NSF-REU Summer Program
Chemistry Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Program
Overview
Selected undergraduate students perform frontier research during summer on experimental and theoretical projects in one of their chosen research areas.
Research Areas:
- novel synthesis of earth-abundant materials
- development of sustainable methods for energy conversion
- study of chemical and physical processes using advanced analytical techniques
- development of high accuracy molecular modeling at scale
Additional activities include social events jointly with other REU's, field trips to industry and government labs, cohort weekly meetings, use of a research library, and technical writing and research presentations.
Chemistry majors or those in fields related to sustainable chemistry are eligible to apply. Students from small colleges and groups that are underrepresented in science and engineering, including women, minorities, veterans, and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.
May 17 - July 26, 2025
Application Deadline:
February 15, 2025
A summer research program in chemistry for undergraduates.
If there are questions, please email reuinfo@uark.edu.
Supported by the National Science Foundation
The project descriptions below will give you an idea of the type of project that you will work in the associated professor's lab. Actual projects may vary somewhat from these descriptions. To find out more about a professor, click on his or her name.
| Professor | Project Title |
|---|---|
| Paul Adams | Conformational flexibility in important binding regions of the Ras protein |
| Jingyi Chen | Nonprecious metal nanostructures for electrolysis |
| Robert Coridan | Building solar-to-fuels photoelectrodes one atomic layer at a time |
| Bin Dong | Molecular view of heterogeneous catalysis in porous materials |
| Martin Edwards | Resistive-pulse measurements for biomolecular interactions |
| Ingrid Fritsch | Cyclic redox-magnetohydrodynamics (R-MHD) microfluidics for chemical separations on a chip with electrochemical and fluorescence detection |
| Colin Heyes | Alternatives to toxic cadmium-based quantum dots: copper-indium and silver-indium chalcogenides |
| Stefan Kilyanek | Development of polyoxometalates as molecular electrocatalysts for multi-electron transformations |
| Michael McGraw | Synthesis and derivatization of plant-based bioplastics |
| Julie Stenken | Evaluating 3D printed microsampling devices |
| Susanne Striegler | Cellulose hydrolysis with catalytic nanogels |
| Suresh Kumar Thallapuranam | Design of novel hyperstable fibroblast growth factors with enhanced biological activities |
| Ryan Tian | Developing new nanodrug and nanobiosensing technologies |
| Feng Wang | Computational modeling in chemistry, materials science, and biology |
| Nan Zheng | Harvesting the potential of electrochemically generated distonic radical cations |
Fellowship
Funding from the National Science Foundation will provide:
- Stipend of $7000 for each participant
- Room and Board Allowance sufficient to cover dormitory
- Field Trip during the REU program to industry/government labs in Arkansas
Eligibility
- Undergraduates with chemistry majors or those in a field related to sustainable chemistry are eligible to apply. Preference will be given to those applicants who have completed 60 hours of college credit prior to the program start date with GPA greater than 3.0 (4.0 scale)
- US citizenship or permanent residency is required for NSF-REU fellowship
- Students who will graduate before December of the program year are not eligible
Application
Interested applicants should complete the following steps by February 15, 2025. Applications received after the deadline will be considered if any positions remain open.
Completing the Online Application Form - What You'll Need:
- Ranked research projects - pick three research projects of interest and rank them. See example REU project descriptions above
- Statement of interest - Make PDF copy of statement of interest for uploading
- Resume and Transcript - Make PDF copies of your current CV/resume and transcripts for uploading
Two letters of reference - Request two of your professors (preferably chemistry, physics, math, or related areas) familiar with your academic work to send us letters of reference. The form that you will need is available here (REU Recommendation Form). Give this fillable form and/or its link to your professor. Please ask your references to email their recommendation form and letter of reference to reuinfo@uark.edu.
To Apply click [Apply Now!] at the upper right hand corner.
NOTE: Please note that demographic information provided in the application may be used to report statistics to the National Science Foundation or other reporting agencies in a summary form while keeping individual information confidential.
Contact
Dr. Jingyi Chen / Dr. Stefan KilyanekDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry
University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR 72701
Email: reuinfo@uark.edu