REU Site: Elements of Sustainability

This Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site award to the University of Idaho, located in Moscow, ID, supports the training of 10 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2024-2026. In this program, funded by the Division of Chemistry and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), students will participate in research areas focused on sustainability. Skills students will develop during the training program include sustainably using and making chemicals, data analysis, use of chemical diagnostic equipment, and examining usage of the chemical process over its entire lifecycle from synthesis to disposal. The program will incorporate core training in responsible conduct in research, ethics, and safety, together with career development workshops. Projects span the entire lifecycle of chemical compounds from synthesis, analytical testing, application, to destruction or reuse. The research will center around new allotropes of carbon for improved battery applications, mixed metal recycling, bioremediation, biodegradable bioplastics and renewable composites, bioengineering, PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) degradation, and additive manufacturing of biobased products. Moreover, students will have the opportunity to choose mentors with foci in synthetic organic chemistry, engineering, chemical biology, and environmental chemistry. Through active research experience, participants will also gain technical skills, research independence, and learn about applying sustainable methods of chemistry in STEM related careers and graduate education. 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.