REU Site: Puerto Rico-Chemical Learning Integrated in Materials and Biomolecular applications (PR-CLIMB)

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This Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site award to the University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras, located in San Juan, PR, supports the training of 10 students for 9 weeks during the summers of 2021-2023. In this program, funded by the Division of Chemistry, undergraduate participants will engage in high caliber interdisciplinary research projects inspired by rebuilding efforts in PR related to the pharmaceutical industry, electrical grid, and water infrastructure. This program also fosters professional development through in-laboratory training, hands-on workshops, and specialized seminars to inspire interest in graduate school in the STEM fields. The broader goal of this site is to train socially conscious scientists who can address community-based problems, to help build the future STEM workforce for Puerto Rico, and to establish a network of STEM professional collaborators. Student participants at this REU site will be matched with research groups conducting fundamental science on the engineering of materials and biomolecules for real-life applications including drug discovery, drug delivery, energy storage, and water purification. The faculty mentors have extensive experience in undergraduate training, and an advanced students or postdoctoral researchers will serve as a co-mentors, providing additional training support to the participants. Alongside research, students will take part in hands-on workshops exposing them to state-of-the-art instrumentation; a seminar series on critical thinking and technical skill development; and orientation on research, graduate school, and career opportunities. A special seminar contextualizes the program’s mission to professionally rehabilitate Puerto Rico, and participants will also go on educational/cultural outings where they will visit a pharmaceutical company and different parts of Puerto Rico. Students majoring in chemistry or related fields are recruited from two-year and four-year institutions in Puerto Rico and the rest of the U.S., particularly from minority serving institutions and from institutions with few research opportunities.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.