{"675546":{"#nid":"675546","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Mentoring the Future of Nanotechnology ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.chbe.gatech.edu\/directory\/person\/blair-brettmann\u0022\u003EBlair Brettmann\u003C\/a\u003E was a sophomore at the University of Texas at Austin, her advisor told her about the National Science Foundation\u2019s\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/new.nsf.gov\/funding\/opportunities\/research-experiences-undergraduates-reu\u0022\u003EResearch Experience for Undergraduates\u003C\/a\u003E (REU) program. The summer program enables undergraduates to conduct research at top institutions across the country. Brettmann spent the summer of 2005 at Cornell working in a national nanotechnology program \u2014 a defining experience that led to her current research in molecular engineering for integrated product development.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI didn\u0027t know for sure if I wanted to attend grad school until after the REU experience,\u201d Brettmann said. \u201cThrough it, I went to high-level seminars for the first time, and working in a cleanroom was super cool.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHer experience was so positive that the following summer, Brettmann completed a second REU at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she eventually earned her Ph.D. Now an associate professor in Georgia Tech\u2019s\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.chbe.gatech.edu\/\u0022 title=\u0022School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering\u0022\u003ESchool of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.mse.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Materials Science and Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E and an\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/matter-systems.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EInstitute for Matter and Systems\u003C\/a\u003E faculty member, Brettmann is an REU mentor for the current iteration of the nanotechnology program\u0026nbsp;\u2014 now taking place at Georgia Tech.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBrettmann\u2019s mentee this summer, Marissa Moore, is having a similarly positive experience. A rising senior in chemical engineering at the University of Missouri-Columbia (Mizzou), Moore was already familiar with Georgia Tech because her father received his chemical engineering Ph.D. from the Institute; she hopes to do the same. Her passion for research began as she grew up with her sister, who had cerebral palsy and epilepsy.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe spent a lot of time in hospitals trying out new devices and looking for different medications that would help her, so I knew I wanted to make a difference in this area,\u201d she said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut Moore wasn\u2019t interested in being a doctor. Instead, she wanted to develop the materials that could be a solution for someone like her sister. Her undergraduate research focuses on materials and biomaterials for medical applications, and Georgia Tech is enabling her to deep-dive into pure materials science.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhat I\u0027m working on at both universities is biodegradable polymers, but at Mizzou I\u2019m developing that polymer from the ground up, and at Tech I\u2019m using the properties of the polymer and finding how to make them,\u201d she explained.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHaving the opportunity to work in nanotechnology through the Institute for Materials and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.sums.gatech.edu\/articles\/aboutus2\u0022\u003Euse Georgia Tech\u2019s famous cleanroom\u003C\/a\u003E made this REU stand out for Moore.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI had never been in the cleanroom before, so that was one of the most eye-opening experiences,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was cool to gown up and learn all of the safety precautions.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor Brettmann, hands-on research experiences like this make the REU program unique\u0026nbsp;\u2014 and crucial\u0026nbsp;\u2014 for potential graduate students.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cHaving your experiments fail, or even having things not turn out as you expect them to is an important part of the graduate research experience,\u201d she said. \u201cOne of the best things about REU is it can be a first experience for people and help them decide what to do in grad school later on.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"IMAT\u2019s Research Experience for Undergraduates gives students hands-on opportunities."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBrettmann\u0027s experience was so positive that the following summer, Brettmann completed a second REU at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she eventually earned her Ph.D. Now an associate professor in Georgia Tech\u2019s\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.chbe.gatech.edu\/\u0022 title=\u0022School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering\u0022\u003ESchool of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.mse.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Materials Science and Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E and an\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/matter-systems.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EInstitute for Matter and Systems\u003C\/a\u003E faculty member, Brettmann is an REU mentor for the current iteration of the nanotechnology program\u0026nbsp;\u2014 now taking place at Georgia Tech.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"IMAT\u2019s Research Experience for Undergraduates gives students hands-on opportunities."}],"uid":"34541","created_gmt":"2024-07-19 22:22:22","changed_gmt":"2024-07-19 22:30:51","author":"Tess Malone","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2024-07-19T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2024-07-19T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"674394":{"id":"674394","type":"image","title":"25-5002-010.JPG","body":"\u003Cp\u003EMarissa Moore and Blair Brettmann in the lab. Credit: Allison Carter\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1721427832","gmt_created":"2024-07-19 22:23:52","changed":"1721428068","gmt_changed":"2024-07-19 22:27:48","alt":"Marissa Moore and Blair Brettmann in the lab.","file":{"fid":"257898","name":"25-5002-010.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/07\/19\/25-5002-010.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/07\/19\/25-5002-010.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":5336381,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/07\/19\/25-5002-010.JPG?itok=0S43eqed"}}},"media_ids":["674394"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETess Malone, Senior Research Writer\/Editor\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003Etess.malone@gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}