Native American Summer Research Experience
Power ON!
The Summer Undergraduate Research Program



Native Americans represent North Dakota's largest minority at (5.8% in 2005), and North Dakota has the 6th largest proportion of American Indians in the nation. Many Native Americans pursuing a college degree start their studies with a two-year degree at a tribally controlled college (TCCs), such as the five located within North Dakota and then may transfer to a four year college or university.

North Dakota's two research universities (UND and NDSU) have initiated a program coordinated through the state's EPSCoR office by which faculty can participate in Native American outreach. This program, "Nurturing American Tribal Undergraduate Research and Education" (NATURE) has as its mission to build a bridge from K-12, to the tribal colleges, to baccalaureate and graduate institutions for American Indians in the pursuit of careers related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The program has been shown to be one of the most successful STEM-related Native American programs in the U.S. The TCCs participating in NATURE are: Cankdeska Cikana Community College, Fort Berthold Community College, Sitting Bull College, Turtle Mountain Community College, and United Tribes Technical College.


As part of our outreach programs, SUNRISE administers the NATURE Freshmen Experience for the NATURE program. This program is designed to introduce TCC freshmen and tribal high school graduating seniors to the major college experience. Students receive an orientation to one of the two universities--UND or NDSU--and work with a faculty mentor for 1-4 weeks in their research laboratory. To encourage participation, participating native American students receive free room and board, and a travel stipend as well as being paid for their work time in the laboratory. Sophomore year students completing the Freshman experience are given preferential consideration for a 10 week summer research experience operated in conjunction with one of the STEM related undergraduate summer research programs at UND or NDSU).

This program is designed to make the transition to UND/NDSU less traumatic. The student already has a relationship with a faculty advisor who continues to work with the student after they transfer. The advantage of the NATURE programs is that they were established in collaboration with the TCCs, and are strongly supported by TCC science faculty and administration. UND's American Indian Center is also a resource utilized in the program to insure that Native American students have the best chance for success.

A companion NATURE program provides sponsorship for a TCC science teacher to work at UND/NDSU with a science faculty member in order to improve their knowledge and skills in chemistry, analytical instrumentation, and personal research capabilities.

The NATURE Native American Freshman Experience is coordinated by SUNRISE researchers Dr. Julia Zhao, UND Chemistry and Dr. Brian Tande, UND Chemical Engineering, in collaboration with Dr. Carol Davis, NATURE program Administrator.



Power ON! is a program to improve the quality of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) -related education for 5th--8th grade students. Sponsored by the Dakota Science Center and coordinated by SUNRISE, Power ON! is funded by multiple sources including community and stakeholder industrial businesses, and outreach components in SUNRISE research grants. Originally developed by SUNRISE Renewables Director Wayne Seames, Power ON! is currently administered by assistant professors Dr. Brian Tande, UND Chemical Engineering and Dr. Mary Baker, UND Teaching and Learning.

The students targeted in this project will be 5th--8th graders from reservation-based and mainstream rural Upper Midwest school districts. In this program STEM-related case studies with embedded experiments are used as both a supplemental school-year curriculum and a more extensive and intensive summer camp curriculum to engage 5th--8th grade students in STEM subjects. The ability to motivate and engage under-represented minority groups is emphasized in the program.



For the past five years, SUNRISE or its predecessor organization CIGSIIE have administered a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates site (REU). This program takes undergraduate students in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and matches them up with faculty mentors for a 10 week summer program. Students work on research projects related to the development of sustainable energy topics. In the summer 2007 session, 12 students worked with faculty. For seven of these students, who come from non-research colleges and Universities, the REU gave them an opportunity to explore research and graduate school as an option which they would not be able to do at their home schools. The other five students are undergraduates from UND who are considering graduate school in their future. More than 85% of the participants in this program went on to graduate studies. The ND EPSCoR program has a similar program, known as AURA, for North Dakota students that extend the research experience through the fall semester.

Click here for more information, including how to apply to the SUNRISE summer 2009 REU program.