Over the past 5 years, the University of Idaho's Biological Sciences, Chemistry, and Chemical Engineering programs have developed a series of Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs), including a sequence of experiments for first-year undergraduate students in the two-semester General Chemistry Laboratory sequence. This approach has potential for significant broader impacts as many disciplines from the Colleges of Science, Agriculture, and Engineering require this general chemistry sequence for first year students.<br/>Lab courses began with concept-driven exercises and mastery-focused learning techniques utilizing CURE connected experiments. Recent efforts utilized the second semester for a CURE project focused on the development of building protective hydrogels for bioremediation as independent projects in small groups. Polyvinyl alcohol and alginate-based hydrogels allow the students to see the impact of chemical manipulations in a very tangible and tactile manner.<br/>This past spring of 2021, despite the challenges of COVID-19, the 20 students of two CHEM112 Honors sections were able to use a flexible work schedule to investigate diffusion in hydrogels. Students utilized primary literature to devise measurable modifications to polymer hydrogels and test these modifications in a custom designed, DIY Raspberry Pi driven pH instruments nicknamed “GelipHish”. In survey responses, 60% felt they improved their understanding of working in a research laboratory, and 73% appreciated the larger group size (6-7 students) for the research activities. With student groups operating in parallel, there were great opportunities to explore redundancy and reproducibility; however, one key lesson learned was that there is a fine line between “challenging” and “frustrating” for the Honors student cohort testing these experiments. Overall the qualitative responses show the promise and challenge of providing technique-oriented, authentic research as a momentum building experience to retain STEM students.

Building cross-disciplinary CUREs with hydrogels for bioremediation in a first-year curriculum

ACS Spring 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.