Computational Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) for Condensed Matter Physics

Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) are a way of bringing the excitement of research into the classroom and potentially reaching more students and reaching them earlier in their studies than would happen with the typical summer research experience or senior thesis project. Key aspects are of a CURE are: students learn and use research methods, give input into the project, generate new research data, and analyze it to draw conclusions that are not known beforehand. I will show a paradigm for a computational CURE in an undergraduate/graduate condensed matter physics class at the University of California, Merced. It is based on computational studies with density functional theory, provided by a convenient GUI tool on nanoHUB (https://nanohub.org/tools/ucb_compnano) that we co-developed which requires minimal computational skills. After preparatory exercises, students calculated structures, energies, and Raman spectra of different structures and compositions of a monolayer alloy MoS_2xSe_2(1-x). They followed a defined protocol to contribute to a novel class dataset which they analyzed, and also calculated an additional property of their choice in consultation with the instructor. Studies show that CUREs improve learning, foster a sense of belonging in the field, increase retention of students in science (including going on to do summer research), and are especially beneficial for minoritized/underrepresented students such as at a Hispanic Serving Institution like UC Merced.