Research Experiences for Undergraduates
The College of Engineering has launched an REU website where undergraduate students may seek out research opportunities to expand their academic, intellectual and personal development, both internally at Northeastern University and externally at other institutions.
The REU site program in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Northeastern University offers interdisciplinary research opportunities in Biochemistry, Organic, Physical and Analytical Chemistry laboratories with an overarching focus on the theme of Catalysis. Students will do research in a vibrant academic setting with extensive connections to companies in the Boston area.
The research theme of the program will be Biological and Chemical Catalysis. This theme spans the multidisciplinary research areas represented in the department and will provide opportunities for students in the program to experience and discuss catalysis across the spectrum, from small molecule catalysts to enzymes. This is an important unifying theme through which students can be engaged in understanding Chemistry from various perspectives through cutting edge research.
The scientific problems to which students in the program will be exposed are as diverse as how enzyme catalysis is involved in the regulation of signal transduction pathways in the cell and green chemistry geared at sustainability. Students will get insight into the research methodology, self-discipline, teamwork and the dissemination of results through group meetings, poster presentations, and publications in professional journals.
The goal is to increase opportunity at Northeastern for a larger number of underrepresented groups of students in Chemistry, incentivizing them to consider graduate school and to pursue careers in the cross-disciplinary fields that encompass this area of research. We plan to engage 10 summer undergraduate students per year from colleges and universities that do not have research programs. These students will be aggressively recruited from minority serving institutions and at conferences attended by underrepresented groups of students.
Each student will be an integral part of a research project, paired with a Northeastern undergraduate student and a graduate student, and participate in weekly faculty seminars and informal discussion focused on catalysis from the perspectives of the various research groups. In addition, the REU site students will go on tours of companies in the Boston area and be involved in professional development workshops.