National Science Foundation supports Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) to expand diverse student participation in research. Participants partner with individual investigators, groups, centers, and national facilities. NCI-Southwest hosts REU within the broad umbrella of “nanotechnology” and projects studying solid state physics and chemistry, materials science, electronic devices and materials, and biology/biomedical. In the summer of 2022, NCI-Southwest’s partner ¡MIRA! hosted four REU students at Northern Arizona University. NCI-Southwest continues to recruit and retain a diverse population for its programs. The participants included two students identifying as female, one student identifying as male, and one student preferring not to identify their gender. Three students previously attended community colleges, one graduating from Pima Community College, one a former Maricopa Community College attendee, and the third a former Coconino Community College student. The cohort comprised students identifying as Black/African American, Latino/Hispanic, and White/Caucasian. REU student projects for the 9-week program included: Simulating open quantum dynamics through quantum algorithms; Soft nanomaterial carriers: eliminating burst release of their cargo; Exciton Hamiltonian of polymer chlorosome nanocomposites; and Using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) to detect breast cancer.