NSF Org:	EEC Division of Engineering Education and Centers
Recipient:	UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC.
Initial Amendment Date:	March 19, 2020
Latest Amendment Date:	March 19, 2020
Award Number:	1950581
Award Instrument:	Standard Grant
Program Manager:	Patricia Simmons EEC  Division of Engineering Education and Centers ENG  Directorate for Engineering
Start Date:	April 1, 2020
End Date:	March 31, 2024 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount:	$404,071.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date:	$404,071.00
Funds Obligated to Date:	FY 2020 = $404,071.00
History of Investigator:	Leidong Mao (Principal Investigator) mao@uga.edu Jonathan Arnold (Co-Principal Investigator)
Recipient Sponsored Research Office:	University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc 310 E CAMPUS RD RM 409 ATHENS GA  US  30602-1589 (706)542-5939
Sponsor Congressional District:	10
Primary Place of Performance:	University of Georgia 310 East Campus Rd. Athens GA  US  30602-1589
Primary Place of Performance Congressional District:	10
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI):	NMJHD63STRC5
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s):	EWFD-Eng Workforce Development
Primary Program Source:	01002021DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s):	116E, 9178, 9250
Program Element Code(s):	136000
Award Agency Code:	4900
Fund Agency Code:	4900
Assistance Listing Number(s):	47.041

ABSTRACT

Nanobiotechnology is an interdisciplinary science at the convergence of diverse scientific disciplines that leverages the principles and experimental tools from the physical sciences and engineering to facilitate a better understanding of biological systems. This emerging field is particularly important in biomedicine, where new tools are needed to address complex, long-standing challenges in such fields as cancer biology, cell and developmental biology, infectious diseases and regenerative biology. However, interdisciplinary research in nanobiotechnology often does not resonate with undergraduates, due to the limited access and availability of facilities and research programs in the university setting, and the intimidating prospects of mastering multiple disciplines. This Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site program at the University of Georgia (UGA) offers an interdisciplinary research experience at the interface of nanotechnology and biomedicine to underrepresented minority and female undergraduate students from other institutions, leveraging the diverse interdisciplinary expertise, resources, and training opportunities in this area at UGA. The Site will host 10 REU students over a 10-week summer program where they will participate in existing, interdisciplinary research projects that apply nanotechnology to specific biomedical questions. Each REU student will be co-mentored by paired faculty from the nanotechnology and biomedical disciplines on a collaborative research project. In addition to a total-immersion and hands-on research experience, REU students will participate in enrichment activities that include an ethics-in-science workshop, weekly presentations on interdisciplinary research, what to expect in graduate school, career workshops, facility tours, and presenting research findings at national and international conferences.

The overarching goal is to attract and retain underrepresented minority and female students from institutions with limited research opportunities in science and engineering, and prepare them for graduate programs and careers in these fields. To accomplish this goal, the proposed program will provide an interdisciplinary research experience at the interface of nanotechnology and biomedicine to students. Through the program, students will (1) design hypotheses-driven research experiments to solve biomedical problems with engineering tools; (2) develop skills for conducting interdisciplinary research; (3) gain confidence and a sense of self-efficacy to participate in science and engineering research, (4) develop a greater understanding and appreciation for the benefits of interdisciplinary research. Research mentors will also gain expertise in mentoring minority and female students in interdisciplinary research.

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.

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.

Intellectual merit

This Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site program from 2014-2024, Interdisciplinary Research Experiences in Nanotechnology and Biomedicine, at the University of Georgia (UGA), offered an interdisciplinary research experience at the interface of nanotechnology and biomedicine to mostly underrepresented minority and female undergraduate students from other institutions, leveraging the diverse interdisciplinary expertise, resources, and training opportunities available at UGA. Nanobiotechnology is an interdisciplinary science at the convergence of diverse scientific disciplines that leverages the principles and experimental tools from the physical sciences and engineering to facilitate a better understanding of biological systems. However, interdisciplinary research in nanobiotechnology often does not resonate with students, especially undergraduates, due to the limited access and availability of facilities and research programs in the university setting, and the intimidating prospects of mastering multiple disciplines. The overarching goal was to attract and retain underrepresented minority and female students from institutions with limited research opportunities in science and engineering, and prepare them for graduate programs and careers in these fields. In accomplishing this goal, the proposed program provided an interdisciplinary research experience at the interface of nanotechnology and biomedicine to a total of 108 students. Through the program, students (1) designed hypotheses-driven research experiments to solve biomedical problems with engineering tools; (2) developed skills for conducting interdisciplinary research; (3) gained confidence and a sense of self-efficacy to participate in science and engineering research, (4) developed a greater understanding and appreciation for the benefits of interdisciplinary research. 
 

Broader of impacts

UGA hosted the REU students over a 10-week summer program where they participated in existing, interdisciplinary research projects that apply nanotechnology to specific biomedical questions. Each REU student was co-mentored by paired faculty from the nanotechnology and biomedical disciplines on a collaborative research project. In addition to a total-immersion and hands-on research experience, REU students participated in enrichment activities that include ethics-in-science workshop, weekly presentations on interdisciplinary research, what to expect in graduate school, career workshop, facility tours, and presenting research findings at national conferences. From 2014 to 2022, UGA hosted a total of 108 students, with 49% of them from institutions where research programs in STEM are limited, 52% underrepresented minority groups, and 76% females. Through their experiences, 92% of them contributed to scientific publications. After their experiences, we learned that 80% of them are now in graduate schools pursuing advanced degrees.

 

 

Last Modified: 06/02/2024
Modified by: Leidong Mao

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