This three year REU Site program at Texas A&M University (TAMU) will engage undergraduate students in research focused on chemical engineering approaches to materials science and systems biology research in biotechnology and biomedicine. The objectives of the program are to: 1) Annually recruit ten undergraduates from off-campus with an emphasis on recruitment of students from underrepresented groups; 2) Open new research opportunities to students who have had little or no previous research experience, providing insights into research methodologies, self-discipline, team integration, reporting and exchanging new knowledge; 3) Provide information on benefits of attending graduate school, the application process, and encourage students to attend graduate school in chemical engineering; 4) Enable interactions of the REU students with visiting undergraduate researchers from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China and Universidad de los Andes in Bogota, Columbia who participate in existing departmental programs; 5) Provide community building opportunities among REU students, TAMU graduate students, visiting international undergraduate researchers, and faculty mentors; and 6) Provide opportunities for REU students to present and publish with faculty mentors.
The REU students will participate in developing the next generation of products and processes based on biological molecules and organisms. Recruitment efforts will be targeted to those individuals who may not normally have such an opportunity, particularly women, underrepresented minorities, and first-generation college students, which will make a significant contribution toward enhancing the diversity of the research and education infrastructure at Texas A&M University and toward increasing the production of African American and Hispanic engineers and scientists. This project creates a model program for diverse populations that addresses the exposure to research by undergraduates as well as awareness of the pathway to graduate school.
This site is co-funded by the Department of Defense in partnership with the NSF REU program.
supported summer research for undergraduate students from 2011-2014. It was the main objective of this grant to attract undergraduate students from other schools to the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to conduct research during a 10 week summer session. Additionally, a significant number of students should come from groups which are traditionally underrepresented in engineering or who do not have the opportunity to conduct research at their home institution. The REU was advertised on the web site, by distributing a brochure at the annual student meetings of AIChE and BMES, via e-mails sent to undergraduate student advisors at other schools, and by meeting with student organizations and faculty at schools specifically targeted for REU student recruitment. The results of these efforts were that the REU program received 75 applications for summer 2011, 74 applications for summer 2012, and 180 applications for summer 2013. A total of 34 students were supported by this grant, 14 in 2011, 10 in 2012, and 11 in 2013. Women made up 20 of the 34 students participating in the grant and nine students belonged to groups underrepresented in engineering. The REU site received a lot of excellent applications and the average GPA of the participating students was a 3.9. The students admitted to the program came from 28 different schools which ensured diversity among the REU student population. The program was very popular among the faculty and a total of 22 faculty members participated in the program and supervised REU students. The REU Site was a 10 week program where students started working in their labs on the afternoon of the first day in the program. There were three specific research-related milestones that the students had to meet for the REU: (1) a brief presentation of what their work is going to be about after a week in the program, (2) an extended abstract of their work approximately halfway through the program, and (3) a poster presentation at a symposium during the last week of the program. In addition to this, the students were asked to participate in the activities of the groups that they were assigned to and some of them gave additional presentations as part of their group activities. Several publications and presentations at national/international meetings resulted from the work performed by the REU students. Work by the REU students has so far resulted in four journal papers and three conference presentations. In addition to the research activities, the REU program organized several educational activities for the students. The activities included research presentations by faculty, workshops on GRE preparation, seminars on how to put scholarship applications together, visits to research facilities, in addition to a variety of social activities to enhance community building. The students were given a survey regarding their plans after graduation. This survey was conducted at the beginning and at the end of the program in order to assess if the students' opinions pursuing an advanced degree had changed as a result of the REU experience. A comparison of the pre- and post-survey of the REU indicates that the REU has resulted in more students expressing an interest in continuing their education after earning their undergraduate degree. 100% of the REU students from 2011 and 2013 and 90% of the REU students from 2012 indicated at the end of the program that they were now planning to pursue an advanced degree after graduation.
