SUNRISE summer undergrads showcase sustainable energy research

The public is invited to attend the 9th annual SUNRISE Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Program Poster Session from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, Aug.5, on the second floor of Harrington Hall at the University of North Dakota. Each summer SUNRISE faculty in the University of North Dakota chemistry and chemical engineering departments mentor undergraduate students from all over the country in their laboratories. This poster session is the culmination of their summer work and provides a chance for students to explain their work to the public in an informal setting. Refreshments will be served. This year’s participants are from California State Polytechnic University at Pomona; Manchester College, North Manchester, IN; San Juan College, Farmington, NM; Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, PA; Southern Wesleyan University, Central, SC; University of Dayton, Dayton, OH; and UND. Each participant worked with a faculty mentor for 10 weeks on research related to sustainable energy technologies and reducing the environmental impact of energy production. The students also participated in a series of activities designed to introduce them to graduate school, research methods, safety, and ethical conduct. The group attended the CleanTech 2011 Workshop and Action Summit, a national conference co-hosted by ND SUNRISE and the UND Center for Innovation in June. The SUNRISE REU program is funded by the National Science Foundation with supplemental funding provided by the UND Graduate School. The principal investigator is Evguenii Kozliak, professor of chemistry. About North Dakota SUNRISE ND SUNRISE (Sustainable Energy Research Initiative and Supporting Education) is a student-centered, faculty-organized supercluster consisting of 35 faculty in 13 academic departments at the University of North Dakota, North Dakota State University, and Mayville State University. ND SUNRISE research focuses on three areas: the technologies to enable the environmentally sustainable use of coal, the production of fuels, chemicals, polymers, and composites from renewable sources, and the harvesting of energy from diffuse sources (wind/solar/hydrogen)