Project Grant 2349680

REU SITE: SMART POLYMER COMPOSITE MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES -THIS RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR UNDERGRADUATES (REU) SITE AWARD TO LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY, LOCATED IN BATON ROUGE, LA, 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), PARTICIPANTS WILL PURSUE INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH PROJECTS IN CHEMISTRY, MECHANICAL ENGINEERING, CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, AND COMPUTER SCIENCE. STUDENTS WILL BE MENTORED BY FACULTY AND GAIN HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE BY WORKING CLOSELY WITH GRADUATE STUDENTS AND POSTDOCS. PARTICIPANTS WILL ALSO RECEIVE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND ETHICS TRAINING, FOCUSING ON RESEARCH AND SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATION SKILLS AND APPLICATION FOR GRADUATE SCHOOL. THROUGH INDEPENDENT RESEARCH PROJECTS, WORKSHOPS, AND A SEMINAR SERIES ON TOPICS INCLUDING RESEARCH ETHICS AND POSTER DESIGN, THIS SITE STRIVES TO BROADEN PARTICIPATION AND PREPARE STUDENTS FOR GRADUATE SCHOOL AND FUTURE STEM CAREERS. SOCIAL AND CULTURAL EXCHANGE EVENTS WILL ALSO BE HELD TO PROMOTE INCLUSIVITY AND NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES FOR A DIVERSE GROUP OF FUTURE STEM LEADERS. SMART POLYMER COMPOSITE MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES WITH MULTIFUNCTIONALITIES SUCH AS SENSING, ACTUATING, ADAPTING, HEALING, AND RECYCLING CAPABILITIES HAVE A GREAT POTENTIAL FOR APPLICATIONS IN SEVERAL HIGH-TECH SECTORS. THE GOALS OF THIS PROJECT ARE TO PROVIDE EXCEPTIONAL RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR DIVERSE UNDERGRADUATES AT THE INTERFACE OF MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES AND TO PREPARE STUDENTS FOR ADVANCED STUDY AND RESEARCH CAREERS. THUS, THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS PROJECT ARE THREE-FOLD: (I) ATTRACT AND RETAIN HIGH-QUALITY AND DIVERSE STUDENTS IN THIS NEW RESEARCH PARADIGM OF SMART MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES; (II) MOTIVATE AND INCREASE THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS WHO ENROLL IN GRADUATE PROGRAMS; AND (III) PROMOTE INCLUSIVITY THROUGH AWARENESS AND CULTURAL INTERACTIONS BETWEEN STUDENTS AND FACULTY WITH DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS. IT LIES IN THE SCIENTIFIC TRAINING PROVIDED BY THE FACULTY MENTORS IN SMART POLYMER COMPOSITE MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES ACROSS FOUR DISCIPLINES. UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF THE FACULTY MENTORS, REU PARTICIPANTS WILL ADVANCE THEIR SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE AND TECHNICAL SKILLS IN THESE RESEARCH AREAS. 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.