This award by the Chemistry Division supports a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site at the University of Kentucky for the summers of 2006-2008. The program director is Dennis Clouthier. Ten students each year will do research in the broad areas of chemistry and biochemistry. The students will interact daily with the graduate students, postdoctoral students, and faculty and be exposed to all aspects of a modern university research environment. The primary activity will be laboratory research, but enrichment activities including weekly seminars, social activities, written and oral research reports, research conference presentations, and attendance at our annual poster session are planned as an integral part of the experience. A strong effort will be made to provide a sense of belonging in the research groups. This REU Site program is aimed primarily at students from the Appalachian region, as these students are underrepresented in science disciplines and their undergraduate institutions often do not have the infrastructure to support research programs. This REU site is supported by the Department of Defense in partnership with the NSF REU program
