What’s Going On: REU News – Center for Nanoscale Materials and Biointegration

UAB REU Goes to Lawson State Community College

Dr. Shawanda Thomas, STEM Director & Mathematics Instructor, at Lawson State Community College was kind enough to invite us to talk to the Lawson State STEM Scholars Program about our REU program. In attendance from our program was Charita H. Cadenhead, REU Program Coordinator, Kayla Hardrick (Miles College 2022 REU), Jayden Parker (UAB 2023 REU), Kyla Smith (Lawson State Community College 2022 REU) and Isaiah Bastien (Lawson State Community College 2023 REU). Jaydyn Parker gave an a 3-minute poster presentation of her REU research project titled “Flammability Study of 3D Printed Continuous Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastic Composites for Space Application.” Kayla Hardwick and Kyla Smith were on hand to answer any questions that the program had about their REU experiences. Afterwards there were a number of excellent questions from the class about the program and we are hopeful that we will have several Lawson State Community College students applying to our program again this year.

Kyla Smith, 2022 REU has been quite busy since taking part in our program. During the Emerging Researcher’s National Conference in STEM (February 9-11, 2023, Washington, DC), she placed 2nd in the Chemistry and Chemical Science Category for her REU research poster titled “Characterization of Poly- (D,L-lactic acid)/ Titania Nanocomposite Microparticles for Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Contaminants in Water.” Outside of her UAB REU Project, as a student representing Lawson State Community College, she received the 2022-23 American Heart Association’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Scholars Program Award. According to the 2023 STEMPOSIUM Magazine, Kyla took part in an academic-year research experience, engaged in virtual leadership workshops, and attended the AHA’s International Scientific Sessions, the largest cardiovascular disease conference in the world.

Dr. Elizabeth (Betsy) Dobbins (Samford STEM Scholars Director) and Ms. Velester Debro (STEM Grant Coordinator) from Samford University were also in attendance to make a presentation to the STEM Scholars Program. Many thanks also to Lawson State’s STEM Assistant, Jean Whitlow, for making sure that logistically, everything went smoothly (oh and of course for the pizza).

Shawanda Thomas, Ph.D. (Center) STEM Director & Mathematics Instructor Lawson State Community College	Jadyn Parker (2023 REU) Prepares to present her poster to LSCC STEM class.	Isiah Bastien (2023 REU) joins Jadyn Parker (REU 2023) on stage
STEM Class at Lawson State Community College	REU Alumni (l-r): Kyla Smith (2022), Kayla Hardrick (2022) Jadyn Parker (2023), Isiah Bastien (2023)

2022 REU Kayla Hardrick: Recipient of Strada HBCU Scholarship

The Strada Education Network initiated the Strada HBCU Initiative in 2022 to focus on the next generation of leaders. This is a highly selective program that provides an academic scholarship, leadership development, academic support and critical social engagement resulting in positive secondary learning opportunities that lead to a meaningful career pathway for Strada Scholar.

The first cohort of Scholars was selected at Miles College in the fall of 2023. Under the leadership of three advisors (Dr. Esther Suswam, Mr. Keith McKendall and Dr. Steven E. Hairston) each of the students will undertake and participate in mentoring, career coaching and other work-based learning experiences.

The three inaugural Strada Scholars and their program area of study are Dariya Jones (Chemistry), Kayla Hardrick (Biology) and Abigail Boudreaux (Biology). In addition to academic scholarship support and programming, each scholar has access to a stipend to assist them with career or graduates school preparation

The Miles College Strada Scholars are committed to initiating a community service project in the spring of 2024 to celebrate the 125th Anniversary of the Founding of Miles College.

Details provided by Kayla Hardrick

Congratulations to 2022 REU Kayla Hardrick. Kayla’s REU mentor was Dr. Pengfei Wang, Professor of Chemistry.

2023 Summer Expo Winners

Congratulations to our Physics REU Expo Winners: Lea Hebert, Chandni Bhat, Oscar Allen and Karim Haddad

Lea Hebert
Grambling State University
2nd Place Engineering
Mentors: Dr. Vinoy Thomas & Grad Student Renjith Pillai

Chandni Bhat
University of Alabama
2nd Place Engineering
Mentor Dr. Jonathan Burns

Oscar Allen
Middle Tennessee State University
3rd Place Works in Progress
Mentor: Dr. Pengfei Wang

FTPP/RIPP REU Karim Haddad
University of Alabama at Birmingham
3rd Place (Tie) Physical and Applied Science
Mentor Dr. Renato Camata

2023 REU Has Come and Gone

Meet our 2023 Summer REU participants: (front l-r): Oscar Allen, Taylor Brown, Edwina Brown, Maurissa Higgins, Jadyn Parker, Jada Paige, Karim Haddad

(Back row l-r): David Heson, Lea Hebert, Sophia Cornelius, Isaiah Bastien, Victor Cordero, Isaac Mendez, Mikhail Guchkov, Wesley Sutton, Jonathan Perkins

Another successful Summer REU program has come and gone. It was our pleasure to host this exceptional group of students from across the country.

You can check out the slideshow of the REUs in action in their research labs.

We look forward to next year’s program. Application for Summer 2024 will be available online December 1, 2023.

2022 REU Jayden Ratcliffe Attends Southeastern Section of the American Physical Society (SESAPS)

Submitted by 2022 REU Jayden Ratcliffe

The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)’s Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program enabled me to participate in computational high-entropy materials research with Dr. Cheng-Chien Chen, where I learned a great deal about machine learning methods and high-entropy borides. He invited me to present our research at a poster expo at the Southeastern Section of the American Physical Society (SESAPS) conference in Oxford, MS. Taking part in the conference was a fantastic opportunity for me to attend talks about physics research across the country, support my mentor and colleagues from UAB, and present my own research.

Dr. Chen and his Ph.D. students gave highly informative talks about their specific research topics. I was also able to attend lectures given by several of my professors from my home college, Mississippi State University. There were so many various categories of physics lectures I could choose to attend, and I really appreciated that diversity. I was very fascinated in the astrophysics lecture session, where they discussed research on black holes and exoplanets.

At the poster expo I was able to discuss my research with students and professors. It was a wonderful way for me to become more comfortable talking about my research to people of diverse backgrounds. During my REU at UAB I presented at the poster expo, and this thoroughly prepared me for my presentation at the SESAPS convention. I want to thank UAB for their continuous support and Dr. Chen for all his challenging work in helping me succeed. I have learned so much from these experiences, and they will aid me in furthering my career in physics.

2022 Summer Expo Winners

Join us in congratulating our 2022 Research Experiences for Undergraduates Summer Expo winners.

Hugh Graham

2nd Place – Engineering
Hugh is a student at the University of the South

Aniket Pant

1st Place – Physical and Applied Sciences
Aniket attends Georgia Tech

Carolina Amezaga

2nd Place – Physical and Applied Science
Carolina is a student at Auburn University

Claurissa Desilma

3rd Place – Works in Progress
Claurissa attends Florida Memorial University