REU Site at Clemson, IMPRESS (IMPlanting the ResEarch Seed in Students)

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This Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site award to Clemson University, located in Clemson, South Carolina, will support the training of 10 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2021-2023. In this program, supported by the Division of Chemistry, participants select a research project in the broad area of materials with targeted functions, and they are placed into small teams mentored by a cluster of faculty mentors with complementary expertise. The research experience is supplemented by ethics training as well as an introduction to state-of-the-art instrumentation linked to the research projects. The program offers a number of workshops meant to enhance the experience of the participants, their professional development, and their research-related social competencies. These activities improve participants' ability to interact in professional settings and network, highlight the relevance of their research experience, and help them become advocates for diversity and inclusion in chemistry.Students at the Clemson CHE-REU site will be engaged in individual projects encompassing a broad swath of chemistry, with an emphasis on materials with targeted functions. Projects offered include the synthesis and characterization of novel organic and inorganic materials; development of methods to unveil chemical interactions of nanoparticles; preparation of deep eutectic solvents; and new approaches to enhancing energy harvesting. A planned professional development series will accompany the research experience and will include seminars on collecting, analyzing and communicating scientific results; integrating and cultivating professional networks; and applying REU competencies to build future careers. Embracing social, economic and cultural diversity, this program aims to recruit non-traditional/high potential students, minority students from South Carolina and surrounding minority serving institutions, students in military schools, and students from distant geographic areas.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.