REU Site: Biosecurity Research Experience for Undergraduates in Chemistry at Kansas State University

Kansas State University, Manhattan KS

Investigators

Abstract

This project funded by the Division of Chemistry supports a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) site led by Professors Christopher T. Culbertson and Stefan H. Bossmann at Kansas State University (KSU). Each summer ten students from primarily undergraduate institutions and community colleges are brought to the KSU campus for ten weeks to work on a research project. The majority of research projects supported at this site are in areas of chemistry with broader impacts on national biosecurity. The object of the program is to expose the participants to scientific research and prepare them for graduate studies in Chemistry. In addition to conducting research during the summer, the students in this program participate in a number of professional development activities that prepare them for graduate school. The program culminates in both poster and oral presentations at the end of the summer. The broader impacts of this project are to increase the number and diversity of students pursuing Ph.D. studies. A goal is to recruit three students from community colleges, four students from underrepresented groups, and five women students each year of the project. Some of the scientific research projects that students will work on include single cell analysis on microfluidic devices, the development of a dependable, sensitive, and cost-effective detection system for airborne pathogens and toxins, and the development of a theoretical understanding of the chemical and physical properties of gold and silver nanoparticles and clusters. Others will synthesize small inorganic clusters using conventional and microwave-assisted synthesis, while others fabricate, functionalize, and evaluate nanoscale biosensing devices.