REU Site: A Chemistry REU on Molecular Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CheMIE)

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The Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Texas State University- San Marcos will bring 12 students to campus for ten weeks each summer to conduct research in a supportive research environment. The summer research project seeks to build a multidisciplinary chemistry research community with a focus on Molecular Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CheMIE). The twelve student participants will engage in a 10 week traditional research experience while exploring how basic research contributes to molecular innovation, entrepreneurship and economic development in the molecular sciences. The CheMIE REU will build a research community at Texas State that will provide a research environment for students who otherwise would not be able to participate in undergraduate research. The students will join the active research community that exists at Texas State and participate in research experiences in chemistry, biochemistry, and material science that will lead to professional presentations and peer-reviewed publications. At the same time, the students will be participating in an interdisciplinary group study of innovation and entrepreneurship guided by faculty from the College of Business and the College of Science program in Material Science, Engineering and Commercialization. This combination of research and innovation training will give students the opportunity to understand both academic and industrial research. The academically diverse faculty at Texas State and the existing collaborations between the science and the business faculty make Texas State an ideal location to pursue this novel REU model.The CheMIE REU participants will be students traditionally underrepresented in the sciences and those who would otherwise be unable to participate in undergraduate research. The primary recruitment focus will be students at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs) and two year colleges within 50 miles of Texas State. This region includes eight PUIs and six two year colleges, including two Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and ten Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). The fourteen partner schools, whose students have limited access to undergraduate research opportunities, educate over 128,000 students, 50% of whom are underrepresented minorities. The overall CheMIE REU experience will increase the participation of these students in graduate programs in chemistry, biochemistry and material science.