This award provides funds to the Biology Department of Furman University to establish a Research Experiences for Undergraduates SITE. With this support the department will recruit talented women and minority students, rising juniors studying biology at neighboring institutions in South Carolina, and extend to them the benefits of this NSF-REU program. Student groups of two or three will work closely with each faculty member in full-time summer laboratory research. The student-faculty research projects span many of the sub-curricula of the department, including gene expression studies in seed development, immunocytological studies on phytochrome activity in plant development, isoenzyme studies in plants, ultraviolet absorbing and fluorescing molecules in insects, isolation of active compounds in plant defense mechanisms, community ecology, and neurobiology. In the selection process faculty mentors will be matched with appropriate student co- workers. Student participants will submit a formal written summary of their summer's accomplishments. A regular schedule of special scientific, social, and athletic events will round out the program and provide an added mechanism for developing esprit de corps among the diverse group of participants.
