Best Practices for Supporting and Expanding Undergraduate Research in Chemistry

Bridget L. Gourley is the Percy Lavon Julian Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at DePauw University. At DePauw, she has served as Director of the Women in Science (WIS) Program, the Science Research Fellows (SRF) Program, department chair, and Chair of the Faculty. Her current research interests span both theoretical modeling of laser molecular interaction and the study of water in confined environments and transport across interfacial boundaries via a variety of steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopies. Professor Gourley is committed to inclusive strategies that increase the participation of under-served students. She, with colleagues, had an NSF ADVANCE PAID award to research best practices regarding peer mentoring strategies for senior women chemists and physicists. She earned her B.S. from the University of Puget Sound in chemistry and mathematics and her Ph.D. in physical chemistry from University of Utah. Rebecca M. Jones earned a BA in chemistry from The Ohio State University, with honors in the liberal arts and with distinction in chemistry. She then worked as an industrial chemist until matriculating to the University of Cincinnati, where she earned a MS and PhD in inorganic chemistry in 2004. She earned tenure at Austin Peay State University and then relocated to George Mason University to begin Students as Scholars, Mason's undergraduate research program. Currently, she is an Associate Professor at Mason in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the STEM Accelerator in the College of Science. Her research interests include improving STEM education, gender bias, faculty research mentoring, and student development related to undergraduate research experiences. She is an active member of the American Chemical Society, the president of Mason's chapter of Sigma Xi, and an elected chemistry councilor on the Council on Undergraduate Research.

Preface

Early Career Experiences

1. The FUTURE Program: Engaging Underserved Populations through Early Research Experiences
2. Four-Year Research Engagement (FYRE) Program at the University of Oklahoma: Integrating Research in Undergraduate Curriculum
3. Another Round of Whiskey for the House: Community College Students Continue Research on Experimental New Flavors of Whiskey
4. Transforming Second Semester Organic Chemistry Laboratory into a Semester Long Undergraduate Research Experience
5. Embedded Research in a Lower-Division Organic Chemistry Lab Course

Upper Divison Opportunities

6. Developing an Integrated Research-Teaching Model
7. Theory and Experiment Laboratory: Modeling the Research Experience in an Upper-Level Curricular Laboratory
8. Integrating Research into the Curriculum: A Low-Cost Strategy for Promoting Undergraduate Research
9. Peptidomimetics from the Classroom to the Lab: Successful Research Outcomes from an "Upper-Level" Class at a Primarily Undergraduate Institution
10. Translation of Chemical Biology Research into the Biochemistry Laboratory: Chemical Modification of Proteins by Diethylpyrocarbonate
11. Leveraging Student Interest in Environmental Topics for Undergraduate
Research in an Interdisciplinary Environmental Research Cluster

Programs and Curriculum Reform

12. Overview of a Flexible Curriculum and the Impact on Undergraduate Research
13. Transformative Impact of a Comprehensive Undergraduate Research
Program on the Department of Chemistry at the University of North Carolina Asheville
14. Leveraging NSF-CREST Center Funding To Support Undergraduate Research at Multiple Hispanic Serving/Minority Institutions
15. Institutionalizing Undergraduate Research and Scaffolding Undergraduate Research Experiences in the STEM Curriculum

Mentoring and Assessment

16. Engaging Early-Career Students in Research Using a Tiered Mentoring Model
17. Best Practices in Mentoring Undergraduate Researchers for Placement in an International Setting
18. Assessing Undergraduate Research in Chemistry
19. Senior Undergraduate Research and Assessment at Florida Southern College
20. Implementing Best Practices to Advance Undergraduate Research in Chemistry

Editors' Biographies
Indexes