(86a) REU Site: Materials and Systems Biology Research In Biotechnology and Biomedicine

New REU Site

REU Site: Materials and Systems Biology Research in Biotechnology and Biomedicine

Principal Investigator: Juergen Hahn, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering

Submitting Organization: Texas A&M University

Location: Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas

Main field and subfields: chemical engineering, chemistry, physics, biology, or mathematics

Number of Undergraduates: 10 students annually for a total of 30 students

Participation: Summer—10 weeks

No related international, ethics, or RET component

Contact: Juergen Hahn, (979) 845-3568 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            (979) 845-3568      end_of_the_skype_highlighting; Hahn@tamu.edu

http://www.che.tamu.edu/undergraduate-program/undergrad-research-reu/

PROJECT SUMMARY

The overarching goal is to engage annually 10 undergraduate students from chemical engineering or closely allied disciplines in materials or systems biology research with faculty serving as mentors to prepare and encourage the students to pursue graduate education.

Objectives include:

1. Annually recruit 10 undergraduates from off-campus with an emphasis on recruitment of students from underrepresented groups;
2. Open new research opportunities to students who have had little or no previous research experience, providing insights into research methodologies, self-discipline, team integration, reporting and exchanging new knowledge;
3. Provide information on benefits of attending graduate school, the application process, and encourage students to attend graduate school in chemical engineering;
4. Enable interactions of the REU students with visiting undergraduate researchers from Tsinghua University and Universidad de los Andes who participate in existing departmental programs;
5. Provide community building opportunities among REU students, TAMU graduate students, visiting international undergraduate researchers, and faculty mentors; and
6. Provide opportunities for REU students to present and publish with faculty mentors.

Targeted student participants include rising junior and senior students in chemical engineering and from chemistry, physics, biology, or mathematics who express an interest in engineering graduate school. Students will be required to have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.3, since that is the minimal requirement for acceptance to graduate school for TAMU Chemical Engineering. Existing relationships with schools in the region including Prairie View A&M University (an HBCU) and two Hispanic Serving Institutions: Texas A&M University Kingsville and the University of Houston-Downtown will be leveraged to maximize participation of students from underrepresented groups. Local recruitment of students supported by non-NSF funds will target underrepresented students at TAMU by recruiting through student engineering organizations such as the Society of Women Engineers, National Society of Black Engineers, Mexican American Engineers and Scientists, and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. TAMU Engineering is one of the leading institutions in graduating Hispanic engineers at the baccalaureate level, which will lend itself to participation by this increasing minority population in Texas and the nation.

This REU site will have a focus of chemical engineering approaches to materials science and systems biology research in biotechnology and biomedicine. A combination of computational and experimental research will be conducted in these areas. The intellectual merit of the proposed research is to bring the rigorous analytical approach characteristic of chemical engineering to problems of interest in biotechnology and biomedicine. The REU students will participate in developing the next generation of products and processes based on biological molecules and organisms.

The broader impact will be to target recruitment of students to graduate school to offer research experiences to those who may not normally have such an opportunity, particularly women, underrepresented minorities, and first-generation college students, making a significant contribution toward enhancing the diversity of the research and education infrastructure at Texas A&M University and toward increasing the production of African American and Hispanic engineers and scientists. This project creates a model program for diverse populations that addresses the exposure to research by undergraduates as well as awareness of the pathway to graduate school. A more diverse engineering and science professoriate benefits society significantly, not only in Texas but nationally, in promoting a more equitable participation of minorities in the engineering and scientific disciplines.