Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Program at Dartmouth

The 2026 application cycle has closed.
Applications include:

• Background/ identifying information
• Unofficial academic transcript
• Resume
• Two letters of recommendation from faculty
• Brief description (one or two paragraphs) of previous research experience and how this would relate to the Dartmouth REU program
• Brief description of how participating in the Dartmouth REU program will benefit your future academic and professional career
• Ranked list of research projects from the choices below

Dates & Deadlines

The Thayer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program application typically opens in early January and remains open until mid-February.

1. Microstructural Characterization and Tensile Testing of a Medium Entropy Alloy: Ian Baker
Previously, the medium entropy alloy Fe₃₀Ni₂₀Mn₂₅Al₂₅ has shown yield strengths of up to 1450 MPa in the as-cast condition and up to 2350 MPa after annealing. However, all mechanical testing was performed in compression. That the as-cast alloy shows significant plasticity without fracture suggests that it can show tensile ductility. In this project, Fe₃₀Ni₂₀Mn₂₅Al₂₅ will be produced by arc melting, the phases present will be characterized by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction, and specimens will be tested under tension at a range of strain rates. Time permitting, the properties of an alloy modified by adding 5 at. % chromium (to improve environmental resistance) will be explored.

2. Rapid thermoelectric harvesting optimization with numerical methods and machine learning: Yan Li
Thermoelectric materials offer exciting opportunities to harvest wasted energy from various sources, including the sun, industrial equipment, automobiles, and the human body. This project aims to optimize thermoelectric systems using numerical methods and machine learning. Students will also explore the impact of structural architecture and operating conditions on system performance, and will be trained to set up experimental systems, design structures/architectures using CAD, and generate training data for machine learning. Additionally, they will use numerical simulations, such as finite element analysis and computational fluid dynamics, to develop numerical models for systems evaluation.

3. Design and characterization of ultrathin amorphous two-dimensional metal-oxide conductors: William Scheideler
This project will explore the synthesis and characterization of ultrathin amorphous two-dimensional metal-oxide (2DMO) conductors produced via liquid metal interfacial oxidation. The student will investigate how alloy composition, doping, and thickness influence film structure and electronic properties, using advanced microscopy and spectroscopy tools. Through hands-on fabrication and analysis, the student will help uncover key mechanisms that enable highly conductive, flexible, and transparent metal oxides for next-generation flexible electronics. This work will provide valuable insight into materials design strategies for ultraflexible optoelectronic devices.

4. Investigating mechanical tunability of 3D printed double-network metallo-polyelectrolyte complexes: Rebecca Gallivan
Metallo-polyelectrolyte complexes (MPEC) are a class of soft materials whose unique high energy dissipation and stimuli-responsive stiffness are promising for future robotic and protective coatings. To better enable incorporation with advanced devices, this project will investigate the mechanical tunability of double-network MPEC systems made via 3D printing. The student will create photopolymerizable double-network MPEC materials with a variety of metal ion crosslinkers and crosslinking densities to elucidate the chemo-mechanical coupling between physical crosslinking and metal-ion reinforcement. The student will characterize the created structures and perform mechanical testing such as tensile testing and dynamic mechanical analysis.

5. Polymer-biologic conjugates for drug delivery applications: Hung Nguyen
Although antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are the state-of-the-art in active-targeting cancer therapy, toxicity remains a major concern. Moreover, less than one percent of the injected dose reaches the tumor clinically, suggesting that other important factors are at play. Thus, the deconvolution of these complex characteristics is key to innovate the next generation of active-targeting therapies. To achieve this goal, a panel of HER2-targeting dual-drug polymer conjugates will be generated, resulting in species with varying active-targeting ligands and multivalency while concurrently maintaining the optimal size. The student will synthesize and perform chemical characterization on these conjugates using a combination of NMR, FPLC, GPC, and SDS-PAGE. Biological studies with respect to cytotoxicity and binding affinity will then be performed in cancer cell lines. Guidance will be provided.

