REU Site: Community College REU Site at Texas A&M University-Commerce

East Texas A&M University, Commerce TX

Investigators

Abstract

Professors Ben Jang, Stephen Starnes, and colleagues at Texas A&M University - Commerce host an REU Site that is designed to uniquely address the needs of the underserved Northeast Texas region and the neighboring states with a focus on the community college students. This student group consists of a large fraction of minority and first generation college students. The REU site will serve as a model for addressing undergraduate research issues for an important population in the higher education "pipeline" for STEM enrollments and one that is steadily growing nationwide. The project is funded by the REU Site Program of the Chemistry Division. Close management of the program is supported by the weekly oral presentations, weekly faculty mentor discussiosn, progress and final reports, and a final symposium including both oral and poster presentations. To better expose students to "real world" research, two trips to world class companies and institutions are included in the activities. In addition, three workshops are scheduled to improve students' presentation and scientific writing skills and training in the crucial area of research ethics. The research projects represent critical research areas and the knowledge gained improves the fundamental understanding and accelerates the development of these fields. Research projects span a wide variety of topics in chemical and biochemical areas, including the investigation of metal and oligopeptide binding, chiral guest-host binding and sensing studies, and the conversion of glycerol into industrially-valuable organic acids.