REU Site: Particle-Based Functional Materials for Energy, Biomedicine, and Sustainability

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This three-year REU Site program is focused in the area of particle-based functional materials. The overarching objective of this project is to develop a research experience for undergraduates program that not only builds a basis for research fluency, but also increases the students' ability to integrate knowledge. The specific goals of the REU program include: 1) Train students to perform increasingly independent research, specifically aimed at the multitude of technological applications that are impacted by functional materials; 2) Develop an integrated internship to cross-train REU students so that they can get not only a breadth of experience, but also an increased appreciation of the interconnectedness of the focus area; 3) Improve the students' ability to function in teams by pairing students for their internships; and 4) Increase the students' ability to integrate knowledge within and across the focus area via the research internship pairing and workshop series. In addition to the research projects, social activities will be largely coordinated by the Office of Experimental Learning that will aid in organizing these events to foster the cohort experience.What are the broader impacts of the proposed activity?Recruitment efforts will target students from primarily undergraduate institutions and students from underrepresented groups. Research results will be disseminated at national societal conferences (AIChE, APS, MRS, and ASEE) as well as on the departmental web page (http://www.che.pitt.edu). Additionally, results will be published in both disciplinary and educational journals.