This award from the Division of Chemistry (CHE) supports the renewal of a successful Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site at the University of Michigan (UM) Ann Arbor for the summers of 2008-2010. This site will be managed by Brian Coppola with assistance from Melanie Sanford both from the Department of Chemistry at UM. Thirteen individuals from around the United States, typically rising sophomores and juniors, will comprise the central component of this site. Eight students will be supported by NSF-REU, three will be supported by University funds, and two will be supported by the Intel Corporation, a leader in the computing and communcations industry. The REU students have access to all of the research groups associated with the chemistry department, including interdisciplinary programs in materials chemistry, chemical biology, life science, medicinal chemistry, and environmental chemistry. In addition to departmental seminars and symposia other non-research program activities include: training on laboratory safety and environmentally safe laboratory practices, the use of on-line Chemistry library resources (SciFinder, Beilstein, etc.), ethics, chemical instrumentation, field trips to local chemical industry, mentoring for applying to graduate school, and career mentoring including science career options, job searches, interview preparation and resume writing. Each research group will require oral presentations as a natural part of their scientific activities and all students will write a final progress report. Finally, a regional research symposium will be held at one of the REU Site-holding schools where undergraduates from across the area will gather to present their work.
(2008-10). These REU students joined the chemistry department's active undergraduate research cohort of 60-70 local and international students in a 10-week program of research and professional development. REU participants were recruited nationally, with an intentional, strategic emphasis on building a cohort that represents diverse backgrounds, settings, and experiences. From 1989-2010, our REU Site has hosted 214 undergraduate students as full-fledged collaborators in the well-equipped setting of a major research university. We deliberately draw upon our strength as an active graduate department in order to provide REU students with an authentic immersion in a graduate education program. Therefore, REU students have access (as do our undergraduates) to all of the research groups associated with the chemistry department, including its interdisciplinary programs in chemical biology, organometallics, energy, sustainability, surface science, sensors, optics & imaging, RNA biochemistry, and ultrafast dynamics. Throughout 2008-10, and continuing into the foreseeable future, these domestic REU students are joined by a group (25 in 2010) of undergraduate students from China who participate in the bilateral exchange program that accompanies our international REU Site in Beijing. Before arriving on campus, REU students work with the REU Site Directors to establish a relationship with a research group; social networking provides the students with the opportunity to get to know one other before they arrive on campus. In any given summer, the interests of the students determine the exact make-up of the program by their selection from a wide range of research problems posed by faculty mentors. Additional activities (lectures, workshops, trips, and social events), offered jointly with other REU programs on- and off-campus, provide a broad integration into scientific and professional communities. A regional scientific poster session, which includes a simulcast from UM’s China REU Site, is a valuable culminating activity. Over the last ca. 20 years, 9% of publications from our department involving undergraduate co-authors included an REU student. Broader Impacts. The UM REU Site has successfully recruited and retained students in the PhD pipeline. Our assessment program shows that an authentic, full experience in a research-active department contributes greatly to students’ confidence to pursue graduate studies, and to their ability to make an informed decision about choosing scientific careers. Students who are hesitant or uncertain of their ability to join and prosper in a large graduate environment show measurable and substantial change by the end of their 10-week experience. We have tracked, at least in part, 195/214, or 91%, of the students from 1989-2010. Of these 214 students, 66+ have their Ph.D. degrees, 18+ have M.S. degrees, 25+ are currently attending graduate school, 55+ at least earned the B.S. (with 30+ in industry), 9+ obtained their MD, DDS or JD, and 14 are still undergraduates. We will continue to emphasize the importance of diversifying the population of chemists: to date, 139/214 (65%) of our REU participants have been women, and 71/214 have been underrepresented minority students (33%; with 16/24, or 66%, in the most recent funding period, up from 29% in the previous period). We continue to build relationships with internal (e.g., NSF-AGEP) and external (e.g., U Delaware) programs in order recruit qualified students from populations that are underrepresented in science.
