Category: What’s Going On: REU News

NOBCChE 2019

by 2019 REU Allison Norman

Attending The National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemist and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) National Conference 2019 was an amazing experience. I was able to attend professional development workshops, research seminars, and student enhancement programs. The speakers at the conference were insightful and informative on a wide array of topics in research.

During the career fair , I was able to network with renowned researchers at top universities and industrial labs seeking employees . The most exciting part of the conference was being able to present my research from the UAB Summer REU Program. The topic of my research was “Combining PARP inhibitor olaparib and HER2/EGFR inhibitor in HER2 positive breast cancer cells”. The poster session allowed me to showcase my research to professionals in the field of chemistry and biology. This experience allowed me to gain confidence in conveying my research on an advanced level.

I plan to attend NOBBChE in the future and encourage other undergraduates from the Research Experiences for Undergraduate (REU) program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) to consider this conference as well. I would like to thank my mentor Eddy S. Yang, MD, PhD and Ling Zeng for their support and guidance. I would also like thank Dr. Yogesh K. Vohra and the UAB REU program providing me with this life-changing opportunity.

Therapeutic effects of the combination treatments in breast cancer and head and neck cancer models, University of Alabama at Birmingham Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU), 2019, Allison Norman, Eddy S. Yang 1,2 , MD, PhD and Ling Zeng 1

Also noteworthy are the following awards for 

• Mississippi Academy of Sciences Poster Session 1st Place Winner/ Presenter    (February 2020)
• Mississippi Honors Conference 1st Place Winner/ Presenter      (January 2020)

Physics REUs Win at Summer Expo

Winning often reminds us of the the song “We are the Champions” and we are proud to announce our very own champions:  Jordan Zimmerman, Bryce Coyne & Dexter Mitchell.  These three REUs placed in the following categories (hover to see categories)

Skyler Hanson

Skyler is one of 14 participants in our 2019 Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program.

Pictured here, Skyler is at Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago. While there she conducted x-ray diffraction studies on laser heated sample at high-pressures at Sector 16, Advanced Photon Source.

One of the many advantages of participating in our REU program are opportunities to travel to national labs.

After the program ends there is a window of time that the program will support travel to a conference. The following criteria qualifies participants for travel support:

• • Confer with mentor to determine if conference is suitable based on REU project
  • Must be invited to present at conference
  • Forward a copy of invite to Program Coordinator, Charita H. Cadenhead along with mentor approval
  • Participant must submit a write up of their experience at the conference
  • Submit all receipts for reimbursement up to $500.

Attending CLEO 2019 was an eye-opening experience. I was able to learn about so many emerging technologies such as LIDAR, light detection and ranging, for autonomous vehicles and metallic nanoparticles used to cure cancer as well as cutting-edge research being performed around the globe. The caliber of speakers at the conference was quite incredible with talks from researchers at top universities and industrial labs, but most impressively the 2018 Nobel Laureates Donna Strickland and Gérard Mourou.

The poster session was great primarily because it challenged me. I had to present on research performed in the short duration of the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) to experts in optical science and engineering.  Since I had no previous experience, it was very intimidating, but after talks with very friendly scientists my butterflies were partially suppressed. Their pointed questions and conversation helped me gain a deeper understanding of the work, its applications and other lasers operating in the Mid-IR.

The presentations and conference as a whole were very inspiring and have reinforced my desire to continue learning about optics and photonics.  I would love to attend CLEO in the future and hope that other undergraduates from the UAB REU Experimental and Computational Materials Research program get to experience conferences like it. I am very thankful for my mentors Dr. Vladimir Fedorov and Dr. Sergey Mirov, the graduate student from the lab and the UAB REU program for providing me this special opportunity.

To learn more about Tristan.