REU site: Interdisciplinary Renewable and Environmental Collaborative (IREC)

北达科他大学本科生研究体验(REU)站点奖授予北达科他大学，位于新泽西州大福克斯，支持在2023-2025年夏季对10名学生进行为期10周的培训。在这个由化学部资助的项目和已建立的促进竞争研究项目(EPSCoR)中，参与者从事包括化学、化学工程和大气科学的跨学科和协作研究项目。除了他们的研究，他们还参加了一系列教育和专业发展活动，其中包括科学交流和研究行为道德方面的培训，参加社区外联，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，扩大了对STEM领域的参与，并使他们更广泛地接触到各种科学方法和挑战。该项目特别注重招收美洲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：从可再生资源合成可持续聚合物；从生物质衍生产品开发发光碳纳米点；木质素增溶的计算研究；探索大气气溶胶的化学复杂性及其对云层的影响。这些学生接受专业发展培训，特别是在有效的科学交流方面，以帮助他们与普通观众分享科学。这项培训在K-8儿童外展活动中使用，激励儿童和REU学生在STEM领域追求职业生涯。该计划优先招收第一代大学生和代表性较低的少数族裔，目标是那些主要来自本科院校和美洲原住民部落大学的人。这一奖项反映了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 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.