This award from the Division of Chemistry (CHE) supports a new international Research Experiences for Undergraduates (iREU) organized and managed by Bradley Miller of the American Chemical Society (ACS) for the summers of 2008-2010. This iREU takes a non-traditional approach by connecting U.S. students with undergraduate research experiences throughout Europe and by connecting European students with undergraduate research experiences throughout the U.S. through the network of U.S. Chemistry REU sites. U.S. students will be placed throughout Europe through collaboration with the Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD) and its Research Internships in Science and Engineering (RISE) program in Germany and with the European Chemistry Thematic Network (ECTN) and its partner institutions in ECTN member states that are recognized as major producers of scientific knowledge. For 2008-2010, partner institutions will include the Ecole Superieure de Chimie Physique Electronique de Lyon (CPE-Lyon, France), the Universita degli Studi di Perugia (Italy), and the University of Strathclyde (Scotland, UK). Eighteen U.S. students will be recruited nationally to participate in this ten-week iREU program. Fifteen U.S. students will be sent to Germany through RISE, and the DAAD will send an equal number of students to the U.S. One U.S. student will go to Perugia, one to Lyon, and one to Strathclyde, and these institutions will each send one student to the U.S. Participants will be matched with research mentors and projects within the traditional core areas of chemistry or its associated disciplines, including biochemistry, chemical engineering, and chemical biology. All ACS-iREU participants will be invited to present their research at the Fall ACS National Meeting after their internship and attend a reception bringing together the iREU faculty, students, and key scientists from the countries involved.
Project Outcome: Annually, the American Chemical Society (ACS) selects 20-25 talented undergraduate students to participate in 10 weeks of chemistry research in renowned host laboratories in Germany, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Of the 73 students who have participated from 2007-2010, 60 have produced scientific successes of sufficient strength to warrant a presentation at a national scientific meeting and a few have published peer-reviewed scientific publications. The program has also helped to place 62 European students in 29 domestic chemistry programs in the U.S. for the summer at no cost to the NSF. Impact & Benefits: The globalization of science requires students to graduate with practical laboratory experiences, multicultural understanding, and an international perspective in order to compete in the global marketplace. All three are abilities that U.S. employers feel are lacking in the current crop of recent graduates (2008 AAC&U employer survey). Clearly, a need exists to improve these skills but the rigorous courseload for students in chemistry-related degrees makes it difficult to study abroad during the academic year. Summer research allows students to gain international experience without disrupting their studies, increases the national knowledge base and competiveness, and assists in solving challenges of a global scope (energy, health, climate, food/water, national security). The students participating in the program have overwhelmingly reported it as a positive and beneficial experience with 92% of the 2008-2010 participants, who responded to a survey, indicating that "the ACS-iREU program had an influence on their career/advanced studies decision". Additionally, 93% of the participants in 2008 and 100% in 2009 indicated that they would recommend this program and similar programs to their fellow students. Background & Explanation: The ACS international research experiences for undergraduates (iREU) program funded by the chemistry directorate (CHE) at the NSF takes a non-traditional approach by yearly connecting 20-25 U.S. chemistry students with undergraduate research experiences at recognized producers of scientific knowledge throughout Germany; Lyon, France; Glasgow, Scotland; and Perugia, Italy. Additionally, through a reciprocal agreement with our partners (DAAD, ECTN), funding from European institutions and organizations is provided for an equivalent number of European undergraduate students to participate in summer research in the United States at 29 universities in a network of domestic Chemistry REU site partners.
