REU Site: Team-Mentored Interdisciplinary Research Experiences in Chemistry for Early-Stage Undergraduates

北德克萨斯大学(UNT)的本科生研究体验(REU)网站位于德克萨斯州丹顿。该网站由教授领导。勒格兰德·斯劳特和洪旺。它支持在2019-2021年暑期期间对8名学生进行为期10周的培训。它由数学和物理科学局的化学司资助。学生科学家专注于协作和跨学科团队指导的研究项目。学生参与者由两个或两个以上的化学研究小组共同建议。他们还参加职业发展活动。这些课程旨在培养有关化学研究中的职业机会、科学中的伦理问题和科学交流技能的知识。这个REU网站针对的是还没有经历过研究的早期科学专业的学生。该计划还建立并加强了UNT化学在服务不足的德克萨斯州/中南部/新墨西哥州地区的教师合作伙伴网络。这将有助于从以本科生为重点的机构招收学生，包括几家为拉美裔服务的机构和历史上的黑人学院和大学。为参与者设计的研究项目是高度跨学科的。它们包括选择性有机金属催化剂的联合计算/实验研究和软着陆质谱学合成新材料。这些研究还包括电子设备中的腐蚀机理研究，以及用于染料敏化太阳能电池的pi扩展的卟啉材料。对团队指导的关注使参与者准备好在协作的团队环境中做出实质性的独立研究贡献。它使他们能够在日益合作的现代科学研究世界中茁壮成长。研究培训与职业发展活动相结合，涉及沟通技能、职业发展、科学道德和公众外向。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site at the University of North Texas (UNT) is located in Denton, TX. The site is led by Profs. LeGrande Slaughter and Hong Wang. It supports the training of 8 students over 10 weeks during the summers of 2019-2021. It is funded by the Division of Chemistry in the Mathematical and Physical Science Directorate. Student scientists focus on collaborative and interdisciplinary team-mentored research projects. The student participants are co-advised by two or more chemistry research groups. They also take part in professional development activities. These are designed to foster knowledge of career opportunities in chemical research, ethical issues in science, and scientific communication skills. This REU Site targets early-stage science majors who have not yet experienced research. The program also builds upon and strengthens UNT Chemistry's network of faculty partners in the underserved Texas/South Central/New Mexico region. This will help to recruit students from undergraduate-focused institutions, including several Hispanic-serving institutions and Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The research projects designed for participants are highly interdisciplinary. They encompass joint computational/experimental studies of selective organometallic catalysts and synthesis of new materials by soft-landing mass spectrometry. The also include studies of corrosion mechanisms in electronic devices, and pi-extended porphyrin materials for dye-sensitized solar cells. The focus on team mentoring prepares participants to make substantive independent research contributions within a collaborative team setting. It enables them to thrive in the increasingly collaborative world of modern scientific research. Research training is coupled with career development activities addressing communication skills, career development, scientific ethics, and public outreach.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.