REU Site: Chemistry Connections for Community College Students at the University of California, San Diego

University Of California-San Diego, La Jolla CA

Investigators

Abstract

This National Science Foundation award from the Division of Chemistry (CHE) supports a Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) site led by Professors Haim Weizman and Stacey Brydges both at the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California, San Diego. The "4Cs @ UCSD" program offers 10 first-year (or the equivalent) students attending the extensive network of two-year colleges (2YCs) within commuting distance of UC San Diego an intensive and integrated early undergraduate research experience in the chemical sciences, at the frontiers of materials synthesis, human health and disease, energy and environmental science. Apprenticeships span a year, with an introduction to research methods in the Spring prior to full and active immersion in a research laboratory during the 10-weeks of summer and 10-week(ends) of the Fall academic quarter, and are buttressed by enrichment activities that include research seminars, industrial field trips, academic and professional skills workshops, and final presentations at the Undergraduate Research Symposium in Chemistry at UC San Diego in the subsequent Spring. Formally trained mentorship teams comprising 2YC/UC San Diego faculty and graduate student role models support REU fellows at all stages of this program. Overall, it is intended that this REU site will serve to: (1) broaden the participation of underrepresented groups in undergraduate research; (2) enable the successful transition of community college students from associate degrees to baccalaureate and graduate programs in the chemical sciences; (3) engage graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty in a mentoring process that leads to more effective and inclusive research training and practices; and, (4) expand access to key academic resources - people, facilities, and programs - and thus, opportunities for authentic collaborations and curricular innovations linking research and education at all institutions involved. Collectively, these initiatives will contribute to the growth of the science pipeline, the progress of chemical research and educational reform, and the achievement of national goals to recruit and retain a more diverse scientific workforce.