Undergraduate research allows students to creatively use and expand their chemistry knowledge as they work with faculty research mentors and graduate students on fundamental research.
Students may join chemistry faculty working in many different areas, such as greener synthesis of pharmaceutical precursors, student learning of chemistry, biochemical markers of disease, drug targets for unmet diseases, and improved knowledge of combustion.
To learn from peers about the benefits of undergraduate research at WVU, watch the two videos below!
List of Undergraduate Research Projects
All chemistry research faculty (Assistant, Associate, and Full Professors) support undergraduates in research (number dependent on the size of their research group). Check the Faculty Directory for additional faculty as potential mentors for undergraduate research. In addition, the CHEM 497 course instructor can assist with finding a faculty research mentor.
Enrolling in Chemistry 497
All students in CHEM 497 are expected to submit a written report about their research at the end of the semester. A copy of the report must be submitted to the faculty instructor in charge of CHEM 497. Advanced CHEM 497 students may present (oral or poster) their research at an institutional or disciplinary symposium on place of the written report and with approval from both the faculty research mentor and the CHEM 497 instructor.
Students are encouraged to start undergraduate research well before the senior year, and are advised to identify and contact potential faculty research mentors early. For CHEM 497, research mentors should be regular or adjunct faculty members of the C. Eugene Bennett Department of Chemistry. Faculty members from other departments may be approved on a case-by-case basis and if the proposed research has a chemistry focus. Contact the CHEM 497 instructor to discuss external faculty research mentors.
- Online Form and Procedure for Enrolling in CHEM 497 - Undergraduate Research
- Safety Rules and Regulations for Undergraduate Researchers
- Current CHEM 497 Course Instructor: Michelle Richards-Babb ( Michelle.Richards-Babb@mail.wvu.edu). Dr. Babb will meet with students to discuss the CHEM 497 course and finding a faculty research mentor for research.
WVU Office of Undergraduate Research
Information about undergraduate research opportunities at WVU and beyond can be found at http://undergraduateresearch.wvu.edu/
WVU chemistry majors are encouraged to apply to
REU Sites at other institutions or to the WVU-based
SURE Site. Another resource to search REU Sites by category (e.g. FR,
SO, International, Community College, or Undocumented Students) is
REU Finder.