Third Annual Penn State REU Symposium Featured Undergraduate Summer Research
The third annual Penn State Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Symposium was held on Thursday, August 4, which served as the conclusion of the students’ ten-week research experience. Penn State also offered a Research Experience for Teachers (RET) in parallel with the 10-week REU program.
The symposium and poster session was a collaboration of the 106 undergraduate student and high school teacher participants from the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network REU/RET, REU in Chemical Energy Storage and Conversion, REU in Chemistry, REU/RET in Physics/MRSEC, and REU in Soft Materials Program. The participants presented brief, five-minute overviews of their summer research projects in the morning symposium, and in the afternoon the REU participants presented posters on their summer projects on the Verne Willaman Gateway to the Sciences. The format of the day was similar to a national conference and was attended by Penn State staff, students, and faculty. The symposium and poster session highlighted both the breadth and innovation of ongoing research and the diversity of the students participating in research.
The REU and RET programs are primarily funded by the National Science Foundation, with additional support provided by the 3M Foundation, the Eberly College of Science, the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, and the College of Engineering. The National Science Foundation and other federal agencies have established REU programs at Penn State and across the country to attract talented students into research careers and to help meet the nation's need for mathematicians, scientists and engineers for the future. The mission of the Penn State REU programs is to bring talented and enthusiastic undergraduates and teachers from all backgrounds to University Park for a 10-week intensive research experience. This experience gives undergraduates the opportunities to do graduate-level research that are not available at their home institutions, to encourage them to pursue careers in STEM fields, and to continue on to graduate study.
During the REU/RET programs, students and teachers worked closely with a Penn State faculty member, graduate students, and postdoctoral scholars in a research group. Student participants experienced the challenge and excitement of a career in research first-hand. In addition, students and teachers acquired valuable skills, participated in seminars, and joined in a variety of professional development activities.
The REU symposium and poster session was hosted by the Penn State Chemistry REU program, and organized by Landy Blasdel, assistant professor of chemistry and co-director of the Chemistry REU program, who worked with a team of staff members from the Department of Chemistry and the Penn State MRSEC Center for Nanoscale Science.