In February, NDnano awarded fellowships to 21 students for its summer undergraduate research program. These students, from Notre Dame and several universities in the U.S. and abroad, applied and were selected by NDnano-affiliated faculty for 10-week, on-campus projects.

Unfortunately, due to the widespread impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic, the majority of the projects will not take place, as many were lab-based. As the University cancelled most on-campus programs and focused on safe lab re-openings, coupled with international travel restrictions, it became necessary to cancel most of the NDnano projects.

Two students are still able to participate in the NURF program this summer by working remotely. This was enabled by the computational nature of the two projects. These students are:

Sarah Bluhm, Northeastern University
Project: Effects of acidity and salinity on polymer drug-delivery complexes
Faculty: Professor Jonathan Whitmer, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering

Erick Mendez, University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez
Project: Molecular and process design framework for the separation, recycling, and reuse of hydrofluorocarbon mixtures
Faculty: Professor Alexander W. Dowling and Professor Edward J. Maginn, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering

In addition to their research, the students will participate with a small community of other students in a variety of virtual events throughout the summer. The capstone is a virtual poster session to be held in late July.