Technical Focus and Program Elements

This REU is designed to introduce undergraduate students to the world of X-ray techniques and their use in material science.
Undergraduate students interested in these and related science and engineering fields are encouraged to apply. We provide a wide range of projects to our interns (i.e., Materials Science, Physics, Manufacturing, Chemistry, Biology).
Students do not need to have ANY prior knowledge or expertise in X-rays to participate in this program. Background information and introductory materials will be provided through a series of lectures and hands-on practices.
Students can, prior to the beginning of the summer term, do a bit of reading on X-rays in general but this is not a requirement.

Introduction and preparatory material - Through a series of seminars, students learn about X-rays, their discovery, generation, and broad applications. Students will learn techniques for effective literature, patent, and product searches relevant to their project.

Multidisciplinary Research Projects - Students work on one of the projects they have selected (see list). Each project has an identifiable research objective and goal at a proper technical level for REU students. This provides the REU participants with a unique opportunity to get involved in hands-on research and work with a highly talented scientific faculty and graduate student mentors.

Weekly Seminars - Various research topics related to X-ray characterization will be presented by the faculty and guest speakers.

Ethics in Science - A seminar discussion on ethical issues in scientific research.

Technical Writing & Presentation - A workshop on writing and communication to help the students with prepare and present their work, prepare for the program deliverables, and gain insights into technical writing for academic journals.

Conducting experiments at IIT and National Labs - REU students will have a unique opportunity to be trained on and use the state-of-the-art x-ray instrumentation facilities at IIT and Argonne National Laboratory under the supervision of technical staff to study and characterize materials.

Graduate School & Career Workshops - Interactive career guidance sessions will be provided to REU students to learn from faculty mentors, graduate students, IIT Admission officers, industry panels, and former REU students about career choices and graduate studies.

Deliverables - At the end of the 9-week session, each student provides a final written or multimedia report.

End-of-Program REU Seminar - Students present their research projects and achievements to other REU participants and mentors.