REU Site: Molecular Biophysics

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This REU Site award to Princeton University will support the training of 10 students for 9 weeks during the summers of 2014-2016 at the Princeton, NJ, campus and 10 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2015-2017 at the Czech Academy of Sciences in Nové Hrady, South Bohemia, CZ. This project is supported by the Office of International and Integrative Affairs (International Science and Engineering section) as well as the Directorates for Biological Sciences (Division of Biological Infrastructure) and Mathematical and Physical Sciences (Division of Chemistry). Successful completion of the domestic program qualifies participants for a second summer at the Czech Republic. The scientific focus of this program is molecular biophysics, an interdisciplinary field that applies conceptual, experimental, and analytical approaches from the physical and mathematical sciences and engineering to contemporary problems in biology at the molecular level. At each site, student interests are matched with those of experienced, dedicated faculty mentors. Participants are also assigned day-to-day and 'near-peer' mentors. Numerous meetings, seminars, and workshops are planned to discuss program expectations, ethics and the responsible conduct of research, and topics in biophysics. Participants develop their oral and written communications skills through required presentations and a written report. At the international site, a novel research concept is applied that combines experimental and computational approaches iteratively. Participants can pursue the computational aspects of their research remotely upon return to their home institutions, with continued supervision by their Czech mentors. Success of the program is assessed using a combination of participants' oral and written feedback and a standardized online assessment tool.Students apply to the program using an online application form, and phone interviews are conducted before students are selected for participation in the program. Students who are rising sophomores, especially those from schools with limited undergraduate research and those from underrepresented groups, who are majoring in chemical engineering, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, or physics are encouraged to apply. This REU Site program prepares students for interdisciplinary and collaborative research. The opportunity to work with foreign mentors and get exposed to foreign culture is an intrinsic feature of the program. It is expected that participants will be able to present their work at conferences and/or in publications. Participants are required to be tracked after the program and must respond to an automatic email sent via the NSF reporting system. More information is available by visiting www.princeton.edu/reumolbiophysics, or by contacting the PI (Professor Jannette Carey: jcarey@princeton.edu) or the co-PI (Dr. Istvan Pelczer: ipelczer@princeton.edu).