Board 200: A New Mentoring and Undergraduate Research Experience Model between REUs and RETs at the Stevens REU/RET Site Program on Sustainable Energy and Bioengineering

The Stevens REU/RET Site project funded by NSF DMR program (Award #2050921) has completed its first two years and provided research and educational opportunities to both undergraduates and high school teachers. The program achieved its overarching goals with noticed improved mentoring, research experiences, and communication during the second year attributed in part to the in-person programming. The REU program aimed to create an experience that took students beyond the development of technical competence in science and engineering and provided an expertise particularly on research and innovation in various areas of energy and bioengineering. External evaluation, interviews and surveys of the REU and RET participants examined if the program goals were achieved. All teachers found the experience to be valuable and listed the people and the research environment as the two most impactful areas of the program. This paper will further discuss the specifics of this novel REU/RET program as well as the outcomes.