REU Site: Biological Engineering Research Experience for Undergraduates - BE REU

Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

An award has been made to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that will provide research training for 10 weeks for 10 students, for the summers of 2010 - 2012. This award is supported by the Directorates for Biological Sciences (BIO) and Engineering (ENG). The program focuses on biological engineering -- the application of engineering principles, analysis, design, and synthesis to modern molecular life sciences problems including those in biotechnology, environmental health, materials synthesis, and ocean ecology. The Department of Biological Engineering (BE), founded in 1998 as a new MIT academic unit, has about 30 faculty participating in the program. There is a wide range of very interesting and exciting projects for the students. Students are expected to do full-time lab research as well as participate in seminars and various workshops, such as the responsible conduct in research, professional communication skills, career opportunities in industry and academia, and the graduate school application process. Students are also provided tours of local industries. REU students have access to a rich array of individual mentor's facilities as well as many interdepartmental labs and centers with core facilities such as electron microscopy, microarray analysis, surface analysis, etc. The program's multi-phase recruitment effort consists of both traditional "hard copy" formats as well as digital-based advertising. Students are selected based on academic record, research performance, and potential for outstanding research in biological engineering or quantitative biology. Students are tracked to determine their continued interest in their academic field of study, their career paths, and the lasting influences of the research experience. Information about the program will be assessed by various means, including use of an REU common assessment tool. More information is available by visiting http://web.mit.edu/be/education/reu.htm , or by contacting the PI (Dr. Linda Griffith at griff@mit.edu or the co-PI (Dr. Jacquin Niles at jcniles@mit.edu). General inquiries can be sent to Dan Darling at ddarling@mit.edu.