A

national grant given to FAU on Thursday will create more research opportunities for undergraduate STEM students in the U.S.

The National Science Foundation gave a $360,000 award to the university’s Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center, which allows students to test methods of generating electric power from ocean currents and offshore thermal resources.

The money will be used to start a Research Experiences for Undergraduates project, which will consist of a 10-week summer program with 10 available spots for students around the country.

Participants will research how the energy collection methods affect marine animals, as well as work on new technology related to the field, according to a release on the grant.

Those who make it into the program will be paid $500 a week with a $150 meal allowance. They will work from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each weekday and be given housing on FAU’s Boca Raton or Harbor Branch campus.

Students will be placed in existing research groups and will be mentored by members of FAU faculty during the extent of the program. They will also receive research training, have access to writing workshops as well as entrepreneurial bootcamps and career mentoring both during and after their research experience ends, the release said.

“We will have a total of 10 projects during each year of the award,” James Van Zwieten, a professor with the Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center, said in the release. “All of our REU student scholars will be instrumental in helping to progress the ocean industry by contributing knowledge in many different areas that are needed to responsibly and rapidly commercialize technology.”

FAU previously received a $339,984 grant on Feb. 28 from the national foundation for its Institute for Sensing and Embedded Network Systems (I-SENSE). The money will be used to give 10 undergraduate STEM major participants the opportunity to take part in a nine-week summer program on smart systems which can be used for sensing, data management and communication.

For more information on applying to program, click here.

Ryan Lynch is the editor in chief of the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him @RyanLynchwriter .