Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU)

PCCM 2023 REU applications closed:

CSUN students contact Sonia Natalias for information: [email protected]

 

The PCCM REU program will run from June 4-August 6, 2023.  The REU program  provides opportunities for undergraduates to carry out research at the forefront of materials science and engineering. For 9 weeks the REU students work on projects under the guidance of faculty from the departments of Physics, Chemistry, Molecular Biology, Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and Civil and Environmental Engineering. The REU research projects are not special projects created for the undergraduate level, but rather are an integral part of current research of faculty associated with the Princeton Center for Complex Materials. REU students are matched to ongoing research projects of the faculty based on the research interests they list in their application. Therefore, applicants are not only selected based on their qualifications, but also how well their interests align to the available projects. The PCCM REU program also provides an educational component consisting of short courses and lectures, designed to introduce students to the grand challenges of materials research. Special seminars also examine the role of science and engineering in society. Lab visits to both Princeton labs and industrial labs in the area are arranged.

2022 REU Program

This year's REU program ran from Monday, June 6 to Friday, August 5.  In June of 2022, PCCM opened its doors again and hosted 9 REU students from 7 different states/territories (ranging from Puerto Rico to California to Idaho and more)!

The students are currently conducting research with their assigned professors, and graduate/post-doctorate mentors, selected based off of their scientific interests. The 9-week REU program focuses on a wide range of materials science topics with the students gaining guidance through the departments of Physics, Chemistry, Molecular Biology, Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and Civil and Environmental Engineering.

The students attend weekly seminars and are consistently conducting research in the labs alongside the guidance of their mentors. At the end of the REU program on August 4th, the 9 REU students will be given the chance to present their research on a 30”X40” inch poster board during the programs final evening, “Poster Night Session” in front of PCCM Staff, professors and their graduate/post-doc. mentors with the possibility of a student or two getting their research professionally published!

For details contact:
Director of Education and Outreach; Dr. Daniel Steinberg[email protected]

REU program Agendas:
2022 REU agenda (Week 1)
2022 REU agenda (Week 2)
2022 REU agenda (Week 3 & 4)
2022 REU agenda (Week 5)
2022 REU agenda (Week 6, 7, & 8) 
2022 REU agenda (Week 7 - detailed version) 
2022 REU agenda (Week 9, Poster Night Session Flyer)

Frequently Asked Questions:
(FAQ)
PREM partnership

REU 2022 Photo Gallery 

PCCM - REU 2022 Program - Week 1: 

REU 2022 Day 1 students & safety
PCCM - REU 2022 on Day 1: REU students meeting and conversing amongst each other (top image). REU students listening to a Laboratory Safety Training presentation by Senior Program Manager for Chemical Safety, Stanley Howell.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PCCM - REU 2022 Program - Week 2:

REU and QURIP students gaining insight on the Do's and Don'ts of navigating through a Research Experience program as an undergrad
REU and QURIP students gaining insight on the Do's and Don'ts of navigating through a Research Experience program as an undergrad
Group Photo of 2022's PCCM-REU students with fellow QURIP students after a great lesson in Research by Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Professor, Howard A. Stone
2022's PCCM-REU students with fellow QURIP students after a great lesson in Research by Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Professor, Howard A. Stone

PCCM - REU 2022 Program - Week 3:

REU student and mentor researching in the lab.

REU student Julian Abreu, and his graduate mentor Yannick Eatmon, testing material conductivities as a function of mechanical stress!

REU students, Timothy and Izzy, in their respective labs, conducting research.

REU student, Timothy Zhao (left), with his postdoc mentor, Allyson McGaughey, testing Polymer Brush fabrication. REU student, Izzy McClements (right), testing of the molecular weight of polymers sympathized. 

 

PCCM - REU 2022 Program - Week 4 & 5:

REU student Aman in the lab.
REU student Aman Eujayl, presenting a coiled black filament. She used a 3D printer to run tests on filament coiling instability in the Liquids and Elasticity Lab. 
REU student, Mauro Patimo in the lab using a  femtosecond laser.

REU student Mauro Patimo, conducting research lab tests with a femtosecond laser which he uses to cut a slide of glass. Mauro also used a laser to focus the light on one point in order to transform the air into plasma. He did so by using the TAG lens created by Princeton University's own, Dr. Craig B. Arnold. Mauro then moved the light dot back and forth. At the end of his lab test he used the 3D microscope to determine the shape and depth of the cut in the glass!

PCCM - REU 2022 Program - Week 6 & 7:

REU student Amir Ibrahim, in the Physics lab.

REU student Amir Ibrahim, in the Physics lab conducting research under Condensed Matter Physics including 2D Quantum Materials. Amir can be seen exfoliating boron nitride onto silicon wafers and checking the wafers under a microscope to find flakes! 

 

PCCM's prior REU programs:                                                                    

2021 REU: Agenda / Students' Research Projects / Application
2020 REU: Cancelled due to COVID-19.
2019 REUAgenda / Students' Research Projects. PCCM hosted 16 students from 10 different states/territories, from Puerto Rico to California. The students worked on a wide range of materials science topics such as graphene, tuning phase behavior of polynorbornene, microfluidic flows, fabrication, polymer colloid  and organic materials for electronic devices. Over 40 students from other REU programs at Princeton participated in the PCCM trips and weekly seminars. 70 students from the MRSECs at NYU, Columbia, and U Penn visited Princeton to network with our REU students and participate in tours of local labs. The program culminated with Poster Night, attended by over 100 guests including Princeton faculty, staff, students and REU participants.
2018 REU: Agenda / Photos
2017 REU: Photos
2016 REU: Video / Photos
2015 REU: Photos

The PCCM REU program is funded by the NSF MRSEC grant (DMR 2011750).