REU site: Interdisciplinary Renewable and Environmental Collaborative (IREC)

这个本科生研究经验（REU）网站奖授予位于ND大福克斯的北达科他州大学，支持在2023-2025年夏季对10名学生进行为期10周的培训。在这个项目中，由化学系和刺激竞争性研究的既定计划（EPSCoR）资助，参与者追求跨学科和合作研究项目，包括化学、化学工程和大气科学。在进行研究的同时，他们还参加了一系列教育和专业发展活动，其中包括科学传播和研究行为伦理方面的培训，参与社区外展，以及关于研究生院和职业选择的讲习班。学生由来自不同学科的教师团队共同指导，扩大STEM领域的参与范围，让他们更广泛地接触各种科学方法和挑战。该项目特别注重招收美国原住民学生和第一代学生。REU的学生从事可再生能源、环境和大气科学与工程等广泛领域的跨学科研究。这些项目包括利用可再生资源合成可持续聚合物；生物质发光碳纳米点的研究进展木质素增溶作用的计算研究探索大气气溶胶的化学复杂性及其对云的影响。学生们接受专业发展培训，特别是在有效的科学传播方面，以帮助他们与普通受众分享科学。这项培训将在K-8儿童的外展活动中使用，激励儿童和REU学生在STEM领域从事职业。该项目优先招收第一代大学生和未被充分代表的少数族裔，主要针对来自本科院校和印第安部落学院的学生。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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 award to the University of North Dakota, located in Grand Forks, ND, supports the training of 10 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2023-2025. In this program, funded by the Division of Chemistry, and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), participants pursue interdisciplinary and collaborative research projects encompassing chemistry, chemical engineering, and atmospheric science. Along with their research, they participate in a series of educational and professional development activities, which include training in science communication and ethics in research conduct, participation in community outreach, and workshops on graduate school and career options. Students are jointly mentored by a team of faculty from different disciplines, broadening participation in STEM fields and giving them wider exposure to various scientific approaches and challenges. The program is especially focused on enrolling Native American students and first-generation students. The REU students are engaged in interdisciplinary research in the broad areas of renewable, environmental, and atmospheric science and engineering. These projects include the synthesis of sustainable polymers from renewable resources; development of luminescent carbon nanodots from biomass-derived products; computational investigation of lignin solubilization; and exploration of the chemical complexity of atmospheric aerosols and their impacts on clouds. The students receive professional development training, especially in effective science communication, to help them share science with a general audience. This training is put to use during outreach activities for K-8 children, inspiring both the children and the REU students to pursue careers in STEM fields. The program prioritizes recruitment of first-generation college students and underrepresented minorities, targeting those from primarily undergraduate institutions and Native American tribal colleges.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.