REU SITE: Professional Excellence and Development in Science Through Undergraduate Research

这个REU网站提案的主题是“通过本科研究在科学专业卓越和发展。“注意力将集中在招募代表性不足的少数民族学生和附近两年制学院（2 YCs）的学生。 所有REU学生将有机会获得严格的研究经验，使他们准备进入竞争激烈的STEM领域。 个别学生的研究项目是创新的，有可能产生在各自领域的变革性出版物，并完全能够由本科生完成。 参与研究企业的学生在文献综述，现代化学仪器的实践培训，数据分析以及通过小组会议和正式的口头和海报演示传播结果方面获得了全面的经验。 具体的研究项目涵盖广泛的领域，包括设计电化学传感器，使用离子束分析技术和激光研究蛋白质结构和蛋白质动力学，以及设计和合成抗癌药物。 研究活动以及专业发展活动将用于帮助形成一个具有研究能力的研究学者的凝聚力社区，以调查具有本地和全球影响的当前研究问题。学生专业发展活动已得到改进，以更好地服务于学生的不同职业兴趣，并通过学生咨询委员会由当地行业的专业人士、医生和律师组成。 PI和co-PI已经了解到，指导的质量，各种导师的可用性，以及公共演讲，科学写作和伦理讨论等专业技能的积极建设，极大地有利于学生，并有助于提高科学的保留率。这REU的经验将有代表性不足的少数民族学生和学生在2 YC谁没有在他们的家乡机构的研究经验的机会，除了增强希望学院的多样性显着的影响。 通过在他们的研究队列经验中提供重要的专业发展资源，将鼓励学生追求STEM领域的职业生涯。

The theme of this REU site proposal is "Professional Excellence and Development in Science Through Undergraduate Research." Attention will be focused on the recruitment of underrepresented minority students and students from nearby 2-Year Colleges (2YCs). All REU students will have access to a rigorous research experience that prepares them to enter into the competitive STEM fields. The individual student research projects are innovative, have the potential to yield publications that are transformative in their respective fields, and are quite capable of being completed by undergraduate students. The students involved in the research enterprise receive a full complement of experiences in literature review, hands-on training with modern chemical instrumentation, data analysis, and in the dissemination of results through group meetings and formal oral and poster presentations. The specific research projects span a wide range of areas that include designing electrochemical sensors, using ion-beam analysis techniques and lasers to study protein structure and protein dynamics, and designing and synthesizing anticancer agents. The research activities as well as the professional development activities will be used to help to form a cohesive community of research scholars equipped with the research skills needed to investigate current research problems that have local and global implications.Student activities for professional development have been refined to better serve the diverse career interests of students and to provide a broader base of mentors outside of academics via a Student Advisory Board consisting of professionals from local industry, medical doctors, and attorneys. The PI and co-PI have learned that the quality of mentoring, the availability of a diverse set of mentors, and the active building of professional skills such as public speaking, scientific writing and ethics discussions, greatly benefit students and help increase retention in the sciences. This REU experience will have a significant impact on underrepresented minority students and students at 2YC who do not have research experience opportunities at their home institution, in addition to enhancing diversity at Hope College. By providing access to significant professional development resources within their research cohort experience, students will be encouraged to pursue careers in the STEM fields.