Hi, my name is Jacoby Shipmon. I am a Biological Engineering student from Atlanta, Georgia who attends North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. This summer I am working as an undergraduate researcher in a REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) on multifunctional soft materials at the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez. The purpose of this program is to immerse us in our individual research projects while allowing us time, on the weekends, to explore Puerto Rico. I wanted to start this post by saying how grateful I am for being here and having the opportunity to visit the beautiful island of Puerto Rico. So far I have had the chance to visit, and fall in love with, some of the numerous beautiful beaches that the island has.

My name is Angel González and I am a student of mechanical engineering at UPRM. At this time I am just 9 credits from my degree and graduate school seems like will be the next step in my career. This is why I decided to apply to the Reconfigurable & Multifunctional Soft Materials REU, to explore the areas of research at my alma mater and acquire skills that will help me through my professional development. So far, one month into the program, I've got the opportunity to learn things that will not only help me during grad school, but throughout my entire life thanks to the seminars and all the activities that our REU managers have arranged for us in addition to the hands on experience that we get on research.