Research Experience for Undergraduates-2000

On July 8-9, 2000 the REU students participated in a joint 2-day Communications Workshop with REU students from Washington University at Saint Louis Missouri. Andrea Heugatter, Assistant Directory of the Engineering Technical Writing Center at Washington University presented the Workshop. The Workshop focused on sharpening technical writing skills and preparing a profession presentation. Types of audiences, rehearsal time, employing successful visuals, and using voice and body effectively were issues highlighted for presenting a successful talk. Students were actively engaged in writing exercises, impromptu presentations, and reviewing handouts of exemplary reports. When structuring written reports, Ms. Heugatter discussed the importance of outlining, headings and numbering schemes, and designing and positioning effective graphics.

The Earthquake Engineering Symposium for Young Researchers was the final activity for the ten-week summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program that provided valuable educational experiences for undergraduate students through participation in an on-going center research project. The symposium was held in Memphis, TN on August 17-19, 2000 and supplied a forum for the REU students to introduce the results of their research. Three students from MCEER and two from Washington University joined seven students each from MAE Center and PEER. The symposium was co-directed by the three National Science Foundation sponsored Earthquake Engineering Research Centers, the Mid-America Earthquake Center (MAEC), Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (MCEER) and Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER).

PEER education program coordinator Dr. Gerard Pardoen gave the welcome and overview. Student presentations were excellent and exhibited professional well-designed visuals and in-depth research project analysis and summaries. The audience was enthusiastically involved with inquiries and comments. Brian Crowell, UC Irvine graduate, talked about "Life After the REU Summer" and how participation in the 1999 program influenced his future career decisions. Dr. Ed Harris presented the ethics component of the REU experience with concurrent breakout sessions to discuss ethical dilemma problems. The first day concluded with a reception and a "Beale Street" dinner. Dr. Gary Patterson from the Center for Earthquake Research and Information (CERI) at the University of Memphis was the after-dinner speaker. Dr. Patterson spoke on Seismic Risk in Mid-America and Lessons Learned from the Earthquake in Taiwan.

A field excursion to the CERI facilities furnished the group with a stimulating learning environment on the second day. Dr. Gary Patterson gave an overview and tour of the facilities. An examination of the CERI site history, seismograph networks, partnerships with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and the New Madrid seismic zone highlighted the discussions. Dr. Shahram Pezeshk, University of Memphis, spoke on the seismic instrumentation of the I-40 Bridge in Memphis. Dr. Jim Dorman, Emeritus Faculty, retired CERI Associate Director, also discussed various aspects of CERI and spoke on the instrumentation and design of the Auto-Zone Building in Memphis. On the final day of the symposium students were treated to a tour of the base-isolated Auto-Zone headquarters building. This is the only earthquake "proof" building east of the Rockies. The day concluded with a Mud Island tour of the historical museum and scale-model of the Mississippi River.

From this REU summer experience students returned to their home institutions to complete their undergraduate program. The REU program has continued to impact the students with several being asked to give their symposium presentations to their advisors, other interested departmental faculty, and graduate students at their home institutions.