REU Site: Use-Inspired Research and Entrepreneurship For Health, Energy, and the Environment

The objectives of the 3-year Tulane Use-Inspired Research and Entrepreneurship (TURE) REU site are to annually recruit a cohort of 8 students and to (1) provide students with comprehensive research training through a collaborative lab-based experience, (2) offer opportunities for student participants to publish and present their research results, (3) actively target student participants from institutions with limited opportunities to perform scientific research, (4) provide participants with information on the graduate experience, and (5) provide participants with entrepreneurship education. Research projects will span the fields of Health, Energy, and the Environment. Students will work collaboratively with their assigned faculty and graduate student mentors, in addition to continually receive guidance and education from members of the Tulane Innovation Institute team. TURE, comprised of 10 faculty mentors and in partnership with the Tulane Innovation Institute (TII), will engage undergraduate students in hands-on, use-inspired research at Tulane University applied to challenges in the fields of Health, Energy, and the Environment. Sample use-inspired projects include the use of machine learning to predict venous thromboembolism from venous pressure waveform data (Health), designing alloy catalysts for cleaner hydrogen production and utilization (Energy), and targeted destruction of harmful algae (Environment). TURE will leverage existing large scale NSF investments at Tulane including the NSF FUEL ENGINE and NSF Convergence Accelerator as platforms for students to work in use-inspired research. Participants will attend weekly research seminars and skills workshops to educate them on use-inspired research being performed at Tulane and teach them the necessary skills to be a successful scientist such as research ethics, designing publication quality figures, and preparing for the Graduate Record Examination. Participants will engage in interactive discussion panels, covering professional development topics. TURE’s long-term payoff is the promotion of STEM field study and entrepreneurship to a broad student base who support regional economic development across the focus areas of Health, Energy and the Environment. 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.