BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Physics program supporting summer research for undergraduates and high school teachers has received an award of $312,200 from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
The program, Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) and Research Experiences for Teachers (RET), is under the direction of principal investigator Yogesh K. Vohra, Ph.D., of the UAB Department of Physics faculty, and co-principal investigator Joseph G. Harrison, Ph.D., also of the UAB Department of Physics faculty. REU-RET will support 36 undergraduates and eight high school teachers for summer research on the UAB campus during the next four years, 2007-2011.
The UAB Department of Physics hosts REU-RET, which includes participation of science and engineering faculty from Samford University and the University of Montevallo as well as faculty from UAB. This program provides experiences in experimental and computational materials research for undergraduate students with diverse backgrounds, particularly those undergraduates from Southeastern institutions where research programs may be limited.
The REU-RET projects include research on the bioceramics and biopolymer materials that are widely used in the dental, orthopedic and cardiovascular implants and devices.
This undergraduate research program helps students to see the “big picture” of what it takes to develop into a “research scientist” with the critical skills needed for analyzing, interpreting and presenting scientific data, Vohra said. Most of the research projects have a strong interdisciplinary flavor, combining physics, chemistry, materials science and biomedical engineering.
Several of UAB’s past REU students are enrolled in the physics graduate program and are pursuing advanced research that started with their summer internship at UAB.
Nine undergraduate students will be recruited each of the next four years for a 10-week summer research experience, with a student recruitment focus on women and underrepresented minorities. Student research projects include microelectronic materials, high pressure materials research, thin film growth and characterization, nano-materials, laser materials, bioceramics and biopolymers, planetary materials, modeling of gas phase chemistry and surfaces in materials growth, and computer simulation of materials.
The research projects have been developed specifically for undergraduates by an interdisciplinary team of science and engineering faculty. In addition to their research work, REU students will attend seminars on scientific communication and ethics in research and on-campus social activities. Some will give presentations at regional and national meetings.
Two Birmingham area high school teachers per year will be recruited for a six-week summer research experience. Under the direction of faculty, teachers participate in open-ended research projects in conjunction with REU participants. These teachers also attend the seminars on ethics in research and scientific communication. Opportunities for incorporating curricular materials in the classroom are addressed in an internal workshop.
The materials research focus of this REU-RET program is aligned with the UAB Center for Nanoscale Materials and Biointegration (CNMB) under Vohra’s direction. The 1-year-old CNMB is housed in the UAB Department of Physics with participation of faculty from the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, School of Business, School of Dentistry, School of Engineering and School of Medicine. The mission of the CNMB is to develop a world-class interdisciplinary research and student-training center focusing on the synthesis and characterization of nanoscale materials and structures with applicability and integration into the biomedical arena, and to position the center at the forefront of nanotechnologies and biomaterials for human health.
The National Science Foundation has provided support for this program on the UAB campus since 1997. For more information, visit www.phy.uab.edu/research/reu.htm.