This Research Experiences for Undergraduates site award to Miami University, located in Oxford, OH, supports the training of 10 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2019-2021. This program, funded by the Division of Chemistry in the Mathematical and Physical Science Directorate, provides participants with wide-ranging, independent research experiences involving close student/faculty and student/student interactions. Participants choose from research projects in analytical, biological, inorganic, organic, physical chemistry, or chemistry education research, with most projects being interdisciplinary. These research experiences are designed to develop and refine participants' experimental skills and enhance their ability to work as part of a research team. Participants engage in professional development by developing research proposals and scientific presentations, learning about ethics in science, and exploring careers in chemistry and biochemistry. The combination of intense research, professional development, cohort building, and community involvement provides participants with a strong foundation for careers in STEM.
The participants take part in research projects encompassing broad and interdisciplinary areas of chemistry, including the investigation of metalloenzymes, protein transport systems, liquid chromatography and electrophoresis, and molecular self-assembly. This program targets students from institutions with few research opportunities and those who are underrepresented in the physical sciences. To promote the chemistry and biochemistry workforce, this program exposes participants to new careers paths and gives them an opportunity to apply critical thinking skills to open-ended research.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
