REU Site: Research Experiences for Community College Students in Chemistry and Biochemistry at Texas A&M University-Commerce

East Texas A&M University, Commerce TX

Investigators

Abstract

This Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site award to Texas A&M University-Commerce, located in Commerce, TX, supports the training of 9 students, recruited from community colleges in the Northeast Texas region, for 10 weeks during the summers of 2025-2028. In this program, funded by the Division of Chemistry, participants pursue collaborative research projects, which focus on analytical chemistry, renewable energy, catalyst design, organic chemistry, and biochemistry. Participants also take part in professional development and ethics training programs, with a focus on science communication and preparation for graduate school and industrial careers. Through independent research projects, field trips, workshops and a seminar series, this site broadens participation in STEM. The students undertake individual projects encompassing all fields of chemistry. These projects include the synthesis of sensors for environmental contaminants, mass spectrometric studies and computer simulations to understand how proteins bind metals, the development of catalysts for asymmetric reactions and to produce biofuel from biomass and an investigation of the regulation of metabolic pathways in bacteria. The professional development series includes a career readiness workshop, a graduate school workshop, a field trip to a chemical industrial facility, a field trip to a research institute, and workshops on communicating scientific information. Former REU students and industry representatives provide mentorship to the participants through Zoom seminar sessions. To increase diversity in the STEM pipeline, this site recruits students from nearby rural and urban community colleges, which serves an underrepresented population, thereby providing research opportunities to individuals who would not otherwise have an opportunity to conduct undergraduate research. 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.