| REU 2000 Participants |
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During the summer of 2000, 8 undergraduate students participated in the REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) program at the University of Massachusetts filling all available positions. At the end of the summer, each REU participant presented a seminar based on their research. This provided the students with a unique opportunity to develop communication skills. The students, sponsors and projects are detailed below.
Rafael Rodriquez (University of Puerto Rico), working with Russell, created nanoscopic holes in block copolymer mixtures on modified surfaces using homopolymers to manipulate the diameter of the nanoscopic domains in the mixtures. Emily Utgoff (Amherst Regional High School) studied the crystallization process of polylactic acid by obtaining Raman spectra for samples of specific deuterium content which were annealed at various temperatures. The intensity of the peaks obtained were a function of the rate of crystallization which could be plotted vs. annealing temperature and the amount of deuterium. Jeff Manzer (University of Toronto), with Coughlin, involved metathesis by working with a ruthenium based catalyst. This equilibrium process of transposing one carbon atom for another in an olefin, required studying the relationship among the reaction temperature, olefin substrate and catalyst concentration. This process has significance in the recycling of unsaturated polymers like the triblock polystyrene-polybutandiene-polystyerene triblock that was utilized. Madeeha Yousuf (University of Massachusetts),working with Coughlin, studied a Ni(acac)2 procedure for ethylene and polypropylene polymerization using six different combinations of alpha-diamine ligands and extending the procedure using other transition metals. |
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