This award from the Division of Chemistry (CHE) and the Division of Materials Research (DMR) supports a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) site led by Arne Gericke at Kent State University for three summers, commencing in 2010. The site will support ten students per summer in a ten week program. The research projects focus on research in the chemical and materials science, with an emphasis on "soft materials" including liquid crystals. Sample projects include: (1) the biophysical characterization of phosphoinositide and phosphatidic lipids; (2) the study of the piezoelectricity of lipid bilayers; (3) the study of ordered nanoporous materials; (4) the study of gold-organic nanocomposites; (5) the synthesis and study of environment-responsive catalysts; (6) the fabrication and study of plasmonic nanostructures; (7) the synthesis and characterization of molecular materials to test the structural boundaries of liquid crystallinity; (8) the study of vanadium-vitamin B12 conjugates for the potential treatment of diabetes ; (9) the synthesis and study of new metal-organic complexes; and (10) the synthesis, characterization and fabrication of electronically tunable filters. In addition to conducting research during the summer, the students participating in this program will participate in a variety of professional development activities, including clean-room training, oral and written communication skills. Students will also receive some training in ethics, in a research context. Students will be recruited both regionally and nationally, with a special emphasis on recruiting students from community colleges.
Young scientists need exposure to modern research methods and tools as part of their training. This REU site aims to provide practical, hands-on research training to a significant number of students who might not otherwise have this opportunity. The possible projects span a wide range of topics in current chemical and materials research -- from investigations of new kinds of materials with technologically-useful properties to fundamental studies in traditional areas of chemistry. The REU students participating in Kent State University's REU site will receive excellent training on state-of-the-art equipment. Students participating in research at this site will be well-prepared for graduate school, and eventual employment as part of the country's technical workforce. Many of the student participants will come from groups traditionally underrepresented in the chemical sciences.
. Grant Period 07/15/2012 to 06/30/2013 (complete project period 07/15/2010 to 06/30/2013). Our Research Experiences for Undergraduates project here at Kent State University has been successful in contributing simultaneously and significantly to student training, to the creation of high quality scientific output and to general societal welfare. The NSF supported ten external students from diverse backgrounds during this grant period and Kent State University supported a comparable size group generally from northeast Ohio. Most of our external REU students were chosen from educational institutions with little local research infrastructure and during this project we have intentionally admitted capable students from community colleges as well. Our REU program is designed to simulate the complete spectrum of a real-world scientific project in just ten weeks. The students participate in the design and formulation of content, the actual execution of the research in the laboratory and, finally, the oral and written reporting of the scientific outcomes. Students participated in highly specialized and relevant science research with faculty and graduate student mentors on a broad range of topics with a general theme in materials science. For example, in the area of biological materials Vitamin B12 derivatives, insulin, phospholipids and G-quadruplexes were studied. The diversity of the materials science projects in our program is evident in other projects in, for example, mesoporous materials and plasmonic nanoantennas. Thus far eight papers have been published which contain research performed by our cadre of NSF and KSU supported undergraduates during the summer of 2012. All of our students participated in a joint research symposium with their cohorts from other local research organizations (UAkron, CWRU and NASA Glenn) and some of our students have subsequently attended other scientific meetings to present their REU supported research. In addition to the laboratory research all of the students in our program also attended weekly lectures given by members of the KSU research faculty on their research specializations. All the students received general cleanroom training and they participated in sessions on career related issues. In the latter case, we offered a special session on graduate student application (including participation of our local undergrads who are currently moving on to grad school) and also industry related careers and application. As we undertake transformational activities in the laboratory we also seek to transform the perspectives of our students and place them firmly on a path of successful pursuit of productive scientific careers. Our program also includes a number of social activities (kickoff and closing picnics, canoe trip, Cleveland Orchestra concert, local weekly athletic activities) that give the students opportunities for interaction and networking outside of the lab.
