CPIMA Education Highlights

CPIMA SURE REU Program

Twenty-five undergraduate students are placed each year in academic (Stanford, UC Berkeley, UC Davis), industrial (IBM, Agilent) and international sites (Max Planck Institute in Germany).

Students participate in weekly seminars, a Graduate School Workshop, a GRE Exam Workshop, a Career Day and the CPIMA-wide Technical Forum, in addition to their extensive research responsibilities.

Since 2000, of 185 alumni, the whereabouts of only 15 are unknown. Approximately 66% attend graduate or professional school. Cambrie Starkel (Arizona State) and Jingnan Lu (SUNY)

2007 CPIMA REU students

Curtis Frank, Stanford University, DMR 0243886

CPIMA Education Highlights

CPIMA SURE REU Program

Twenty-five undergraduate students are placed each year in academic (Stanford, UC Berkeley, UC Davis), industrial (IBM, Agilent) and international sites (Max Planck Institute in Germany).

Students participate in weekly seminars, a Graduate School Workshop, a GRE Exam Workshop, Career Day and the CPIMA-wide Technical Forum, in addition to their extensive research responsibilities.

Since 2000, of 185 alumni, the whereabouts of only 15 are unknown. Approximately 66% attend graduate or professional school.

Caesar Bui (Ohio State) at IBM Almaden Research Center 2007 CPIMA REU student

Curtis Frank, Stanford University, DMR 0243886

CPIMA Education Highlights

CPIMA SURE Student Highlight: Robert Weber

For the summer of 2007, Rob Weber joined Reinhold Dauskardt's group at Stanford working to develop novel methods to quantify drying stresses of the outermost layer of human skin, the stratum corneum. 

The methods that Rob and his colleagues developed may lead to the development of new therapies for the treatment of common skin problems such as chapping and cracking.

Rob is a senior at the University of California, Santa Cruz who will apply to graduate school this fall.

CPIMA SURE interns Rob Weber (UC Santa Cruz) and Allie Jones (College of Saint Catherine, MN)

discuss their research at the 2007 CPIMA Technical Forum

Curtis Frank, Stanford University, DMR 0243886

CPIMA Education Highlights

CPIMA SURE Student Highlight: Vivian Trang

For the summer of 2007, Vivian Trang joined CPIMA scientists at Stanford and IBM working to develop novel synthesis methods to control the porosity of hydrogels. These biomaterials have distinctive properties that make them ideal scaffolds for cell growth.

The hydrogels that Vivian and her colleagues developed may become cell scaffolds in future regenerative medicine therapies.

Vivian is a junior at the University of California, Berkeley. Her summer work has been submitted for publication in Biomacromolecules.

CPIMA SURE intern Vivian Trang (UC Berkeley) at the 2007 CPIMA Technical Forum

Curtis Frank, Stanford University, DMR 0243886

CPIMA Education Highlights

Broadening Participation

CPIMA’s REU program actively recruits the best students from across the country, paying particular attention to underserved groups. Our participants are more than 50% women and 15% underrepresented minorities. Since 2001, 13 disabled students have participated.

We also reach out to local minority community college students through joint sponsorship with MESA (a state-funded academic enrichment program) of a course on research concluding with assistance with summer internship applications, and through sponsorship of Community College Day at Stanford.

Curtis Frank, Stanford University, DMR 0243886

2007 CPIMA SURE participants withChuck Wade, Kristin Black and Anne Peterson

CPIMA Education Highlights

CPIMA / AAAS EntryPoint! Partnership

CPIMA’s REU program has partnered with EntryPoint!, a program of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), that identifies disabled students and assists them in finding opportunities. Since 2001, 13 disabled students have participated in our REU program.

Curtis Frank, Stanford University, DMR 0243886

Mathew Meleski (Ohio State), 2007 CPIMA SURE internrecruited with the assistance of EntryPoint!

CPIMA Education Highlights

CPIMA RET Program

Our RET Program contributed to the establishment in 2005 of Summer Professional Development for Science Teachers. Participation has grown from a few teachers per year supported by CPIMA in 2002 to a partnership that is currently addressing 18 teachers annually. CPIMA funds have supported 25 secondary school teachers since 2002.

In addition to performing research and attending lectures on cutting-edge research and on teaching methods, teachers work with pedagogy and research mentors to produce “Education Transfer Plans” that are posted on the CPIMA website.

Curtis Frank, Stanford University, DMR 0243886

2007 cohort of Summer Professional Development for Science Teachers at

the concluding poster session and reception