IRES: US-Swedish Student Research Experience in Colloidal Science and Interfacial Engineering at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm

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The experience U.S. student participants obtain in the U.S.-Swedish summer research program at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), in Stockholm, focuses on colloidal science and interfacial engineering. Led by the prinicpal investigator, Ilona Kretzschmar of CUNY City College (CUNYCC), with Swedish counterparts,this interdisciplinary program encompasses research from traditional science and engineering disciplines and brings together qualified students from diverse backgrounds for a ten week program for early career research experience. Projects will range from biological colloids to new materials for energy storage and conversion, as well as fundamental science projects that address the assembly and interactions in the colloidal domain. Overall, the IRES program at KTH intentionally relies on an interdisciplinary team approach to train both graduate and undergraduate participants to be able to adapt to new disciplines, learn from each other, and to gain more global perspective and access to cutting edge colloidal science and interfacial engineering. The U.S.-Swedish research experiences for participants run for an annual ten week period and entail mentoring by the PI and counterparts centered in three major divisions of KTH, in Surface Science and Corrosion, Biotechnology, and Chemical Technology. To examine colloidal science in the broadest sense, planned activities range from work on compression of molecular and colloidal layers at interfaces and the measurement of colloidal interaction via the synthesis of biomolecules and sequencing of genes, to the fabrication of colloidal batteries and fuel cells. Prior to the actual research experience, IRES scholars receive research training at CUNYCC laboratories, meet with previous scholars, and network with Swedish exchange students in residence at CUNYCC. During the initial research experience abroad, students remain in touch with the PI via a combination of weekly and monthly reporting and video conferencing. The PI spends the final weeks of the program at KTH with the IRES participants to interact with mentors, ensure individual progress, and prepare for a cumulating conference in collaboration with the NYC-Louis Stokes for Minority Participation (NYC-LSAMP) Program through which many IRES students are recruited. KTH is ideally suited for a diverse IRES program as it educates a significant share of Sweden's engineering students and is a well-known Swedish public institution with an outstanding research portfolio and a student body similar to that of CUNYCC. The overall success of this cooperative and diverse IRES program is built on technically strong intellectual partnering and a mutually benefical working program structure that has proven successful in promoting synergy among lead researchers and excellent early-career team experiences for U.S. and Swedish student participants.