2017 Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) at UPR Mayagüez
Enviado por Elvin Joel Estrada Garcia el
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The University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez (UPRM), through support from the National Science Foundation, will host a summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) focused on Reconfigurable and Multifunctional Soft Materials (RMSM). This new REU program will host undergraduate students in a 10-week, highly interdisciplinary, summer research experience involving scientists and engineers. It combines efforts from 7 academic departments at UPRM performing top-notch research on the development and study of new soft materials that are able to efficiently conduct multiple functions and operate away from equilibrium.
Soft matter unites a broad class of physical states, ranging from colloids and micelles to biological and granular matter, that are easily deformed by external stresses. Self-assembly, non-equilibrium, driven/active matter, frustration, topology and folding are just a few of the many diverse topics addressed by soft matter researchers. This REU site will provide the students a broad experience of the soft matter field and help them identify the interconnected properties and features that make these materials relevant for emerging needs and applications in nanotechnology, bioengineering, and the industry. The students will learn from their mentors how the deformation of materials with multifunctional and/or reconfigurable properties correlates to their fundamental composition and structure.
Sample List of Projects:
| Name/ Department/ Email | Project Title |
| Prof. Ubaldo M. Córdova-Figueroa – Chemical Engineering ubaldom.cordova@upr.edu | Rheology of Janus and active particle suspensions via computer simulation |
| Prof. Patricia Ortiz-Bermúdez – Chemical Engineering patricia.ortiz3@upr.edu |
Development of bioactive, nanostructurally-designed, artificial peptides |
| Prof. Pedro Tarafa – Civil Engineering pedro.tarafa@upr.edu |
Percolation and hydraulic characteristics through a sintered recycled glass filter functionalized with micro- and nanosize titanium dioxide particles |
| Prof. Carlos Velázquez – Chemical Engineering carlos.velazquez9@upr.edu |
Effect of hydrophobic materials on the growth rate of granular material under different operating conditions and physical properties of the raw materials during the wet granulation process |
| Prof. Sangchul Hwang – Civil Engineering sangchul.hwang@upr.edu |
Tailored CSH gel for concrete materials with desirable structure and properties |
| Prof. Paul Sundaram – Mechanical Engineering paul.sundaram@upr.edu |
Effect of mechanical load on wound healing |
| Prof. Maribella Domenech – Chemical Engineering maribella.domenech@upr.edu |
Tumor-targeted magnetic nanoparticles for thermo-controlled drug release |
| Prof. Rafael Mendez – Chemical Engineering rafael.mendez1@upr.edu |
Powder phenomena and blend uniformity in a continuous feed frame mixer |
| Prof. Silvina Cancelos – Mechanical Engineering silvina.cancelos@upr.edu |
Permeance measurements of nanobubbles through living tissue |
| Prof. Aldo Acevedo – Chemical Engineering aldo.acevedo@upr.edu |
Reconfigurable solid-like liquid crystals |
| Prof. Marco A. De Jesus – Chemistry marco.dejesus@upr.edu |
Transition metal/polymer nano-alloys as sensors and filtration media for pharmaceuticals in water |
| Prof. Rodolfo J. Romañach – Chemistry rodolfoj.romanach@upr.edu |
Study of lubricant distribution in pharmaceutical formulations by Near Infrared Chemical Imaging |
| Prof. Jun-Qiang Lu – Physics junquiang.lu@upr.edu |
Quantum transport study for DNA sequencing |
| Prof. Madeline Torres-Lugo – Chemical Engineering madeline.torres@ece.uprm.edu |
Novel composite protein microcrystals for the sustained oral delivery of antigens |
| Prof. Jorge Almodovar – Chemical Engineering jorge.almodovar1@upr.edu |
Osteoinductive integrin-containing biopolymeric coatings for bone repair |
| Prof. Oscar Perales – General Engineering oscarjuan.perales@upr.edu |
Polymer-based nanocomposites for food packaging |
Program Highlights:
- Faculty–led seminars on various soft material topics
- Special seminars on scientific communication, graduate school, scientific responsible conduct
- An end-of-summer REU poster or oral presentation mini-symposium, where students will share with the rest of the scientific community in campus their results and conclusions.
- Fieldtrips to points of interest in Puerto Rico.
- A summer in an exotic Caribbean island.
Summer 2017 Program Details:
- Program Dates: May 30 – August 9, 2017
- Online application is available HERE
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Two letters of recommendation and official transcript are required (online only)
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Open to US citizens or permanent residents
- Application deadline: March 1, 2017
- Students receive a stipend of $5,000. Housing and travel to and from Puerto Rico also provided.
Program Contact:
Dr. Ubaldo M. Córdova-Figueroa and Dr. Patricia Ortiz-Bermúdez
Directors REU in Reconfigurable and Multifunctional Soft Materials
University of Puerto Rico – Mayagüez
Department of Chemical Engineering
Box 9000
Mayagüez, P.R. 00681
Emails:
softmatterpr.reu@uprm.edu
ubaldom.cordova@upr.edu
patricia.ortiz3@upr.edu
Phones: 787-832-4040 exts. 5844, 3209
