REU Site: Biofuels and Bioproducts Production from Lignocellulosic Biomass

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This three year REU Site program at Auburn University will target undergraduate participants from four-year institutions and community colleges where research experience is limited. The REU site will include a diverse group of students including females and minorities from Alabama and the southeastern U.S. It is hypothesized that providing a research experience for undergraduates will excite them about research, and motivate participants to seek higher degrees in fields related to biofuels and bioproducts. The primary objective of this project is to expose participants to different research techniques, scientific hypotheses testing and experimental design, data collection, analysis, and presentation in an engaging, interdisciplinary atmosphere that fosters a strong interest in bioenergy field. REU participants will be paired with faculty mentors to work in laboratories on research focused on converting biomass to biofuels and bioproducts. Students will also participate in seminars focused on topics such as research ethics, communicating science, resume building, the graduate application process, graduate student life, GRE preparation, patents and commercialization, professional etiquette training, team-work, etc. Students will have an opportunity to visit local companies involved in bioenergy activities, and will participate in talks from experts in bioenergy. REU participants will live together in a residence hall with other REU participants at Auburn, and this will help them to interact with peers and share their experiences with various research projects. Weekly social events will be organized to foster student-student and faculty-student interactions in a more relaxed environment. Biofuels and bioproducts from lignocellulosic biomass have emerged as a promising alternative to reduce the country's dependence on foreign oils. Over a three year period thirty undergraduate students from diverse social and education backgrounds, mainly those from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the southeastern U.S., in the field of bioenergy will participate in this REU Site program. It is expected that the REU participants not only will benefit directly from this project, but also that they will act as informal ambassadors to inspire their siblings and friends to pursue higher degrees in engineering and science. This program will also help to utilize Auburn University's resources and expertise in bioenergy for training undergraduates in research. Further, the program will promote faculty development through the undergraduate research mentoring experience.