REU Site: Chemical Sciences Leadership Initiative (CSLI)

University Of Delaware, Newark DE

Investigators

Abstract

Professors Booksh, Rozovsky and colleagues in the Chemistry Department of the University of Delaware host a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site. The site is supported by NSF Chemistry REU program. This site provides students with disabilities the mentoring and experience important for success in graduate school. Students with disabilities are underrepresented at the doctoral level and constitute a largely untapped resource for meeting the increasing STEM workforce needs. Research shows that students with disabilities want to achieve advanced STEM degrees at the same rate as non-disabled students. However, students with disabilities are less likely to receive the encouragement, mentoring, or other support offered to students without disabilities. This program works to build a supportive community, with a goal of providing role models for future generations of students. The ten week REU program provides students with a state-of-the-art chemistry research experience across five sub disciplines. Each student works closely with a graduate and faculty mentor on topics such as structural determination and mechanism of enzymes, multichannel optical spectroscopy, and chemical sensors for environmental and biomedical applications. Students are primarily recruited from smaller liberal arts colleges where they do not have access to a graduate level research program. In addition to research, the students engage with faculty in four layers of mutually-supportive career development activities. One layer addresses skills development such as presentations, research expectations, literature searches, and scientific ethics. The second layer addresses academic and career development topics that span multiple disciplines such as expectations of and preparation for graduate school. The third layer includes topics closely related to chemistry and disability intersection such as accommodations and disclosure. The forth layer is individualized instruction with mentors tailored to the students' career goals, research interests, and accrued skill sets. Students present their research at the University of Delaware Undergraduate Research Symposium and the Spring National Meeting of the American Chemical Society.