The award from the Chemistry Division supports an Undergraduate Research Centers (URC) planning grant. The PI is Arthur W. Bull assisted by co-PIs Amanda Bryant-Friedrich and John V. Seeley. This is a planning grant to integrate research into the curricula at community colleges and four-year colleges in southeast Michigan. In this phase, research experiences will focus on students from three community colleges: Wayne County Community College, Oakland Community College and Macomb Community College. Students will have 6 weeks of research training in the summer and will continue to do research on a part-time basis during the academic year. The research will center on environmental and chemical toxicology. Other activities during the planning phase will include development of criteria for evaluating applicants, development of introductory materials for the course on basic research skills, consideration of logistical and scheduling issues for students and discussion of avenues for sustaining the program. Meetings will be held with potential college participants to assess interest and potential program size. A high school outreach program will be integrated into the URC.
