REU SITE: Research Experience for Undergraduates in Molecular Engineering

The University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering REU site "Research Experience for Undergraduates in Molecular Engineering" will increase the awareness, interest, and retention of undergraduate students in molecular engineering by immersing them as active members of a research group in the innovative and interdisciplinary STEM community of practice at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME). The PME is an interdisciplinary engineering school organized around grand engineering challenges facing society.

Researchers translate advances in physics, chemistry, biology, and computation to manipulate, transform, and organize molecules into functioning engineering systems to solve problems in three thematic areas: (I) Materials Systems for Sustainability and Health, (II) Immunoengineering, and (III) Quantum Engineering. REU participants will be immersed within this STEM community of practice and undertake authentic research in research themes that lie at the heart of the PME mission to engage and solve pressing challenges facing modern society.

Students will participate in and contribute to problem-driven research to advance understanding and develop technical skills and scientific knowledge. These mentored scientific experiences will promote engagement and interest among participants without access to STEM resources and from traditionally underrepresented groups in STEM. By actively and authentically engaging in research and participating in professionalization and career development activities, students will enrich their skills, knowledge, and understanding of STEM, cultivate an identity as scientists and engineers, and be provided with excellent preparation for future success in STEM education and career tracks.

The Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) is a transformational academic and research unit organized around the emerging field of molecular engineering: the manipulation and design of molecules and molecular assemblies to engineer materials with novel properties and functions. The school has adopted a pioneering interdisciplinary and problem-driven approach to engineering research and education organized around three prominent research themes (I) Materials Systems for Sustainability and Health, (II) Immunoengineering, and (III) Quantum Engineering.

The intellectual focus of the program will embody this interdisciplinary and challenge-driven focus. Students will be immersed and mentored within research groups, and a STEM community of practice, as active and self-directed researchers exposed to the intellectual rigor and excitement of scientific research. Students will experience the problem-driven and interdisciplinary nature of the field, gain authentic understanding of how basic science can be translated into tools to address some of society’s greatest challenges, and learn how to effectively communicate their work to audiences within and outside of academia.

Faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral mentors will model best practices and foster participation, integrating research activities with science teaching and learning and cultivating a resilient STEM identity among student participants. The impact of the program is to increase the learning, awareness, interest, participation, and retention of undergraduate students in molecular science and engineering, including among early-stage undergraduates uncommitted to STEM and those without access to research experiences.

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.