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

这个本科生研究经验（REU）网站奖给波多黎各大学Rico-Río皮德拉斯，位于圣胡安，PR，支持10名学生在2021-2023年夏季9周的培训。在这个由化学系资助的项目中，本科生将参与高水平的跨学科研究项目，这些项目的灵感来自于与制药工业、电网和水利基础设施相关的公共关系重建工作。该计划还通过实验室培训，实践研讨会和专业研讨会促进专业发展，以激发对STEM领域研究生院的兴趣。该网站更广泛的目标是培养具有社会意识的科学家，他们可以解决社区问题，帮助波多黎各建立未来的STEM劳动力，并建立STEM专业合作者网络。该REU站点的学生参与者将与研究小组进行材料和生物分子工程的基础科学研究，以用于现实生活中的应用，包括药物发现，药物输送，能量储存和水净化。教师导师具有丰富的本科培训经验，高级学生或博士后研究员将作为联合导师，为参与者提供额外的培训支持。除了研究之外，学生还将参加实践研讨会，让他们接触到最先进的仪器；关于批判性思维和技术技能发展的一系列研讨会；以及研究方向、读研方向和就业方向。一个特别的研讨会将会介绍这个计划的使命，即以专业的方式重建波多黎各，参与者也将参加教育/文化之旅，他们将参观一家制药公司和波多黎各的不同地区。主修化学或相关领域的学生来自波多黎各和美国其他地区的两年制和四年制大学，特别是来自少数民族服务机构和研究机会很少的机构。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 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.