Education/Outreach

The integration of research with Education and Outreach is an important ingredient of our MRSEC’s mission aimed at preparing the future work force of materials scientists and engineers. Our programs provide undergraduate research opportunities, graduate student training, outreach to K-12 students and teachers, and community.
All MRSEC faculty contribute to the Education and Outreach activities described below.

Each summer, three or more high school or middle school teachers are invited to participate in a MRSEC program “Research Experiences for Teachers” (RET). Teachers work on a research program during the summer, gaining first-hand experience with cutting-edge research and modern technologies. A summer stipend is provided. The relationships between the teachers and the researchers expand to include the teacher’s students during the following school year.

Established partnerships with three minority-serving institutions – University of Puerto Rico (UPR), California State University at San Bernardino (CSUSB), and North Carolina A&T State University (NCAT) form the core of our Bridge Program. The goal of the program is to provide a pipeline for recruiting promising undergraduate minority students into graduate programs. Participants are receiving targeted scholastic training, research fellowships, and summer research opportunities designed to enhance their academic qualifications, which together significantly improve the likelihood they will matriculate to and succeed in a graduate program. The bridge formed between P-SPINS and each partner will have three central elements: (i) activities at the partnering institute, (ii) summer research opportunities at Nebraska MRSEC; and (iii) recruitment into a graduate program.