This award provides funds to the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at ISU to establish an REU Site project which will support eight students in a ten-week program in the summer and four students during the academic year. Recruiting for the summer program will be done on a regional basis with intensive efforts to identify minority and women applicants. Half of the participants will be selected from outside of the university. In this strongly research-oriented department, undergraduates can select from a variety of research areas of current interest and excitement. Twelve of the faculty have identified suitable projects for undergraduates related to their ongoing research. Each student will be under the direct supervision of a faculty member. Their roles will approximate those of beginning graduate students, with efforts being made to integrate them as effectively as possible into the research environment of the department. In addition to laboratory research, students will participate in a weekly research seminar led by faculty, a science-career exploration program, visits to industrial and government research labs, and social activities organized by graduate students. REU participants will present their research findings in a student-led seminar and will be strongly encouraged to continue their projects and present results at regional science conferences.
