REU Site: Synthesis and Characterization of Bioactive Orbioinspired Molecules

位于宾夕法尼亚州匹兹堡的匹兹堡大学的本科生研究体验(REU)站点奖，支持在2023-2025年夏季对10名学生进行为期10周的培训。在这个由化学系资助的REU项目中，参与者进行合作研究项目，重点是生物分子或生物启发材料的合成、表征和模拟。以循证干预和队列建设社会活动为基础的促进归属感的总体努力，与研究相关主题的培训相结合。通过有针对性地招募申请者和促进归属感，该网站扩大了对STEM的参与。学生参与的个人项目横跨一系列主题，包括序列控制的可生物降解聚合物、用于自下而上纳米制造的DNA纳米结构，以及对吸附在石墨烯上的生物分子进行建模。学生还接受与研究相关的主题/技能培训，包括实验室安全、研究道德、个人行为和研究生院应用技能。此外，该网站还实施了归属感干预措施，这些干预措施基于匹兹堡大学STEM已被证明成功缩小成绩差距的活动。有四个结果是有针对性的：1)坚持科学教育和职业生涯；2)认为自己有潜力从事科学事业；3)面对挑战表现出坚持不懈的精神；4)无论其人口和社会经济背景如何，都会经历类似的结果。为了确保申请者群体的多样性，部分学生参与者是从匹兹堡大学所属的6所合作机构中招募的。这项合作由全国黑人化学家和化学工程师专业促进组织组织，包括三个HBCU。该团队还将利用与波多黎各同事建立的网络，以及正在进行的内部资助的夏季本科生研究奖学金(PIT SURF)计划的支线网络，以进一步加强招聘工作。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势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 Pittsburgh, located in Pittsburgh, PA, supports the training of 10 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2023-2025. In this REU Program, funded by the Division of Chemistry, participants pursue collaborative research projects, with a focus on the synthesis, characterization, and simulation of biological molecules or bio-inspired materials. An overall effort to promote belonging, anchored by evidence-based intervention and cohort-building social activities, is combined with training on research-relevant topics. Through targeted recruitment of applications and promoting belonging, this site broadens participation in STEM. Student participants undertake individual projects that span a range of topics, including sequence-controlled biodegradable polymers, DNA nanostructures for bottom-up nanofabrication, and modeling biomolecules adsorbed on graphene. Students are also trained in research-related topics/skills, including laboratory safety, research ethics, personal conduct, and graduate school application skills. In addition, the site implements belonging interventions that are based on activities that have proven successful in decreasing performance disparities in STEM at the University of Pittsburgh. Four outcomes are targeted: participants will 1) persist in science education and careers; 2) see themselves as having the potential to pursue a science career; 3) exhibit persistence in the face of challenges; and 4) experience similar outcomes regardless of their demographic and socioeconomic background. To ensure that the applicant pool is diverse, student participants are recruited, in part, from the 6-institution collaborative to which the University of Pittsburgh belongs. This collaborative, which is organized by the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers, includes three HBCUs. The team will also leverage the established network with colleagues in Puerto Rico, and the feeder network for ongoing internally funded Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (Pitt SURF) program to further strengthen recruitment efforts.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.