This three-year REU Site program will focus on biorefining research. The development of sustainable and renewable energy supplies represents one of society's greatest challenges. Biofuels are widely regarded as a key component of a new energy economy. The 12 undergraduate students will pursue fundamental investigations of issues related to conversion of biomass to fuels and chemicals. Projects will include research in feedstock science and engineering, biochemical conversions, thermochemical conversions, and engineering or reaction, separations, and solids-handling processes needed for numerous biorefining applications. An additional focus of this REU site program will be integration, both across disciplines and across four different institutions. These institutions include the University of Colorado, Colorado State University (CSU), the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
In addition to the research activities, the REU participants will be involved in educational seminars, cultural programming and social activities to foster the cohort experience. The undergraduate students will be required to participate in weekly research group meetings of the faculty advisor, participate in a weekly NSF-REU group seminar program where each will give a five minute presentation on research progress and challenges to his/her NSF-REU peers, present a poster at the completion of the summer program and write a final research report.
What are the broader impacts of the proposed activity? A major goal of the REU Site program is to actively recruit women and minority participants and to encourage these students to pursue careers in engineering and science research. Participants will also be encouraged to present their research at national conferences and will be financially supported to do so.
NSF REU Site Program in Biorefining and Biofuels - Research Outcomes NSF ID: 1005238 PI: Alan Weimer July 19, 2013 Undergraduate Research Heightens Interest in Alternative Fuels This REU program allows students to gain laboratory experience with a variety of biochemical and thermochemical challenges that impact the development of alternative fuels. Students apply themselves to sustainable energy development and to advance technologies to strengthen energy security. 95% of 2012 participants reported leaving the program interested in future lab experience, 90% interested in attending graduate school, and 95% interested in a bioenergy career. After one year, 2009 – 2011 participants were surveyed: 94% of students report continued impact on research experiences, 75% report continued impact on interest in attending graduate school, and 81% report continued impact on their desire to pursue a bioenergy career. Undergraduate Researchers Use Interdisciplinary Problem Solving for Biofuels Innovations This REU program raises awareness of the cross-disciplinary nature of scientific problem solving. Integrative efforts are focused in the academic, administrative, and social components of the program. 2010, 2011, and 2012 program participants comprised fifty percent chemical engineering majors and fifty percent from other disciplines. Regarding academic integration, 90% of students felt integrated into their specific labs, and students could articulate knowledge about the relationship of research at different sites. 2010 participant: "I feel like I made a huge contribution to the research and my project… My educational background is different than my mentor's, I was able to provide some very valuable input at times and give a different perspective." 2009 participant: "The practical experience I gained, … especially the rigorous attention to detail that that job required, has absolutely made me a better laboratory technician right now… the REU program familiarized me with communicating about science." Undergraduate Biofuel Researchers Fueled by Motivation to ‘Make a Difference’ Today's undergraduate students are fueled by the motivation to make a difference in the world. This focus has the added benefit of attracting participants from populations underrepresented in science and engineering. This program introduces participants to the professions of science and engineering, and the awareness of broad applications encourages participants to complete bachelor’s degrees in pursuit of advanced science, math, and engineering education. Students attend weekly seminars to enrich their experience. In 2012, the majority of students found each seminar useful with the seminar on government policy rated highest (91% approval). 2012 participant: "The intellectual property and entrepreneurial opportunities seminar definitely helped me set goals for myself and realize that these types of options are feasible." 2010 participant: "I’m influenced by the idea of using chemical engineering to do ‘good.’ …I’m very interested in gaining experience now and applying it to a graduate degree…in alternative fuels and bioenergy." Poster Presentations Improve Communication and Inspire Professional Scientific Pursuits The program’s culminating poster session is the main method of public outreach for this project. Principal investigators judge the poster session according to a predetermined rubric. Participants in the poster competition with the highest scores are awarded the opportunity present at a professional academic conference in their field. Since 2010, ten program participants funded by NSF have received funding to present their REU research at a professional conference. 4 of 10 (40%) students have been publicly acknowledged for their REU research contributions: four students received first or second place awards for presentations at the professional conference attended (AIChE and ACS), and one student reported receiving a NASA Space Grant Internship Award and is the second author of a journal publication. Additional awards received by previous students include: C. P. Canlas, et. al., "Shape-selective sieving layers on an oxide catalyst surface," Nature Chemistry, 2012, 4, 1030-1036. DOI: 10.1038/nchem.1477 Iowa Center for Research by Undergraduates Outstanding Poster Award Georgia Tech School of Materials Science and Engineering Undergraduate Poster Session, second place Marshall Scholarship for 2 years of graduate study in the United Kingdom MSU Senior Class Council Outstanding Senior Award 2012 quote: "The C2B2 REU was the best undergraduate experience I have had. I learned that my skills and knowledge in chemical engineering could be applied toward producing solutions to the alternative energy sector…I saw how obtaining a Ph.D. would help me achieve my goals of working at a national laboratory conducting research." The NSF REU site program in biorefining and biofuels funds 12 undergraduate student researchers in the study of alternative fuels and chemicals. Participants engage in laboratory research and program activities via the Colorado Center for Biorefining and Biofuels (C2B2); a partnership of the University of Colorado Boulder, Colorado State University, Colorado School of Mines, and the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory. In 2008, the center launched a summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, and received an award in 2010 to expand the undergraduate education opportunity via a NSF REU site program in biorefining and biofuels for three years.
