Career Enhancements

  1. Career Options seminars and panel discussions, including site visits to local companies and institutions engaged in cutting-edge chemical research.  Speakers and panelists describe their careers as chemists, discuss career paths and training, and serve as role models and contacts for our REU students.  Additional time is allocated for informal one-on-one interactions with the speakers. 
  2. Short Course on Green Chemistry.  In 2013 we introduced a Short Course on Green Chemistry, with the first session held at the KU Center for Environmentally Beneficial Catalysis (CEBC) [https://cebc.ku.edu].   Dr. Bala Subramaniam, Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering, and Director of the CEBC, continues to provide a broad overview of this important field and a tour of the facilities.  Two or three subsequent seminars are presented by KU faculty members who are affiliated with the CEBC, or whose research closely aligns with its goals. Examples include:
    • Green Chemistry  Presented by:  Professor Ward Thompson
      "Research Challenges for Physical & Theoretical Chemistry in Renewable Energy"
       
    • Green Chemistry Presented by:   Professor Jon Tunge
      "It ain't easy being green"
       
  3. Tutorials including Scientific Ethics and Integrity, Keeping a Research Notebook, Tips for Effective Research Presentations, and Laboratory Safety.
  4. Oral Presentations.   A Research Project Goals Symposiumat the beginning week 3 allows students to describe the goals of their research projects, and any progress achieved by that time.  During week 10 a more formal Research Progress Symposium is convened.  Each symposium includes a Q&A period. 
  5. Multidisciplinary Poster Conference The scientific aspect of each REU season culminates with a Multidisciplinary Poster Conference, coordinated by the Chemistry Department and The Center for Undergraduate Research.  In 2017, a total of 72 posters were presented by undergraduate student researchers in Chemistry and other science disciplines including Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Pharmacology & Toxicology, Molecular Biosciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Physics, and Geology. The chemistry REU students are encouraged to take their posters to regional and/or national ACS meetings. The NSF REU grant supports student travel to these meetings.