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 Timothy Mueser at University of Toledo 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 sciences with an emphasis on structure determination. Sample projects include: (1) the study of oxidative nucleic acid damage; (2) the study of ionic liquid and polysaccharide interactions; (3) the powder diffraction studies of negative thermal expansion materials; (4) the x-ray crystallographic study of persistence factors in Mycobacterium tuberculosis; (5) the x-ray crystallographic study of the molecular clocks involved in maintaining circadian rhythms ; (6) the low-resolution scattering studies of protein-DNA complexes; (7) the x-ray and neutron diffraction studies of lipoxygenase complexes; (8) the study of interesting colloidal nanostructures; (9) the x-ray and neutron scattering studies of macromolecules and macromolecular complexes; and (10) the mass spectrometric study of proteins to investigate the evolution of protein structure, conformational dynamics and post-translational modification. In addition to conducting research during the summer, the students participating in this program will participate in site visits (e.g. the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory), and a variety of professional development activities. Students will be recruited regionally, and four student positions are being reserved from partner institutions with large populations of students from underrepresented groups.
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 in structure determination methods 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 studies of the molecular mechanisms of biological processes. The REU students participating in University of Toledo's REU site will receive excellent training on state-of-the-art equipment in Toledo as well as at some of the country's premier national laboratories. 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.
Intellectual Merit. We successfully administered a research experience for undergraduates (REU) site at the University of Toledo that emphasizes the techniques used to determine and analyze structures of molecules and materials. While undergraduate science textbooks are filled with pictures of structures, hands-on experience in determining structures is very limited. Our REU site exposes undergraduate students to the wonders of structure determination. In collaboration with colleagues located at the national labs, we introduce students to a wide variety of techniques including X-ray and neutron scattering and diffraction. We successfully completed five summer programs involving a total of 40 students and 10 mentors. We began the program with four days of introductory lectures and hands-on experiences include usage of our X-ray crystal and powder diffractometers, and the newly acquired, NSF funded, MALDI MS and SEM. We also organized trips to Chicago to utilize beamtime allocation at APS Argonne National Lab. The students were each assigned to projects with individual faculty, and each gained experience in data collection, analysis and interpretation. The students prepared samples for analysis at APS and conduct the measurements with their mentors on-site. Participants conducted research using local instrumentation and were involved in collaborative research. The collaborations with National Labs enabled additional on-site experience for individual students. During the final week, students shared their experiences at a local symposium attended by the REU students and mentors, faculty, and graduate students. Broader Impacts. The scientific community faces a challenge in attracting qualified domestic students to work in basic and applied research. The National Labs are also very concerned about attracting the next generation of scientists. This challenge can be met by educating students on what academic, government and industrial research really entails. We face a particularly acute problem in this region: large scientific companies have left the area, giving students the impression that their marketability will be better with a non-STEM degree. However, a significant number of small companies/start-ups have recently emerged, and the State of Ohio is promoting economic resources for the development of new technology-based industry. This will create an increasing demand for scientists. The University of Toledo plays a key role in meeting this demand by increasing the number of STEM graduates. This region has a plethora of small undergraduate colleges where students study science but have limited research experience. This REU program provided a number of these students with an experience that integrates academic research with use of newest state-of-the-art facilities at the National Labs. Our objective was to instill excitement about research, and a desire to pursue a research based degree at the undergraduate and graduate level in these students.
