Education and Human Resources

Summer 2009 Program Dates
Application Deadline: February 15
Research Experience for Undergraduates, Faculty-Student Team Fellowship, and Native American Fellowship Programs: June 1 - August 8
Research Experience for Teachers: June 29 - August 8

Program Descriptions and Applications

Faculty-Student Team Fellowships
Research Experiences for Undergraduates | Native American Undergraduate Fellowships | Research Experiences for Teachers

Past Participants | Summer Research FAQ

The UMN MRSEC operates a multi-faceted E&HR program that extends its impact beyond the UMN, providing high school teachers, college faculty, and undergraduates with research opportunities that augment their traditional curriculum and increase their understanding of materials science and engineering (MS&E). Our programs are based on the premise that MS&E stands at the nexus of the three core disciplines biology, chemistry, and physics comprising the science curriculum in high schools and colleges. UMN MRSEC summer research opportunities include Four-year College Faculty-Student Team Fellowships and Native American Undergraduate Fellowships, and Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) and Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) programs. Participants perform research in a UMN MRSEC research group from the Engineered Multiblock Polymers, Organic Optoelectronic Interfaces, Magnetic Heterostructures, and Nanoparticle-based Materials IRGs, or one of the various MRSEC Seed groups.

The overlapping competencies of the MRSEC investigators (faculty, students and postdocs), college faculty, and undergraduates make outreach efforts with these groups particularly effective, whereas interactions with the high school sector are designed to bridge expertise gaps. The E&HR efforts are strengthened considerably by the Associate Director, Frank Snowden, who is uniquely positioned as former director of several other outreach activities for under-represented groups including the Community of Scholars (a graduate school program for under-represented minorities and first-generation post-secondary students), APEXES (Academic Programs for Excellence in Engineering and Science with a K-12 pre-college outreach program and educational services for IT under-represented undergraduates), and MSROP (Multi-Cultural Summer Research Opportunity Program).

Our E&HR program includes a diverse network (see map) of 22 Four-Year Colleges and 13 Tribal Colleges, 9 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)and 4 Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). A cooperative agreement with the Midwestern Association of Chemistry Teachers in Liberal Arts Colleges (MACTLAC), which encompasses 138 four-year colleges in seven midwestern states, significantly enhances our access to a large pool of potential faculty and student participants. The UMN MRSEC also develops curricular materials, which are organized in its Learning Module Library.

The UMN MRSEC also supports the Physics Force, which conveys scientific principles, through scripted performances by ensembles of UMN faculty and high school teachers, in an informative but enjoyable format. In addition the UMN MRSEC research programs offer workshops and short courses for companies, faculty, graduate students and postdoctoral associates on selected topics.

Information about the UMN MRSEC E&HR program can be obtained by contacting:

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