Chemistry undergraduates are often limited in their opportunities to study abroad due to both the number of major classes they must take and the rather rigid order in which these courses should be taken. In turn, study abroad programs seldom offer any chemistry courses, so that a chemistry student who wishes to finish a major on time cannot afford a semester abroad. This award will make it possible for two students to go to Sweden for the summer with the two-fold goal of working on research collaborations previously agreed on with investigators at Lund University, and of planning for a more permanent international REU chemistry program at Lund University in Sweden.
Students benefit greatly from participation in research experiences. By doing research abroad, the broader impact is that students will learn how to do science while at the same time being exposed to a different culture and different ways of looking at the same research problem. As a result of this REU award, students will be able to expand their professional networks to include scientists from different backgrounds and will be encouraged to think of science more globally. They will also get an understanding of the breadth and history of science by exposure to how science is done in a different culture.
The undergraduate research students will go to Lund University in the summer of 2004, to do research for a period of 6-8 weeks, under the supervision of the PIS and their colleagues, Olle Soderman (Department of Physical Chemistry 1), and Sofi Elmroth and Ebbe Nordlander (Department of Inorganic and Bioinorganic Chemistry) at the Lund University Center for Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. T he students will work closely with graduate students in the respective departments and be able to choose from the following collaborative projects: Effects of Alkylglucside Membranes on Enzyme Activities; Investigations of Novel Surfactant and Polymer Systems; and Synthesis and Modeling of MetalloEnzyme Active Sites.
At the end of the summer, the students will present results from their summer research in a written report. Redlands students will present a poster on their summer research at the University of Redlands Science Center Summer Research Poster Session in September.
