The University of California San Diego MRSEC Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program provides full-time summer undergraduate research opportunities at the forefront of materials science and engineering. Participants in our highly collaborative and interdisciplinary program, which focuses on predictive assemblies and engineered living materials, will be fully immersed in the research laboratories of the MRSEC faculty from 5 departments across campus (Chemistry and Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering, Molecular Biology, NanoEngineering, Physics), as they engage in projects with a focus in either or both experiment and theory.
NSF-REU MRSEC students can expect to be: 1) exposed to the grand challenges in the field of materials science; 2) trained in computational, nanotechnological, and biological methods aimed at making new materials; and 3) provided mentoring and academic/professional development opportunities, including the potential to produce publishable research and participate in professional conferences.
Program Details: REU participants will be integrated into the concurring Research Immersion in Materials Science and Engineering (RIMSE) Summer Schools. Focused on materials science research in topics of interest to the UC San Diego MRSEC, each of the four RIMSE Summer Schools are run by MRSEC faculty who serve as senior mentors and/or instructors. Each RIMSE begins with an intensive training in theory, techniques and laboratory methods, and includes a capstone “Discovery Project”—an independent research project implemented by the trainee in a small team and under the mentorship of a current UC San Diego MRSEC researcher. Though each Summer School runs its own topical curriculum, they share common activities including:
- Training on several of the key analytical instruments used in materials science (in the MRSEC Materials Characterization Facility).
- “Pathways” luncheon seminars given by academic, industry, and government laboratory scientists that give insights into STEM career paths.
- Professional development workshops (research safety, research ethics, science communication, information literacy, graduate school/career preparation).
- Team building activities including nature hikes, beach days, and a kayak tour of the La Jolla cove.
- A final projects day oral presentation at the UC San Diego Summer Research Conference (SRC).
Each school emphasizes different research aspects related to the MRSEC, including soft materials and biomaterials, self-assembled materials, and computational design, and they share a set of core training elements focused on: research-critical instrumentation (electron microscopy, Raman and FTIR spectroscopy, x-ray and electron diffraction methods); integration of computational methods; critical laboratory safety and the safe handling of chemical, biological, and nanotechnological hazards; and research ethics.
