GRADUATE OPPORTUNITIES

Currently, Prof. Lewis’ group consists of a Postdoctoral Researcher, two Ph.D. Physics Graduate Students, one Ph.D. Materials Science Graduate Student and one Undergraduate Student (dual science major).

UNDERGRADUATE OPPORTUNITIES

New Orleans Louisiana Minority Opportunities via Educational Research in Science (NOLA MOVERS)

NOLA MOVERS is a program established by Prof. Lewis, which targets underrepresented undergraduate students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The program is designed to support and mentor Underrepresented Minority (URM) students continuing to pursue advance degrees on campuses still recovering from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Many of the science and engineering programs are being removed from these universities due to lack of funding. In particular, Southern University at New Orleans’ (SUNO) science program, a campus still operating in FEMA trailers, is being threatened. NOLA MOVERS project aims to choose an undergraduate student every summer from New Orleans to work in the HECL (Prof. Lewis’ Lab).

To ‘kick-off’ the program in the summer 2008, Steve Onabamiro, a student from SUNO, worked in Prof. Lewis’ lab. He setup a UV-VIS experiiment to collect spectra from an organic monolayer self assembled on a Au substrate.

This summer we welcome Brandi M. Adams from SUNO as the 2010 NOLA MOVERS Participant.

Students should contact Prof. Lewis for additional information about this program.

Undergraduate Education @ Rensselaer: Mobilizing “Undeclared” Science Majors

Prof. Lewis introduced a new education and training program. The objective of this program is to mobilize “undeclared” science majors by involving them in interdisciplinary research activities during the semester. The long term goal of the program is to stimulate student interest to continue to pursue an advanced degree and promote science faculty to train and mentor “undeclared” science majors in their laboratory.

To mobilize such students Prof. Lewis collaborates with RPI’s School of Science (SoS) to identify and select “undeclared” science majors. Prof. Lewis helps develop the students’ career path in science and engineering through exposure to interdisciplinary research opportunities related to the advancement of chemiresistor sensor arrays. A few examples of proposed projects include: (1) Build & test an electrostatic trapping station for Au nanoparticles, (2) Characterization of gold nanoparticles by scanning electron microscopy and UV-VIS spectroscopy, and (3) Electrical characterization (e.g., current-voltage measurements) of chemiresistor sensors by atomic force microscopy.

The students are required to work for > 4 hours per week during the semester. In the spring term, students are required to participate in the annual Undergraduate Research Forum, hosted by Rensselaer’s Office of Undergraduate Education. Posters presented for the forum will be displayed during the Physics Freshman Open House, which is held in the Fall and Spring semesters. The posters will be used to showcase the research activities of the undergraduate students to prospective students, their family and friends. This program also serves as a catalyst to attract and retain women in science and engineering.

Applications for this program are accepted annually.