Project Grant 2349320

REU SITE: SENSING AND ASSEMBLY BASED ON NON-COVALENT INTERACTIONS -THIS RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR UNDERGRADUATES (REU) SITE AWARD TO THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI, LOCATED IN HATTIESBURG, MS, SUPPORTS THE TRAINING OF 10 STUDENTS FOR 10 WEEKS DURING THE SUMMERS OF 2024-2026. IN THIS PROGRAM, FUNDED BY THE DIVISION OF CHEMISTRY AND THE ESTABLISHED PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COMPETITIVE RESEARCH (EPSCOR), UNDERGRADUATE PARTICIPANTS PURSUE RESEARCH PROJECTS IN CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY, WITH A FOCUS ON NON-COVALENT INTERACTIONS. PARTICIPANTS ALSO TAKE PART IN A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND ETHICS TRAINING PROGRAM, WITH A FOCUS ON ORAL COMMUNICATION, SCIENTIFIC WRITING, AND PREPARATION FOR GRADUATE SCHOOL OR INDUSTRIAL CAREERS. THROUGH INDEPENDENT RESEARCH PROJECTS, WORKSHOPS, AND PANEL DISCUSSIONS, THE PARTICIPANTS ARE PREPARED FOR ADVANCED DEGREES IN STEM (SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS). THE STUDENTS UNDERTAKE INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS ENCOMPASSING ALL FIELDS OF CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY WITH A COMMON THEME OF UTILIZING NON-COVALENT INTERACTIONS. THESE PROJECTS INCLUDE ASSEMBLY OF MACROMOLECULES AND PROTEINS, ULTRA-SENSITIVE AND QUANTITATIVE DETECTION, AND ASYMMETRIC SYNTHESIS OF BIOACTIVE MOLECULES AND THEIR APPLICATIONS IN BIOCHEMISTRY. TO INCREASE DIVERSITY IN THE STEM PIPELINE, THIS SITE RECRUITS UNDERREPRESENTED STUDENTS FROM HBCU INSTITUTIONS AND COMMUNITY COLLEGES IN MISSISSIPPI AND NEARBY REGIONS. THIS PROGRAM PROVIDES INTENSIVE RESEARCH AND PROFESSIONAL TRAINING TO TALENTED UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WHO DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO FORMAL SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH LABORATORIES, FOSTERING THEIR ENTHUSIASM TOWARDS PURSUING A STEM CAREER IN THE FUTURE. 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.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.