Expanding the Pipeline – CAHSI introduces National Virtual Research Experience for Undergraduates

This article is taken from a press release written by Patricia Morreale (Kean University), Elsa Villa (The University of Texas at El Paso), and Ann Gates (The University of Texas at El Paso). To identify and broadly engage the next generation of computer science researchers, the Computing Alliance of Hispanic Serving Institutions (CAHSI), an NSF INCLUDES Alliance, piloted a national virtual Research Experience for Undergraduates (vREU) during the summer of 2020. Funded by an NSF RAPID grant, the pilot provided undergraduate research experiences for 50 students and 20 faculty drawn from 20 colleges and universities widely distributed throughout the continental U.S. and Puerto Rico. The program used the Affinity Research Group (ARG) model to guide faculty mentors throughout the experience.