A luncheon was held for all СƬƵ Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) participants on July 22 at the new Ellmer College of Health Sciences building, a cornerstone of Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at СƬƵ.
The program is sponsored by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the departments of chemistry, computer science, cybersecurity and physics took part this year, each drawing a cohort of undergraduate students from across the country to receive hands-on laboratory experience with СƬƵ graduate students and professors.
Craig A. Bayse, a professor and chair of СƬƵ’s department of chemistry and biochemistry, secured funding for 10 students who worked on a variety of projects.
The undergraduate students worked on their individual projects with graduate students and learned how to prepare for a poster presentation at the end of the program. More than just teaching science though, the 10-week program also provided professional development activities including seminars, panel discussions and workshops; career training, resume writing and job searching tips. The goal of the program, which is especially geared to underrepresented and military students, is to encourage them to pursue a STEM degree from a four-year institution of higher education.
Bayse said this year’s chemistry REUs went on field trips to the Yupo Corporation in Chesapeake and to the Mariners’ Museum Newport News for behind-the-scenes-tours of their chemistry facilities and to talk to scientists.
“We want them to start thinking about what they're going to do after they finish college because we know a lot of them are not quite sure. They don't know what the jobs are available. So, we have them spend some time searching for jobs and seeing what those jobs are,” Bayse said.
“The American Chemical Society has a lot of good resources for employment. So, we have them look at that. Look at profiles of people working in chemistry and think, is that what you want? OK, now we'll take a look and see what you need to do in order to get there and start making a plan to get that job.”
A.J. Copeland, a sophomore from Chattanooga State Community College in Tennessee, worked with Bayse on a project that used computational modeling to analyze a fusion protein found in Ewing sarcoma, a bone and soft tissue cancer that affects children, teens and young adults. Learning how the protein binds to certain DNA sequences might lead to the development of a drug to treat the disease, Copeland said.
At the poster presentation last week, Copeland said the experience was overwhelmingly positive.
“I didn't know what I was getting into in the beginning. Dr. Bayse came in and showed me how to orchestrate the wording, the images, how to present our research and design. So that was an eye opener for me,” he said. “It took a lot, but it was definitely worth it. It was really cool. I appreciate it all.”
Bayse, who has been a principal investigator for the REU program, said that 10 weeks gives the students a good start and helps many decide if they do want to continue research at a four-year college. As for Copeland, Bayse said he excelled, and the project will be passed back to graduate students in the fall.
“(Copeland) did a really great job. He's made quite a bit of progress over the summer. The one sad thing about the program is that they are here for only 10 weeks so they don’t get as far into the projects as they would like, but it's good for them to just experience the research,” Bayse said.
Zachary Vasbinder is a Navy veteran who earned an associate degree from Tidewater Community College and will attend СƬƵ to study civil engineering in the fall.
Along with doctoral candidate Shayne Weierback and Kyle Lambert, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, Vasbinder worked on a project that aims to create a synthetic version of the chemical sodwanone, which is very expensive and may be enabled to treat lung cancer.
Weierback said the experience the undergraduates receive is unparalleled.
“It gets them into an area of chemistry that they probably haven't studied and it gets them really involved into graduate level research,” he said. “That's just more experience than they would ever get in a lab course.”