REU Site: Chemistry Pathways to Building Functional Materials at the University of Texas at Dallas

This Research Experiences for Undergraduate (REU) site award to University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), located in Richardson, TX, supports the training of 8 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2023-2025. In this REU program, funded by the Division of Chemistry, participants pursue collaborative research projects, with a focus on materials chemistry involving chemical synthesis, material characterization, and semiconductor technologies. Alongside research, participants also take part in a professional development and ethics training program, with a focus on science communication and preparation for graduate school or industrial careers. Through independent research projects and workshop and seminar series, this site broadens participation in STEM. The REU participants will discover improved chemical processes for the synthesis of organic-inorganic functional materials and biomaterials. The proposed research plan will support research at the interface of chemistry and materials chemistry, with a particular emphasis on fabricating and testing devices in the UTD clean room facility. These projects include improved organic semiconducting materials, dynamic covalent chemistry in 3D printing, hybrid perovskites for neutron detection, preparation of metal nanoparticles for bio-applications, and dynamics of protein-nucleic acid complexes. This site is committed to broadening participation by encouraging women and underrepresented groups in research at this chemistry and materials science interface. Participants gain an exposure to chemistry research in semiconductor technology and clean room techniques. This Site is supported in part by funds provided to the National Science Foundation by the Semiconductor Research Corporation. 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.