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NSF REU Site: Engineered Materials for a Healthy World

May 20 – July 26, 2024

The Materials Science and Engineering Program and Sustainabile Energy Institute are proud to sponsor its second annual Engineering Materials for a Healthy World, an interdisciplinary program offering undergraduates research opportunities in materials for energy, health, and infrastructure justice in service of creating and sustaining a healthy world. A healthy world is one that has reached carbon neutrality, possesses a sustaining infrastructure, and provides healthcare for all.

Our world is rapidly changing. While our actions are critical to maintaining a healthy world, researchers will become increasingly responsible for developing innovative solutions to address the energy, health, and infrastructure crises that we increasingly will face. It is imperative to train the next generation in science and engineering to give them the fundamental knowledge to develop ground-breaking solutions to these problems. It is equally imperative that training the next generation be inclusive across socio-economic, gender, and racial/ethnic demographic groups.

Students will participate a 10-week summer research experience from at CU Boulder that will be augmented with professional development in science justice and policy. This program will:

• Educate students in the interdisciplinary field of materials science and engineering, enabling them to tackle real-world problems through research
• Prepare students for careers in science and engineering through communication workshops and roundtable discussions in a culturally competent manner
• Train students in justice and policy that connect to science and engineering
• Attract students to science and engineering by engaging them in cutting-edge, materials-focused research that links to science justice
• Retain a higher number of undergraduate students from underrepresented groups in science and engineering disciplines by continuing the mentoring during and after the summer REU
• Provide a stipend and housing for the duration

Research Areas

Students will participate in research experiences at the forefront of engineering materials in energy, health and infrastructure toward creating a healthy world, including:

• Novel hybrid materials for energy
• Material interfaces
• Perovskite solar cells
• Computational discovery of new photovoltaic materials
• Personalized tissue engineering
• Disease modeling
• Biomechanical stimulation
• Alternative construction materials
• Predicting tensile failure in materials
• Carbon-neutral cement and concrete
• Clean water technologies
• Science Policy

Student Activities

Students will participate in professional development seminars and workshops, and will be available to explore all that Boulder, Colorado has to offer.