This award continues the support for a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) site at Dartmouth College which has been running since 1999. As materials research within the campus has evolved and broadened, so have the trends and research theme of this REU Site. Initially focused on Molecular Materials, the current program draws on the facilities of the Center for Nanomaterials Research at Dartmouth and offers interdisciplinary research projects involving faculty research groups in the departments of Chemistry, Physics, Engineering, and Dartmouth Medical School. Ten undergraduate students will be recruited nationally each year for a nine-week summer program that will engage them in collaborative research projects in materials synthesis, computation and characterization. Students will be encouraged to present their research results at professional meetings and publish them in journals. In addition, the REU students will participate in weekly seminars, short course in Ethics taught by faculty from Philosophy Department, and receive training on technical communication skills. The program also includes field trips to local industry and government laboratories as well as recreational activities that would enhance interaction among the participants.
This REU Site is supported by the Department of Defense in partnership with the NSF REU program.
The Dartmouth Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) site in nanomaterials and nanotechnology introduced and engaged undergraduate students in research in the laboratories of several Dartmouth faculty members. A national solicitation for undergraduate applications was sent out and advertised on a Dartmouth website and several other websites for each of the four years of funding. The solicitation generated a pool of more than 500 undergraduates from 2008 - 2012, with the application pool growing each year. Students who applied for the REU internship were able to choose from one of ten research programs at Dartmouth College or Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine including the cancer research facilities at the Norris Cotton Cancer Center. Research projects included topics such as nanoparticle hyperthermia treatment of cancer, nanoimprinted films, properties of artificial nanostructured hip joint materials, solar energy conversion nanomaterials and novel nanostructured magnets. Throughout their research project the undergraduates were overseen by members of the Dartmouth faculty and staff while working along side both post-doctoral fellows and Ph.D. students. REU students were trained on advanced instruments such as the scanning electron microscope and the transmission electron microscope allowing them to experience the use of advanced research equipment. REU students collaborated not only on the research itself but also on papers and posters with some students co-authoring research publications and conference presentations. The ultimate goal of the program was to encourage undergraduates to look past their four-year undergraduate education by demystifying graduate level research and to consider pursuing an advanced degree. Dartmouth College carefully tracked the former REU students and it is evident that the program was successful with eleven of the forty participants reporting enrollment at a graduate institution so far and four additional students reporting that they plan to attend graduate school.
