Collaborative Research: REU Site: Molecular Interactions Virtual REU

化学部（CHE）的这一奖项支持由明尼苏达大学荷美尔研究所、州立大学纽约科特兰学院和伊萨卡学院（纽约伊萨卡）的教师团队领导的本科生虚拟研究体验（REU）网站。这个REU网站支持10名学生在2022-2024年的夏天进行为期10周的培训。该计划的目的是提供一个积极的，真实的研究经验，以不同的学生群体，在他们的学术生涯的早期。这是一个完全在线的REU计划，学生参加指导独立研究，作为同行在线社区的一部分，分析和预测生物分子结构与功能之间的关系。这种虚拟格式固有的灵活性使该计划广泛适用于各种各样的学生，包括那些无法访问现场REU课程的学生。 该计划的参与者将学习分子相互作用，并在一个支持性和灵活的学习环境中探索结构-功能关系，由教师和同行导师团队指导。为了培养社区和加强沟通能力，参与者将参加每周一次的非正式社交活动，专业发展活动和多个指导研究会议。暑期体验在一个在线的顶点研究研讨会上达到高潮，学生们向他们的同龄人和研究导师展示了他们创作的研究海报。由学生进行的独立研究将导致对酶功能、初级和次级代谢的理解的进步，并将提供对酶工程结构基础的培训和洞察。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。

This award from the Division of Chemistry (CHE) supports a virtual Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site led by a team of faculty from the Hormel Institute at the University of Minnesota, the State University of New York College at Cortland, and Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York. This REU site supports the training of 10 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2022-2024. The objective of this program is to provide a positive, authentic research experience to a diverse group of students, early in their academic careers. This is a fully online, REU program, where students take part in guided independent research, as part of an online community of peers, to analyze and predict the relationship between structure and function in biomolecules. The inherent flexibility of this virtual format makes this program broadly accessible to a wide variety of students, including those who would not otherwise be able to access on-site REU programs. Participants in this program will learn about molecular interactions and explore structure-function relationships in a learning environment that is supportive and flexible, guided by a team of faculty and peer mentors. To foster community and to strengthen communication skills, participants will participate in weekly, informal social events, professional development activities, and multiple, guided research meetings. The summer experience culminates in an online, capstone research symposium where students present a research poster they have created to their peers and research mentors. The independent research conducted by the students will result in advances in understanding of enzyme function, primary and secondary metabolism, and will provide training and insight into the the structural basis for enzyme engineering.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.