Faculty members are committed to devote at least 2 hours each week for a one-on-one session with their assigned undergraduate students to assist them in reporting their weekly progress, answer questions and guide them with their project. Participating faculty will provide a binder containing articles, previous reports and any material suitable for helping the REU student become immersed in the project as quickly as possible. The weekly meeting can be used to offer tutoring sessions on background materials including math, science and engineering software simulation packages. The weekly meeting will also ensure the projects progress in a timely fashion.
A graduate student will be hired to work half-time to help in organizing seminars and mentoring students in report writing, as well as in other logistics of the REU program. The graduate student will also be a resource person, helping in the set-up of labs and in guiding students in their projects.
All participants are required to attend a two-hour weekly meeting to discuss their progress, identify problems and plan future activities. Students from each group will give a presentation about their progress to the faculty and all participants during the bi-weekly meeting. This will give students an opportunity to prepare a presentation and speak in front of others. These meetings will also discuss writing conference papers and prepare students for an end-of-the-summer “best project” award competition.
REU participants will have the opportunity to visit several high-tech environments as well as cultural institutions in the greater Houston area, including the following.