The Virtual Boulder Solar Alliance REU

Abstract:

Converting an in-person REU program to a virtual one presents a new set of challenges for coordinators. Certainly there are many obstacles in terms of logistics, technical issues, and the difficulty in remote mentoring. Hands-on research projects had to be eliminated, and nearly every cohort-building activity from prior years had to be canceled. However, we have made the most of this opportunity by expanding networking and science speakers beyond the local Boulder bubble. Since everyone is remote, it is not awkward to hear a lecture from a scientist in Hawaii or to talk to a graduate admissions counselor in Germany.

This poster will describe the changes to the pre-program mentor orientation, boot camp week for the students, and weekly professional development activities. The research projects in this REU were exclusively data analysis this year, which meant that students needed access to computing resources and software well before the start of the program. Mentors got additional training on best practices in virtual mentoring. The week of orientation was modified to use remote lab exercises from the Heliophysics Summer School rather than a group project. Throughout the summer, students were able to record discussions with their mentors via zoom and review them afterwards instead of taking notes. Codetogether allowed mentors and students to collaboratively edit computer code. The research outcomes from this year’s virtual REU program indicate that the transition to virtual was a success!