REU Site: Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter

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NON-TECHNICAL ABSTRACT:This REU-Site project provides high-quality, hands-on experience in materials research to a diverse group of ten undergraduates with interest in the sciences and engineering. During the summer, student participants spend 10 weeks at the Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter (LRSM) at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn). The targeted student participants are gender, racially, and ethnically diverse, representing a broad spectrum of colleges throughout the nation including community colleges, minority-serving institutions, and those with limited research opportunities. During their time at Penn, students are introduced to materials research as a cohesive subject of study. Students are active participants in research groups of faculty affiliated with the LRSM, receiving authentic research and mentoring experiences similar to those of graduate students in the same groups. Beyond their own research group, students engage with each other socially, participate in numerous professional development workshops and activities, and learn about other fields of research to understand different career paths they could consider. Altogether, the experience helps strengthen the science and engineering pipeline by training, mentoring, and supporting young researchers while simultaneously contributing to state-of-the-art research.TECHNICAL ABSTRACT:This REU-Site project provides high-quality, hands-on experience in materials research to a diverse group of ten undergraduates with interest in the sciences and engineering. During the summer, student participants spend 10 weeks at the Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter (LRSM) at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn). The targeted student participants are gender, racially, and ethnically diverse, representing a broad spectrum of colleges throughout the nation including community colleges, minority-serving institutions, and those with limited research opportunities. During their time at Penn, students are introduced to materials research as a cohesive subject of study. Students are active participants in research groups of faculty affiliated with the LRSM, receiving access to state-of-the-art facilities to conduct authentic research and mentoring experiences similar to those of graduate students in the same groups. Depending on their interests and educational background, REU research activities can range from synthesizing new polymers, to probing the optical properties of quantum dots, to measuring mechanical responses of soft materials such as colloids and emulsions, to computing electronic band structures of topological insulators and yet-to-be-synthesized composite materials. To extend their research experience, students participate in a weekly research seminar to absorb front-line materials science and engineering and learn to present their research findings both orally and in a written report.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.