6. Probing two-level system defects in superconducting circuit materials: Mattias Fitzpatrick
Two-level system (TLS) defects are widely believed to be the main cause of decoherence in superconducting circuits. However, their atomistic origins, frequency distribution, and dipole moments are still not well understood because current probes based on qubits or resonators require complex fabrication and can only measure defects within a narrow frequency range and limited mode volume. These constraints make it challenging to obtain statistically significant measurements of TLS defects and their properties, ultimately hindering the development of low-loss superconducting circuits. In this project, students will continue developing a new spectroscopy tool, Broadband Cryogenic Transient Dielectric Spectroscopy (BCTDS), which allows for direct probing of TLS defects over several GHz in a wide range of devices and materials. This project seeks to utilize BCTDS to gain a deeper understanding of TLS defects and design the next generation of ultra-low-loss superconducting circuits.

7. Spatially-graded biomaterial scaffolds for tendon tissue engineering: Katherine Hixon
Tendon injuries caused by sports trauma, overuse, or degenerative diseases often heal with fibrotic scar tissue that lacks the alignment and mechanical strength required for full function. Engineered scaffolds that recapitulate tendon’s native hierarchical architecture can guide aligned collagen deposition and improve healing outcomes. Electrospun fibers can promote cellular alignment, while cryogel matrices offer high porosity and nutrient diffusion—yet each alone fails to fully reproduce the tendon’s mechanical and structural demands. This study will develop biomimetic, spatially-graded tendon scaffolds integrating aligned electrospun fiber mats with soft cryogel regions to mimic native tissue transitions. The student will fabricate and characterize composite scaffolds using mechanical testing, microstructural imaging, and degradation studies, and will evaluate cellular responses in vitro with tenocytes to assess viability, alignment, and tenogenic markers.

8. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) on textiles for environmental sensing and filtration: Katherine Mirica
This project will explore the integration of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs)—highly porous, crystalline materials with tunable chemical properties—onto textile substrates to create next-generation smart fabrics. The student will investigate methods for growing MOFs directly on fibers and woven materials, characterize their structural and chemical properties, and evaluate their performance for detecting or filtering environmentally relevant pollutants, such as metal ions, organic pollutants in water, or toxic gases in air. The project will combine hands-on synthesis, materials characterization through X-Ray crystallography and electron microscopy, and electronic device testing. The student will gain experience at the interface of chemistry, materials science, and environmental technology, contributing to emerging platforms for wearable sensing and protective fabrics. This work will take place in the Chemistry Department.

9. Effect of impurities on ice microstructure: Emily Asenath-Smith
Rarely is ice found as a pure substance in nature. From glaciers to lake covers, ice contains soluble and insoluble impurities which affect the ice formation and resulting microstructure and properties. The incorporation of impurities into ices made in the lab can help to elucidate these structure-property-processing relationships in ice and inform approaches to utilize ice as a resource in cold regions. This project will focus on making ice with insoluble impurities and characterizing the net crystallographic orientation of grains in the ice microstructures. The work will take place at nearby Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) and include work in a cold-environmental chamber. 

10. Controlling the photophysical properties of liquid crystals using switchable dopants: Ivan Aprahamian
Adaptive liquid crystals (LCs) are used in a myriad of applications from active smart surfaces to sensors, color filters, and responsive reflectors. Chiral switchable dopants are usually at the heart of these applications, though the nature of the interactions between them and the host LC, and how these interactions control the self-assembly and helical twist of the chiral LC, is poorly understood. The student will work on structure-property analyses to develop an understanding of the intermolecular interactions and structural parameters that control both the helical twisting power (HTP) and the change in helical twisting power (DHTP) upon switching of chiral photochromic dopants. The student will synthesize chiral hydrazone switches using protocols established in the research group. Once the compounds are at hand, the student will use NMR and UV spectroscopies to characterize the compounds and study their switching properties. Next, the chiral switches will be doped in commercially available liquid crystals and their HTP and DHTP will be assessed using polarized optical microscopy. The student will be mentored by a graduate student and will be trained on all the relevant instruments. This work will take place in the Chemistry Department.