Impact of Undergraduate Research Experiences on Graduate Research programs

The Research Experience for Undergraduate program sponsored by the NSF has offered summer research opportunities to a large number of undergraduate students over the last twenty years. It essentially has become a requirement for undergraduate students applying to graduate school to have some kind of research experience. The Division of Nuclear Physics has expanded on the program to offer the students a ``Conference Experience for Undergraduates'' (CEU) where the students are giving the opportunity to present their research at the annual fall meeting of the Division. At the meeting the students have the opportunity to interact with researchers in the field and inform themselves about the various Graduate Schools offering programs in Nuclear Physics. For the Graduate Schools the program represents a targeted recruiting opportunity.