REU Site: An REU Site in Interdisciplinary Chemistry at Oklahoma State University

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Professors White, Mohanty, and colleagues in the Chemistry Department at Oklahoma State University host an Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site. This project is funded by the REU Sites Program in the Chemistry Division and the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) both at the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support 12 students for 10 weeks in each of the three grant years. This REU site exposes early career stage undergraduates to interdisciplinary research in modern chemical sciences, including advanced materials, chemical sensors, nanochemistry, and chemical biology. Broader impacts of this work include the exposure of all REU participants to industrial and government scientists, emphasizing broadened perspectives on chemistry careers, increasing exposure of students from underrepresented groups to the chemical sciences, and actively involving REU participants in the larger research landscape of a comprehensive doctoral research university. Oklahoma has one of the highest Native American populations in the country and specific relationships with faculty at four-year undergraduate institutions are in place to help facilitate their recruitment. Nineteen active research groups host students at the Oklahoma State University REU Site. Examples of specific projects include investigations to promote understanding of how polymer chain organization influences the useful material properties of macromolecules, NMR studies of the effects of glycosylation on the structure, dynamics, and interactions of membrane proteins, and the development of earth-abundant transition metal complexes of N-heterocyclic carbenes. Other included projects range from synthetic methods development and drug synthesis to the development of organic semiconductors and electronic materials that can be used in organic electronics, sensors, and bioelectronics. Students recruited from the local area include Native Americans and students from primarily undergraduate schools.