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RET Program

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE FOR TEACHERS

Program Description and Requirements

The Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is soliciting applications from middle and high school teachers for the summer RET program.

Up to ten teachers will be selected to participate in team research at the Silvio O. Conte Center for Polymer Research. Participants will perform research as a team and develop teaching modules to transfer their experience to their classroom. The teachers will be selected to research a topic from a broad spectrum of topics in chemistry, physics or engineering of polymers. Examples of projects under consideration are: nanomembranes, crystallization in confined geometries, sensors, and polymer deformation.

You must be a US citizen to be able to participate.

The program has a flexible duration as teachers can participate from 6-8 weeks. Benefits include a salary of $1,000 per week, up to $1,000 to defray relocation expenses, six graduate credits, and at least 135 PDPs.

Please send a one-page resume along with a paragraph describing how a research experience could benefit your teaching. In addition send a copy of either your passport or your birth certificate AND social security card. Electronic or hard copy applications are acceptable. The deadline for receipt of applications is April 7th.

Jennifer Green, MRSEC Educational Outreach Manager
Materials Research Science and Engineering Center
Polymer Science and Engineering Department
University of Massachusetts
120 Governors Drive
Amherst, MA 01003

email: jgreen@mail.pse.umass.edu

 

Here is a list of people who participated in the following years:

RET 2008 Participants Print E-mail
RET Program
RET 2008 Participants
Last Updated ( Thursday, 05 March 2009 )
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RET 2007 Participants Print E-mail
RET Program
RET 2007 Participants
 
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 08 April 2009 )
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RET 2006 Participants Print E-mail
RET Program
RET 2006 Participants
Last Updated ( Saturday, 10 March 2007 )
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RET 2005 Participants Print E-mail
RET Program
RET 2005 Participants
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RET 2004 Participants Print E-mail
RET Program
RET 2004 Participants
Last Updated ( Saturday, 10 March 2007 )
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RET 2003 Participants Print E-mail
RET Program
RET 2003 Participants
Last Updated ( Saturday, 10 March 2007 )
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RET 2002 Participants Print E-mail
RET Program
Three years ago the MRSEC launched an RET program involving one middle school and two high school teachers. The success of this program is evidenced by an original publication in Polymer, a peer-reviewed, scientific journal, and the subsequent development of modules for introducing polymer concepts at the middle school level. The second year’s efforts were expanded to include seven teachers in the program.
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RET 2001 Participants Print E-mail
RET Program
This was our second year of offering the RET program to teachers from throughout the Commonwealth. We were able to expand it to include seven teachers, which were chosen from the middle school ranks. The objective was to transfer the excitement of "hot topic" research to their classrooms via educational models they developed based on their summer's research.
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