REU Site: Interdisciplinary Research Opportunities in Biophysics

Regents Of The University Of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor MI

Investigators

Abstract

This award provides support for seven students per year to participate in a summer research program in Biophysics at the University of Michigan. The site will provide incoming students with an interdisciplinary research experience at the intersection of chemistry, physics, mathematics and the life sciences. Since Biophysics is intellectually extremely diverse, the aim is not only to provide research experience in a subfield of the discipline, but also provide an overview of state-of the-art research in the field, and the experimental methods and techniques that are commonly used. Therefore, the research experience is constructed to have two components: 1) the students will be assigned to the labs that match their interest and that are run by experienced researchers to participate in innovative scientific exploration, 2) the REU students will be allowed (at their own choosing with the advice of their research mentor) to participate in hands-on exploration of biophysical methods and techniques (HEBMAT) that will introduce them to various modern experimental and computational research techniques. Thus, upon completion of the program the students will have gained exciting research experience and will have acquired a biophysical toolkit making them more successful and competitive in the scientific and academic environment. This core experience will be augmented by weekly research seminars and workshops, plus opportunities for social interactions, which will often be coordinated with other summer undergraduate research programs to broaden the students' integration into our scientific and professional communities. This award is funded by the Division of Physics and the Division of Chemistry within NSF.