CURE REU SUMMER 2009

Collaborative Undergraduate Research in Energy Program

A Summer REU Program in the Science Behind Renewable Energy at UMass Amherst

The University of Massachusetts Amherst's Collaborative Undergraduate Research in Energy (CURE) Program offers American undergraduate students a ten-week REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) experience in the science behind renewable energy, in a true collaborative team environment.

Supported by the National Science Foundation, CURE each year welcomes a diverse group of high-performing students with backgrounds in chemistry, physics, materials science, or chemical engineering. Ten internships are available for the 2009 program, which runs from June 1 through August 7. In addition to a stipend of $450 per week, we provide convenient and comfortable dormitory housing and limited reimbursement for travel costs.

Each of CURE's fundamental science research projects strives to light the way toward breakthrough technologies for tomorrow's clean energy solutions:

• Fuel Cells and Batteries — design and synthesis of membranes and polymers for enhanced ion transport; theoretical modeling; fabrication of fuel cells and batteries
• Photovoltaic Devices — design and synthesis of molecular structures with enhanced exiton lifetimes, charge transport, and mobility; directed molecular assembly, fabrication, and analysis of devices
• Biomass Conversion — engineering plants and microbes for conversion of biomass to fuels; zeolite-catalyzed conversion of carbohydrates to fuels; enzyme-semiconductor hybrids for solar generation of hydrogen

The application deadline for 2009 is February 16.