This summer Dr. Karl Booksh and Dr. Sharon Rozovsky organized the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU), an opportunity to advance students with disabilities in the sciences (funded by the NSF). As an under represented minority pursuing science degrees, this program offers students with disabilities the opportunity to participate in chemical research at the University of Delaware with the goal of building on that experience and mentoring to pursue graduate studies. Over the course of the summer, students worked in research groups pertaining to their interests, went on trips to laboratories in the tri-state area, and presented a poster of their work at a symposium. Here is a more detailed description of this year’s experience.

If you are interested in applying for the next summer program, please apply here.

Last summer one of our students, Marcie Wiggins, participated in an 8-week fellowship for cultural heritage science research at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, NL (June-July 2016). The NSF funded program was hosted by Northwestern University /Art Institute of Chicago Center for Scientific Studies in Arts (NU-ACCESS), the Rijksmuseum, and the University of Amsterdam.

During that time, Marcie worked primary on studying and reproducing the migration of arsenic through multilayer paint films. She also got to visit museums and laboratories through out the Netherlands while experiencing Dutch culture from windmills to stroopwafel.

Project SEED- Summer Research Internship for Economically Disadvantaged High School Students

The Booksh lab is dedicated to providing research opportunities for underrepresented groups in science. In addition to our summer research experience for undergraduates (REU) dedicated to students with disabilities, we are also active participants in the American Chemical Society’s project SEED.  Through SEED, the Booksh lab hosts 1 to 3 local high school students every summer for 12 weeks where students get hands-on practice in a chemistry lab. They are paired with a graduate student mentor and taught various laboratory skills that align with that graduate student’s project. In the recent years, the SEED students have been primarily working on the edible oils project preforming titrations and collecting Raman spectra. However, students spend a little bit of time with each graduate student, so they are exposed to all the projects within the lab. The 12 weeks concludes with a poster session and written report providing the students with great opportunities presenting and defending their scientific data.