| NSF Org: |
CHE Division Of Chemistry |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | February 21, 2017 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | February 21, 2017 |
| Award Number: | 1659548 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Melissa Olson
molson@nsf.gov (703)292-7448 CHE Division Of Chemistry MPS Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences |
| Start Date: | March 1, 2017 |
| End Date: | February 29, 2020 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $275,000.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $275,000.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
1425 W LINCOLN HWY DEKALB IL US 60115-2828 (815)753-1581 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
IL US 60115-2860 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS IN CHEM |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.049 |
ABSTRACT
Professors Ralph Wheeler, James Horn, and colleagues at Northern Illinois University host the REU Site: Integrated Experimental and Computational REU Site at Northern Illinois University. Funded by the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Sites Program of the Division of Chemistry, the site provides a diverse group of eight STEM undergraduates each year with authentic, meaningful, ten-week, summer research experiences in chemistry and/or biochemistry. Northern Illinois University's (NIU's) model of undergraduate research builds research teams where students and student-faculty pairs are recruited from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMPs), and Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs) with limited research opportunities. Each REU project is supplemented with computational components to expand the students' experience. REU students have research experiences within broad scientific themes such as nanotechnology, homeland security, drug design, energy research, and chemical biology. Students are trained in instrumentation to build new skills to complement their experimental research. In addition, three of the eight students each year work with two faculty mentors in the laboratory (home institution and NIU) and consult with a computational faculty liaison from NIU.
The program tests the hypothesis that strong financial and infrastructure support of research collaborations invigorate faculty from PUIs who in turn, directly impact students and learning environments at their home institutions. The program aims to establish meaningful, year round, long-term research collaborations. The model is envisioned to be self-perpetuating because the collaborations ultimately mature to independent funding, and are replaced by new collaborations between the host institution and new participants. The activities support the intent of the REU program to use meaningful research experiences to attract and retain the nation's diverse student talent pool. The program enhances and diversifies the US workforce by adding experts in the fields of chemistry and biochemistry.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
During this award (March 2017- February 2020) the Northern Illinois University Integrated Experimental and Computational Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program provided a robust research and skills training opportunity for 30 undergraduate students and 8 visiting faculty members. Each individual undergraduate participant or undergraduate/visiting faculty team was matched with a faculty host from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry to provide hands-on training across a broad range of scientific themes, such as nanotechnology, materials science, and antibody engineering. The objectives of the REU program were to: (1) Establish a novel REU site to enrich the education of students and advance the careers of undergraduates and faculty members from underserved populations. This includes targeting participants from HBCUs, LSAMPs, and primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs) with limited research infrastructure; (2) Deliver a quality research experience that motivates visiting students and faculty to achieve peak academic performance; (3) Develop skills in applying the scientific method and building communication skills; and (4) Establish year-round, long-term research collaborations focused on academic productivity and excellent undergraduate training.
The intellectual merit of this award includes the publication of five manuscripts where participants were co-authors. In addition, 14 presentations were made at regional or national meetings, including one student who was recognized with a presentation award at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students. Half of the visiting faculty have continued their research collaborations with NIU faculty hosts. A highlight of our program was our weekly seminar class, where 81% of the participants self-reported that it contributed a great deal to their learning. This seminar provided intense training in scientific communication with 76% self-reporting they made great gains in their oral presentation skills. At this time, 19 of the students have graduated, with 67% continuing their post-baccalaureate activities in graduate school, a health field, or employment in a research/STEM position.
The broader impacts of this program included expanding opportunities and experiences that will help attract and retain the nation’s diverse student talent pool. All of our participants fell under one or more categories that traditionally lack access to such opportunities, including: traditionally underrepresented minorities-African American or Hispanic (6/24 = 25%), female students (14/24=58%), or students with limited access to research opportunities (24/24=100%, which includes PUIs, HBCUs and community colleges).
Last Modified: 07/28/2020
Modified by: James R Horn
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