Be a part of changing the face of Materials Science this Giving Day!
DIVERSITY and DISCOVERY through revolutionary MATERIALS SCIENCE
¡MIRA! conducts world-class research and creates a world-class workforce that reflects the multicultural diversity of the Southwest and the emerging demographics of our Nation.
Diversity is in OUR DNA: ¡MIRA! is nationally unique with over 50% URM and female faculty, allowing diverse students to see themselves reflected in their mentors. We provide an opportunity to train diverse students in the emerging field of materials science, which according to industry analysts may be the most important technology of the next decade. By vastly accelerating our ability to create advanced materials to power industries from energy to medicine to manufacturing, revolutionary materials research has already had a significant impact- from saving the environment to bringing renewable energy technologies to market, to creating materials for new bone and cartilage implants- and there’s no limit to what we can achieve in the future.
Our center is unlike any center in the nation. We bring our whole selves to ¡MIRA! and we hope you will also. Learn more about ¡MIRA!.
Let’s double your money and meet our giving matches!! Your gift, no matter the amount, creates a positive and meaningful impact. When you support ¡MIRA!, you provide the ability for us to further lower barriers for students.
Join our supporters and make a gift to ¡MIRA! today!
¡MIRA! fund priorities
¡MIRA! Scholars creates work-ready students, by providing them a competitive salary to work in a ¡MIRA! faculty laboratory where they gain hands-on research experience. All funds go directly to supporting students and enable ALL students to gain valuable working skills in an interdisciplinary field- while earning a living wage. ¡MIRA! Scholar internships are competitively awarded and the award process was created to reduce barriers for students who do not have research experience or come from a research background. As ¡MIRA! is a high-impact materials science and diversity center, students join a team and learn how to increase diversity in STEM.
The ¡MIRA! Scholars program provides students opportunities to build hands-on skills to develop our Nation’s highly skilled workforce. It is a materials science research internship for undergraduate students that is competitively awarded, gets students into labs, and pays them for it!! We understand that not all students can accept a non-paid research internship, so ¡MIRA! Scholars removes and equalizes that barrier.
¡MIRA! Scholars allows a student to:
• join a ¡MIRA! research group and get job-ready!
• get PAID to do research (15-20 hrs/week @ a Flagstaff living wage)
All donations go directly to supporting student salaries. We support students through the application and research process, offering hands-on help in identifying and connecting the student with mentors that enable their success now and in the future.
“It was really nice being able to see other people succeeding in the sciences who look like me.” –Victoria Girgis, Spring 2021 ¡MIRA! Scholar
Create SPARQs of interest in science
Quantum technology will change our world! ¡MIRA! is proud to be a partner in the new Center for Quantum Networks (CQN)). CQN aims to lay the foundation of the quantum internet, which will revolutionize how humankind computes, communicates and senses the world. As a means to introduce a broader audience to the fascinating and mind-boggling world of quantum science, CQN recently implemented SPARQS!
SPARQS - Sparking Curiosity in Quantum Science - brings the world of science to our communities’ front doors. SPARQS takes ‘hand’s on’ quantum science experiences to schools and communities, providing students with the opportunity to observe engaging demonstrations, perform experiments, learn about career opportunities in STEM, and most importantly – have fun with quantum science!
The idea behind SPARQS is to facilitate meaningful outreach that does exactly that—it reaches OUT! Mobile STEM laboratories have been shown to successfully promote active engagement with hands-on learning by providing students and communities alike with access to sophisticated laboratory tools and research. We are doing just that for Northern Arizona!
All donations will directly support SPARQS activities. Currently on our wish list are a quantum eraser demo, add-ons to our BB84 demo to allow more students to experience the principle of quantum key distribution, and an ID Card Printer/Photo ID bundle to create Quantum Scientist IDs for participants.
