REU Site: An Undergraduate Research Incubator Site at Furman University

Furman University, Greenville SC

Investigators

Abstract

The REU site award to Furman University in Greenville, SC supports the training of 10 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2019-2021. In the program, funded by the Division of Chemistry in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate, Professor Karen L. Buchmueller and colleagues host an REU site that involves three visiting teams, each consisting of a faculty mentor and two to three students who come to Furman University each summer to conduct research. The program also includes two Furman University teams, each consisting of a faculty mentor and one student. The summer program begins with a research boot camp, providing mini-courses in laboratory safety, scientific ethics, career advising and hands-on experience with departmental instrumentation. The summer research program culminates in an oral symposium and an outreach program at a local summer camp for disadvantaged children. The entire summer is designed to facilitate the development of future scientists, through direct engagement with real scientific problems in the lab and the development of meaningful relationships with faculty and students participating in the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. Furman University provides a unique summer REU program that incorporates visiting teams of students and faculty from small colleges, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and technical colleges. The REU site provides research and educational opportunities that act as stepping stones in the development of the undergraduate student as a scientist. The program recruits students in the first two years of their college careers and students from under-represented groups. Visiting students are supported by REU ambassadors (former REU students) and a faculty member from their home institution. The REU site also serves as an incubator, a place where visiting faculty build research programs that have the potential to amplify the REU program beyond the bounds of Furman University. The goal is to cultivate future scientists, both directly within the program and through the development of sustainable research programs at our partner institutions. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.