Research Experiences for Undergraduate (REU) programs - sponsored by the National Science Foundation -- are popular across the nation, and appear in several formats at Virginia Tech. In the program, undergraduate students showing an interest in graduate school are paired with a university faculty member and work during the summer for a block of several weeks on a particular research project. The program differs itself from other REUs because of its focus on diversity, bringing students from predominately black or female universities in Virginia and North Carolina to Virginia Tech. Scott McCrickard, an associate professor in computer science, and Woodrow Winchester III, an assistant professor in the Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, formed the summer program in 2006. McCrickard and Winchester call the program a win-win situation not only for Virginia Tech itself, but the participating students as well. Dozens of Virginia Tech faculty members normally have summer research projects, and need research assistants to help complete that work. (adapted from article by Stephen Mackay, 2009).
