NYU-CCNY REU for the Science and Engineering of Soft Materials and Interfaces (SESMI)

New York University, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

A new Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) Site, located on the campuses of New York University (NYU) and the City College of City University of New York (CCNY), is funded by the Division of Materials Research of the National Science Foundation. The site introduces emerging young scientists and engineers to cutting-edge research in a rapidly growing and technologically important research field. Research activities of this Site are focused on the Science and Engineering of Soft Materials and Interfaces (SESMI). SESMI undergraduates are recruited primarily from four-year colleges in NY, NJ, western CT, and eastern PA. These students are enrolled in a 10-week summer program with research experiences tailored to explore various fundamental aspects of soft materials and interfaces, which range from colloidal assemblies to biomolecular scaffolds to organic crystals to molecular monolayers. Through a series of REU-wide workshops and symposia, the SESMI program provides its students with professional development exercises and skill-building activities in scientific writing and presentation, and ethics of research and publication. As a joint enterprise involving NYU and CUNY, the REU site is naturally interdisciplinary, incorporating chemistry, physics, chemical engineering, and materials science.