2010: The year we are renewed?

I’ve been receiving emails already asking about the UTPA REU program for summer 2010.

We don’t know if we will have any new students in the program this year.

This program is funded by the National Science Foundation, and our current grant is ending this year. We have submitted a proposal to continue our program for several more years, but do not expect to hear any word on the next round of reviews until sometime in late winter or early spring.

If our program does continue, we’ll be sure to let you know. Trust me. We will not be quiet about it.

Northwestern University materials science REU program

The institution: Northwestern University

The program:

• 21 June to 20 August 2009
• $4,000 stipend
• On-campus housing
• Research areas includes biomaterials, polymers, nanocomposites, photonics, nanoparticles, molecular electronics, ceramics

Eligibility: Students currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in science or engineering who are US citizens or permanent residents are eligible.

Deadline: 15 February 2009

More information: http://www.mrsec.northwestern.edu/content/educational_programs/reu.htm or email Martha Tanner at mrc@northwestern.edu.

Harvard Forest research program in ecology

The institution: Harvard Forest field station of Harvard University

The program:

• $5,520 stipend
• Twelve week session from 24 May – 13 August 2010
• Excellent on-site housing and a full meal plan included
• Assistance with travel costs to and from Harvard Forest is provided
• Projects in summer 2010 will focus on:
• Invasive plants, pests & pathogens
• Plant biology, population and community ecology
• Large ecosystem experiments and permanent plot studies
• Conservation biology and biodiversity
• Forest ecosystem response to global change
• Soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics
• Reading and conserving the New England landscape

Eligibility: Students should have a demonstrated interest in ecology. No previous field/lab experience or minimum GPA is required.

Deadline: 5 February 2010.

More information: Visit http://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/education/reu/reu.html for on-line application.

UTPA - UTHSCSA Summer Research Program

The institution: University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio

The program:

• 10 weeks at the Health Science Center in San Antonio, from 7 June – 13 August 2010
• $3,200 for living expenses
• Nearby housing available

Eligibility: Students after their first year of undergraduate studies with successful completion of basic course work in the sciences (biology and/or chemistry).

Deadline: 1 March 2010

More information: Contact Dr. Scott Gunn or visit http://uthscsa.edu/csb/utpasummer.asp

HESTEC Science Symposium 2009

The HESTEC science symposium was held earlier this week, and the REU program was pleased to host one of the three featured speakers, Dr. Susan Golden. Dr Golden discussed why pond scum might be able to, if not save the world, fly a few planes. Turns out that cyanobacteria are a good candidate for producing biofuels, and Dr. Golden, thanks to her work on one particular organism, has a good idea of what its genetics are like, making them promising for genetic modification.

Dr. Golden was followed by two other distinguished speakers, Drs. Eloy Rodriguez and Robert Curl, both of whom were taking about very small scales (organic chemicals) that might have very big impacts.

The Science Symposium also features a student research poster competition, and this year, the Department of Biology’s winner was an REU student, for the second year running!


Kristen Hopperstad (center) received a plaque and a laptop computer for her ongoing research with Dr. Brian Fredensborg (left). The day was, as the photo suggests, all a bit of a blur.

HESTEC 2009

Our next visiting mentor, and featured speaker at this year’s HESTEC science symposium, will be Dr. Susan Golden. Dr. Golden is a Distinguished Professor at the University of California San Diego.

Dr. Golden is best known for her work on daily (circadian) rhythms in cyanobacteria. She is also currently investigating the possibility of using these small organisms to generate biofuels.

Please come listen to Dr. Golden’s talk at 9:00 am on Monday, September 28 in the Engineering auditorium, ENG 1.300.

Doctor Golden on the web

• UC San Diego faculty page


• Interview on The Science Show


• Representative publications




• Mackey SR, Golden SS. 2007. Winding up the cyanobacterial circadian clock. Trends in Microbiology 15: 381-388. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tim.2007.08.005


• Bell-Pedersen D, Cassone VM, Earnest DJ, Golden SS, Hardin PE, Thomas TL, Zoran MJ. 2005. Circadian rhythms from multiple oscillators: lessons from diverse organisms. Nature Reviews Genetics 6:544-556. http://dxd.oi.org/10.1038/nrg1633


• Golden SS. 2004. Meshing the gears of the cyanobacterial circadian clock. PNAS 101: 13697-13698. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0405623101


• Ouyang Y, Andersson CR, Kondo T, Golden SS, Johnson CH. 1998. Resonating circadian clocks enhance fitness in cyanobacteria. PNAS 95: 8660-8664.
  http://www.pnas.org/content/95/15/8660.abstract

Send off seminar

Yesterday we held an undergraduate research symposium featuring both the veteran REU students and the students in the HHMI program. The REU students had a chance to pull together their research from the last year, and give a short talk about what they had found.


Jess Valdez with her title slide.


Amery Yang, following her talk, waiting for lunch.


Ashley Longoria with her supervisor, Brian Fredensborg, looking every so slightly concerned about something.