Overview of the REU Program Steven A. Jones Created for Louisiana Tech’s NSF-Funded Research Experiences in Micro/Nano Engineering Program

Overview of the Program 10 week experience during the summer Work in the laboratory Monday/Wednesday Lecture/Workshops Social & fieldtrip activities Bullwinkle’s corner

What is NSF Interested In? Attracting students to STEM careers Student training Student publications (conferences & journals) Students as independent researchers Participation of underrepresented populations Cross-pollination among institutions

What is in it for the student? $400/week stipend Housing Food Laboratory experience A connection with a researcher Connections with students at other institutions Letters of recommendation

Lecture/Workshop Topics Formulating a research question Project planning Documentation Ethics Experimental design Data analysis and hypothesis testing Communication (Reports, Proposals, Presentations, Writing, Graphics) Word, Excel, Powerpoint

Bullwinkle’s Corner Presentations by faculty on topics of interest to them, but not necessarily related to their laboratory work. Examples  Mills: Forensic Science  Jones: Physics of music  Sawyer: Unanswerable questions  Johnston: Physics of horses  Anderson (History): Impact of technology on history

What’s in it for the Mentor Supply funds ($600) A pair of hands A chance to hone your skills as a mentor for short-term projects Connections to other institutions

Communicating with the Student Daily s (informal) Weekly summary of activity. Action plan for each week. Group meetings. Feedback from other students (e.g. a graduate student mentor). Communicate with Dr. Jones

Show Enthusiasm Why do you think your work is important? Why do you think your project is interesting/fun. Show that you have a life outside of the lab. Share anecdotes/stories.

Social Activities Lab parties/socials. Encourage socialization with your other students. Encourage the student to participate in REU-sponsored activities.

Action Plan Each objective includes  Title  The objective to be accomplished  The deliverable  The target date

Objective Example Title: BACKGROUND READING AND LITERATURE REVIEW ON LBL ASSEMBLY & NANOFILMS Objective: (1) Identify literature on the application of LbL assembly to biomaterials for cell and tissue engineering. What cells have been studied? What materials have been studied? What are the major assessment techniques? What questions have been asked? What controversies have arisen? What questions remain to be answered? Deliverable: (1) 1 page summary of findings, (2) Copies (paper, pdf) for our Lab files. Target date: JUNE 10th. A longer summary will be due AUGUST 1ST.

REU Expectations for Your Lab Content Area Laboratory Techniques Safety Considerations Expected work hours Documentation Communications Meetings

Example Expectations Content Areas from the Literature  LbL assembly & NanoFilms  Biomaterials for dental implants  TMJ research  Osteoblast cell biology Laboratory Skills  LBL assembly method  Cell culture  Immunocytochemistry  Protein Assays