REU Site: Catalysis and Motion

本研究经验本科生（REU）网站奖给宾夕法尼亚州州立大学，位于大学公园，PA，支持10名本科生的培训10周在2021年至2023年的夏季。该计划由化学部资助，其动机是认识到早期阶段的实践研究经验对学生的职业生涯和科学身份的发展产生了持久的影响。学生将在全国范围内招募，重点是来自代表性不足和服务不足群体的学生。每个学生都由一名教师导师监督，课程结构为学生和教师在部门和整个大学的其他研究小组提供了交叉合作的机会。学生将每天从事研究项目，参加每周的研究研讨会，参加专业发展研讨会和外联活动，并在跨校园研讨会上发表研究报告。与专业的工业化学家的互动计划，包括现场参观公司和研讨会，从工业科学家给学生的职业信息和灵感。进行形成性和总结性评估，并在学生参与期间和之后跟踪他们的职业生涯。我们的目标是通过为本科生提供强大的教育，指导和研究培训经验来帮助，激励和留住他们从事科学事业。许多领先的全球科学挑战需要更深入地了解生物和化学催化，以及随后或并行的能力，以开发新的和更好的催化剂。此外，操纵或调节人类细胞内的生物催化剂的能力是目前多种疾病治疗的基础。招收学生从事以下领域的工作：（1）了解大分子催化，重点是了解蛋白酶，蛋白质金属酶和RNA酶如何催化反应;（2）生物过程的动力学，重点是（a）理解蛋白质运动或"动力学"如何与酶催化有关，（B）分子马达，以及（c）细胞内各种类型的大分子和小分子的运动或"运输"以及（3）化学催化的新见解，其涉及用于各种过程的化学催化剂的合成和表征。该网站将前沿研究与专业发展活动相结合，旨在为准备解决紧迫和相关科学问题的学生提供多样化的渠道。该奖项反映了NSF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 Pennsylvania State University, located in University Park, PA, supports the training of 10 undergraduate students for 10 weeks during the summer months of 2021-2023. The motivation for this program, funded by the Division of Chemistry, is the recognition that hands-on research experience at an early stage has an enduring impact on students' careers and the development of their science identities. Students will be recruited nationwide, with a strong emphasis on students from underrepresented and underserved groups. Each student is supervised by a faculty mentor, and the program structure provides opportunities for cross-collaboration with students and faculty in other research groups in the department and across the university. Students will work daily on their research projects, attend weekly research seminars, participate in professional development workshops and outreach events, and deliver research presentations at a cross-campus symposium. Interactions with professional industrial chemists are planned, including site visits to companies and seminars from industrial scientist to give students career information and inspiration. Formative and summative assessment is conducted, and students' careers are tracked during and after their participation. The goal is to help, inspire, and retain undergraduate students in scientific careers by providing them with a strong educational, mentoring, and research training experience.Many of the leading global scientific challenges require a deeper understanding both in biological and in chemical catalysis, and the subsequent or parallel ability to evolve new and better catalysts. Moreover, the ability to manipulate or regulate biological catalysts within human cells is the foundation of current therapeutics for a multitude of diseases. Students are recruited to work in the following areas: (1) Understanding Macromolecular Catalysis, which focuses on understanding how protein enzymes, protein metalloenzymes, and RNA enzymes catalyze reactions; (2) Dynamics of Biological Processes, which focuses on (a) understanding how protein movement or "dynamics" relates to enzyme catalysis, (b) molecular motors, and (c) the movement or "trafficking" of various types of macromolecules and small molecules within the cell and (3) New Insights into Chemical Catalysis, which involves the synthesis and characterization of chemical catalysts for a variety of processes. Coupling frontline research with professional development activities, this site aims to prepare a diverse pipeline of students ready to tackle pressing and relevant scientific problems.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.