This award by the Chemistry Division supports a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site at Brandeis University for the summers of 2006-2008. The program director is Irving Epstein who is assisted by co-PI Lizabeth Hedstrom. Ten students each year will do research in organic, inorganic, physical and biological chemistry and centered on the theme of catalysis, conveying to students the excitement, the breadth, the interdisciplinary nature, and the practical applications of chemical research. Projects include synthetic chemistry, ultra-high resolution time-resolved protein crystallography, solid-state reactions, enzyme catalysis and single molecule spectroscopy. Participants will present their work orally at informal weekly teas and at a final symposium and will prepare two interim reports as well as a final report in the form of a journal article. Weekly lunch seminars will feature both faculty research and speakers on such topics as patent law, entrepreneurship, science writing and sustainable development. The NSF Ethics and Value Studies Program under the Directorate of Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Science and Society Program is providing support for the ethical component of this site.
