REU Site for Interdisciplinary Materials Research Boyd M. Goodson, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, DMR

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The REU Site at Southern Illinois University Carbondale supports an average of 14 undergraduates per year (including 2 from institutional match) for a 9 week period each summer; students are involved in interdisciplinary projects in the broadly defined area of materials research. The faculty mentors involved in this project have expertise in Chemistry, Physics and Engineering; inclusion of mentors from various disciplines encourages the REU students to think about their respective projects in broad terms (including application to new technologies) and provides them with the opportunity to present their results to a diverse audience.

This summer, REU student research projects encompassed a variety of cutting edge Materials research topics related to: Investigation of Signal Amplification by Reversible Exchange (SABRE) using variants of an NHC-iridium SABRE catalyst, comparing performance characteristics of nanowires and nanoparticles in dye-sensitized solar cells, utilizing electrochemical impedance spectroscopy for the detection of 2,2’, 4,4’-tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-47), micro-vibrational energy harvesting using a piezoelectric transducer, graphene hybrids for photo-detection and sensor application, donor-acceptor copolymers via a post-polymerization cyclopentannulation, the synthesis of surface-conjugated nanoscale polydiacetylene vesicles for vaccine development, the modification and immobilization of tobacco mosaic virus for super resolution imaging, liquid-phase exfoliation of bituminous coal for extraction of graphene particles, sophorolipid production using Candida Bombicola, and more.

Some of the research outcomes of the REU students are presented (right):

Fig. 3. Optical properties of cyclopenta-fused polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (CP-PAHs)

Fig. 4. Mass spec for TMV with diazonium in green and TMV with diazonium & azide in pink (Inset)SEM of TVM.

Fig. 6. Blot assay with Ova only control and conjugated liposome.

Fig. 2. Graphene QD’s from exfoliation of Coal (scale 100 nm).

Fig. 5. Photo response (right) of Graphene-ZnO composite (left).

Fig. 1. Summer REU 2014 team.

REU Site for Interdisciplinary Materials Research Boyd M. Goodson, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, DMR

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Participants are recruited nationally, with a focus on 4 & 2-year colleges. ~73.3% were from our targeted institutions in the region (IL, IN, MO, KY, WI, IA, & TN), select HBCUs, high minority-enrollment institutions, and junior colleges; particular emphasis is placed on students from groups underrepresented in STEM (Table 1 below), as well as those from socio-economically disadvantaged regions (including the Mississippi Delta region).

In addition to professional and social activities, all students performed mentored research for 9 weeks, gave poster presentations of their work, and earned certificates of completion at our REU Banquet (Figure 7). Overall ‘outcomes’ data for career trajectories for past students who have participated in our REU program during its 9-year existence are presented in Figure 8.

Fig. 7. SIUC summer REU undergraduate researchers receiving their certificate of completion at the REU banquet.

Figure 7

Overall data for our past REU participants are presented. ~77% are in a STEM career track (Fig. 8.), including 21 in STEM jobs (including those finished grad school), 44 in STEM graduate programs, and 16 still in UG programs but on a STEM track.

Figure 8