To increase faculty participation and to recognize the strategic educational position held by undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative activities (URSCA) in many institutions, faculty mentorship of undergraduate students needs to be valued as a standard component of workload and formally included in activity reports and evaluations, including those that lead to reappointment, tenure, and promotion. This white paper presents the need for recognition of faculty mentorship of URSCA, recommends best practices for institutions to adopt, offers a selection of case studies where some of these practices are already established, and summarizes the challenges ahead.

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The Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (MRSEC) Impact Assessment Committee was convened by the National Research Council in response to an informal request from the National Science Foundation. Charged to examine the impact of the MRSEC program and to provide guidance for the future, the committee included experts from across materials research as well as several from outside the field. The committee developed a general methodology to examine the MRSEC centers and after extensive research and analysis, came to the following conclusions. MRSEC center awards continue to be in great demand. The intense competition within the community for them indicates a strong perceived value. Using more quantitative measures, the committee examined the performance and impact of MRSEC activities over the past decade in the areas of research, facilities, education and outreach, and industrial collaboration and technology transfer. The MRSEC program has had important impacts of the same high standard of quality as those of other multi-investigator or individual-investigator programs. Although the committee was largely unable to attribute observed impacts uniquely to the MRSEC program, MRSECs generally mobilize efforts that would not have occurred otherwise. Because of an observed decline in the effectiveness of the centers, the committee recommended a restructuring the MRSEC program to allow more efficient use and leveraging of resources. The new program should fully invest in centers of excellence as well as in stand-alone teams of researchers to allow tighter focus on key strengths of the program. In its report, the committee outlines one potential vision for how this might be accomplished in a revenue-neutral fashion.

Undergraduate Research (UR) can be defined as an investigation into a specific topic within a discipline by an undergraduate student that makes an original contribution to the field. It has become a major consideration among research universities around the world, in order to advance both academic teaching and research productivity. Edited by an international team of world authorities in UR, this Handbook is the first truly comprehensive and systematic account of undergraduate research, which brings together different international approaches, with attention to both theory and practice. It is split into sections covering different countries, disciplines, and methodologies. It also provides an overview of current research and theoretical perspectives on undergraduate research as well as future developmental prospects of UR. Written in an engaging style, yet wide-ranging in its scope, it is essential reading for anyone wishing to broaden their understanding of how undergraduate research is implemented worldwide.

This title details the essential roles that small telescopes should play in 21st century science and how their future productivity can be maximized. Over 70 experts from all corners of the international astronomical community have created a reference on the future of big science with small telescopes. at national facilities and their omission from national science priority studies, the oft-lamented demise of the small telescope has been greatly exaggerated. In fact, the future of these workhorses of astronomy will be brighter than ever if creative steps are taken now. This three-volume set defines essential roles that small telescopes should play in 21st century science and the ways in which a productive future for them can be realized. A wide cross-section of the astronomical community has contributed to a definitive assessment of the present and a vision for the future. radio- and space-based facilities face problems in scientific prioritization and funding. It highlights how current small facilities are evolving to meet the scientific priorities and economical realities of the 21st century through standardization of instrumentation, use of off-the-shelf technology, specialization, optical improvements, new modes of scheduling, automation, and internet access.