REU Site: RET: Penn State Physics Department Research Experience for Undergraduates and Teachers Program

Penn State University continues operation of a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site. The REU Site is affiliated with the Department of Physics at Penn State. Eighteen undergraduate students are recruited every year for a ten-week summer research experience. Students participate in a variety of research projects in condensed matter and materials physics, both within the Physics Department and the Center for Nanoscale Science at Penn State. Students also attend weekly seminars, workshops on computer simulations, machine shop courses and facility tours, including a trip to the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, and present the results of their research at a symposium.

The REU Site also supports five teachers every year for a five-to-eight week summer research experience. In addition to research activities with a specific faculty advisor, teachers are encouraged to interact with other faculty members on pedagogy and to enroll in a two-week long interactive course on the mechanics of materials that facilitates incorporation of materials topics into their classroom curriculum.