The Division of Chemistry and the Division of Materials Research jointly support this Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site at the University of California, Los Angeles for the summers of 2007-2009. The program director, Robin L. Garrell, will be assisted by co-PI Manashi Chatterjee and twelve faculty members from the Departments of Chemistry, Materials Science, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Bioengineering. The program will engage students who have completed their junior year, most of whom will be from institutions with limited research opportunities, particularly in interdisciplinary, instrumentation-intensive projects. Recruiting efforts will target women and members of underrepresented groups. Each summer, nine NSF-supported undergraduates will participate in teams that develop new materials, devices, and applications of nanotechnology. Participants will be trained in the use of sophisticated instrumentation and fabrication techniques and will be mentored by graduate students engaged in crosscutting nanoscience research. The ten-week summer program will include workshops to build communication and teamwork skills, ethics training, research and career development seminars, and a culminating research symposium. Students also will receive travel grants to present their work at science and engineering conferences. This REU program aims to broaden the pool of students prepared for advanced study in nanosystems and related fields, addressing needs identified in the National Nanotechnology Initiative.
