AWARE: Research Experience for Undergraduates in Organic Chemistry in Bangkok, Thailand

Braslau

0123857

This is a three-year project submitted by Dr. Rebecca Braslau of the University of California at Santa Cruz, for establishing a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) site focusing on organic chemistry in Bangkok, Thailand. This site will be an American Workforce and Research Education Program (AWARE)-REU site including the following collaborative institutes in Thailand: Chulalongkorn University,Mahidol University, and Chulabhorn Research Institute. The program will support a ten-week, summer international REU for 6-8 upper division U.S. undergraduates in Bangkok, Thailand. The U.S. participants will be matched to research faculty at three of the Thailand's best universities and will be able to select from among research projects in supramoledular chemistry, novel organic polymers, natural product isolation and synthesis, bioorganic chemistry and synthethic organic chemistry methodology. Thailand is an important country in Southeast Asia that few young Americans have a chance to visit. Exposure to Thailand and its research establishsment and especially the personal relationships that result will constitute an extraordinary educational experience. This presents a strong AWARE-REU opportunity. This proposal addresses an important educational need in AWARE and could provide an excellent experience for U.S. undergraduates in chemistry.