJonnaire. The feedback from parJcipants has helped us to make conJnuous improvement to our program. Some examples of refinements inspired by the students’ comments include implementaJon of discussion sessions on grad school applicaJon; enhanced interacJon between our grad students and the REU cohort; and complete re-‐design of our series of Solar Physics lectures to beVer emphasize the relaJonship between classroom physics and real-‐world Solar Physics topics.
For recruitment we have relied on three simple but effecJve tools: 1. Our REU web page, linked from various REU sites (including the AAS and the NSF). 2. The distribuJon of an REU flyer that goes with the Physics Department’s mass mailings on graduate studies
to hundreds of colleges naJonwide. 3. For our internaJonal students we have also relied on personal recommendaJons from longJme foreign
collaborators. A survey of the parJcipants indicates that most learned of our program from the flyers, rather than the website. These recruitment tools have been very successful: in every year we have received at least 50 applicaJons, and the number conJnues to grow. In 2011 we had 149 applicaJons (see Figure 1). Those numbers represent a significant oversubscripJon, since we typically can support only 10-‐12 students per year. As our program has built its reputaJon, the quality of the applicant pool has increased as well, as judged from the applicants’ GPAs. We have also been very successful in aVracJng female parJcipants: the long-‐term average fracJon of female parJcipants is 43% (even reaching 75% in 2005!), as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 1: Growth of applicant pool during the last 10 years.
Figure 2: Record of parBcipants for 11 years of MSU’s Solar Physics REU program.
The MSU Solar Physics Group.
Each year we have accepted a small number of foreign students into our program. Since NSF funds cannot be used for their sJpends and other costs, we have used our NASA grants and internal funds to defray these expenses. The foreign parJcipants have been both undergraduates and graduates, ogen recruited through our ongoing research collaboraJons with colleagues in Scotland, India, and The Netherlands. The US REU students have frequently expressed that they very much enjoyed the opportunity to interact with peers from different cultural backgrounds, and the foreign students have expressed similar senJments. The US students also profited from the interacJon with non-‐US graduate students by gehng an idea of what graduate studies abroad are like. We believe this internaJonal component represents a valuable extra dimension in our program.
A menu of available research projects is linked each year from the on-‐line applicaJon page, and applicants are encouraged to list their preference for projects when they submit the applicaJon (for the 2011 list, see Figure 3). We find the students appreciate having up-‐front informaJon about the specific research they may be working on, and with whom. Very ogen the REU student is co-‐mentored by a Solar Physics graduate student as well, and the parJcipants and graduates have universally praised the benefits of this co-‐mentoring. AddiJonally, weekly meeJngs bring together REU parJcipants with similar research projects and their supervisors for the purpose of providing the “Big Picture” scienJfic context for the individual research projects. Many projects result in presentaJons at meeJngs and journal publicaJons ager the program: to date the program has produced 23 refereed papers and 40 conference presentaJons since NSF support began in 2003.
Figure 3: Pre-‐defined research projects for the 2011 summer program. Applicants are requested to list two preferred projects when submiOng their applicaBons.
