Furman chemistry professor Tim Hanks is director of the REU site.

      The award will support up to five teams of researchers to investigate the “Grand Challenges” of chemistry. The teams will consist of faculty and students from Furman as well as visiting students and faculty from other regional colleges and universities.

      “During the summer of 2007, students and faculty from Claflin University, Greenville Technical College, the University of North Carolina-Asheville and Erskine College will spend 10 weeks working at Furman,” said Furman chemistry professor Timothy Hanks, the project director.  “This award will not only provide support for 10 undergraduate students and their faculty mentors, but will also enhance the research infrastructure at Furman and its partner schools.”

      The REU program provides hands-on research experiences for undergraduate students in a variety of disciplines nationwide, with the goal of helping train the next generation of scientists.  Student development will be monitored through several tools, including electronic portfolios.  The latter will be designed not only to help mentors and the program director to assess the effectiveness of REU program components, but also to help students to develop research and communication skills. A unique feature of this site is the commitment by the Furman mentors to work with the visiting partner institutions to improve their research infrastructures.

      For more information, contact Furman’s Office of News and Media Relations at (864) 294-3107.

##########