National Science Foundation Renews Funding for Space Research Program

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The National Science Foundation has renewed its funding toward the Space Center Research Experience for Undergraduates program at the University of Arkansas. The $352,485 grant will enable undergraduate students to continue to take part in the 10-week summer research program.  

“I am very excited that we have received renewed funding that will allow us to continue the program for the next three summers,” said Julia Kennefick, the principal investigator of the program and a physics professor at the University of Arkansas. “The renewal will allow us to continue a program that has enthusiastic faculty support and gives our graduate students a chance to help mentor these undergraduate students as they take full part in the work of the Space Center research groups.”

The Arkansas Center for Space and Planetary Sciences sponsors this particular Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, one of many that take place on the University of Arkansas campus. Each REU hosts an average of 10 to 20 students from across the nation and provides them with an allowance that covers travel, food and on-campus housing accommodations. At the conclusion of the REU, students receive $500 to be used toward attending a regional or national science conference in the coming school year.

Students studying astronomy, chemistry, physics, biology, geosciences, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and chemical engineering are especially encouraged to apply for the Space Center REU — which is housed in the Old Field House on the university campus.

During the summer program, the visiting undergraduates work with University of Arkansas graduate students and faculty on peer-reviewed research projects covering subjects like astrobiology, astrophysics, mission design engineering, planetary geology, experimental and computational simulations of planetary conditions, and other related fields.

“Students are exposed to a broad range of topics as they perform and report on their research projects,” said Kennefick. “Our goal is to provide a significant research experience in a multidisciplinary environment focusing on astronomy and the planetary sciences.”

REU programs also serve as a useful recruiting tool for the university’s graduate programs. It is not uncommon for an undergraduate to become so excited by the facilities and research opportunities that they decide to enroll at the university for graduate school.

For example, current University of Arkansas doctoral student Jennifer Hanley participated in the Space Center REU as an undergraduate at Cornell University. She now serves as a mentor for current REU participants and will be presenting REU research with Holly Farris, an undergraduate student from Albion College, at the upcoming Lunar and Planetary Society Conference.

“REU programs are designed to give undergraduate students a taste of graduate school, and these students liked our program so much, they decided to come back and pursue their graduate degrees with us,” Kennefick said.