Coe College’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site has secured a three-year renewal backed by a $464,737 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
The program fosters active research engagement for undergraduate students across NSF-funded fields. Each summer, 10 students and two high school teachers spend seven weeks at Coe conducting research in areas such as glass science, optics, particle physics, molecular biology, applied data science, detector modeling, and biomaterials.
Participants not only engage in hands-on research but also present their findings at various conferences, ranging from local to international levels.
“The REU site has permitted us to leverage the research to obtain state-of-the-art instrumentation,” Mario Affatigato, professor of physics, said. “Coe remains one of only a handful of small colleges to host such a site, truly a distinguishing characteristic.”
Additionally, the renewal includes the introduction of a new workshop on applying machine learning and AI tools in spectroscopy, expanded training for faculty and students, and the addition of student journaling.
