The Computer Science Department looks to attract more students with the aid of a grant awarded by the National Science Foundation.
The department was awarded a $310,000 Research Experiences for Undergraduates Site grant that will last until 2011.
"We are very excited to receive the second REU award. It is a confirmation that our effort in the past three years has been viewed positively by the NSF and the Computer Science community," computer science professor Stephen Huang said in a release.
The University supplemented the grant with an additional $126,000 for the program, according to a release.
Undergraduate students from across the country compete for an opportunity to participate in a research experience, Huang said.
The award from the grant covers a $4,000 stipend for each student during the 10-week program as well as food, boarding and travel expenses.
During their stay, students participate in workshops to help improve writing techniques and presentation skills, Huang said.
This year’s program will take place from June 2 through Aug. 8.
Huang also said that students familiarize themselves with the University during the program, which he hopes would encourage them to apply for graduate school.
The REU program at UH specializes in computational sciences, computer science professor Ioannis Kakadiaris said.
He also said one goal of the program is to give undergraduate students a chance to work on research projects with professors acting as mentors throughout the program.
"I think it is an excellent idea to have undergraduates involved in a research experience…. We are fortunate to have the opportunity to mentor undergraduate students working on such projects," Kakadiaris said.
Students interested in applying can go to the Web site www.cbl.uh.edu/~reu/ or contact Huang at [email protected].
