We explore the needs and requirements to provide successful, independent research experience for Blind and Visually Impaired (BVI) students in cutting edge research labs. We wish to provide meaningful, independent, research opportunities for BVI students. We will discuss the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) and other education and outreach programs run by National Science Foundation (NSF) funded centers.
Most research labs are currently not prepared to provide the support and we contend that ongoing discussions and work groups dedicated to providing guidance for these BVI research experience would extremely helpful in attaining our goal. Our goal for this presentation is to reach out to the community to create successful BVI student research projects in the very near future and share the results with the community.
We will focus on opportunities available at Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSECs) are interdisciplinary research centers on the cutting edge of materials research. Princeton University Center for Complex Materials (PCCM). All MRSECs run REU programs and are dedicated to serving the needs of underrepresented students. We will discuss plans for developing successful BVI education and outreach programs at University research centers.