The Primarily Undergraduate Nanomaterials Cooperative: A New Model for Supporting Collaborative Research at Small Institutions on a National Scale

Steven M Hughes; Mark P Hendricks; Katherine M Mullaugh; Mary E Anderson; Anne K Bentley; Justin G Clar; Clyde A Daly Jr; Mark D Ellison; Z Vivian Feng; Natalia I Gonzalez-Pech; Leslie S Hamachi; Christine L Heinecke; Joseph D Keene; Adam M Maley; Andrea M Munro; Peter N Njoki; Jacob H Olshansky; Katherine E Plass; Kathryn R Riley; Matthew D Sonntag; Sarah K St Angelo; Lucas B Thompson; Emily J Tollefson; Lauren E Toote; Korin E Wheeler

doi:10.1021/acsnanoscienceau.1c00020

The Primarily Undergraduate Nanomaterials Cooperative: A New Model for Supporting Collaborative Research at Small Institutions on a National Scale

ACS Nanosci Au. 2021 Nov 1;1(1):6-14. doi: 10.1021/acsnanoscienceau.1c00020. eCollection 2021 Dec 15.

Authors

Steven M Hughes¹, Mark P Hendricks², Katherine M Mullaugh³, Mary E Anderson⁴, Anne K Bentley⁵, Justin G Clar⁶, Clyde A Daly Jr⁷, Mark D Ellison⁸, Z Vivian Feng⁹, Natalia I Gonzalez-Pech¹⁰, Leslie S Hamachi¹¹, Christine L Heinecke¹², Joseph D Keene¹³, Adam M Maley¹⁴, Andrea M Munro¹⁵, Peter N Njoki¹⁶, Jacob H Olshansky¹⁷, Katherine E Plass¹⁸, Kathryn R Riley¹⁹, Matthew D Sonntag²⁰, Sarah K St Angelo²¹, Lucas B Thompson²², Emily J Tollefson²³, Lauren E Toote²⁴, Korin E Wheeler²⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, Roanoke College, 221 College Lane, Salem, Virginia 24153, United States.
² Department of Chemistry, Whitman College, 345 Boyer Avenue, Walla Walla, Washington 99362, United States.
³ Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, College of Charleston, 66 George Street, Charleston, South Carolina 29424, United States.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, Furman University, 3300 Poinsett Highway, Greenville, South Carolina 29613, United States.
⁵ Department of Chemistry, Lewis & Clark College, 615 S Palatine Hill Rd, Portland, Oregon 97219, United States.
⁶ Department of Chemistry, Elon University, 2625 Campus Box, Elon, North Carolina 27244, United States.
⁷ Department of Chemistry, Haverford College, 370 Lancaster Avenue, Haverford, Pennsylvania 19041, United States.
⁸ Department of Chemistry, Ursinus College, P.O. Box 1000, Collegeville, Pennsylvania 19426, United States.
⁹ Department of Chemistry, Augsburg University, 2211 Riverside Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55454, United States.
¹⁰ Department of Chemistry, Hope College, 35 East 12th Street, Holland, Michigan 49423, United States.
¹¹ Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, California Polytechnic State University, 1 Grand Avenue, San Luis Obispo, California 93401, United States.
¹² Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Loyola University New Orleans, 6363 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118, United States.
¹³ Department of Chemistry, Mercer University, 1501 Mercer University Drive, Macon, Georgia 31207, United States.
¹⁴ Mund-Lagowski Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Bradley University, 1501 W Bradley Avenue, Peoria, Illinois 61625, United States.
¹⁵ Department of Chemistry, Pacific Lutheran University, 12180 Park Avenue, Tacoma, Washington 98447, United States.
¹⁶ Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Hampton University, 130 William R. Harvey Way, Hampton, Virginia 23668, United States.
¹⁷ Department of Chemistry, Amherst College, 25 East Drive, Amherst, Massachusetts 01002, United States.
¹⁸ Department of Chemistry, Franklin & Marshall College, P.O. Box 3003, Lancaster, Pennsylvania 17601, United States.
¹⁹ Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Swarthmore College, 500 College Avenue, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania 19081, United States.
²⁰ Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Albright College, P.O. Box 15234, Reading, Pennsylvania 19612, United States.
²¹ Department of Chemistry, Dickinson College, P.O. Box 1773, Carlisle, Pennsylvania 17013, United States.
²² Department of Chemistry, Gettysburg College, 300 North Washington Street, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania 17325, United States.
²³ Department of Chemistry, University of Puget Sound, 1500 N Warner Street, Tacoma, Washington 98416, United States.
²⁴ Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Elizabethtown College, 1 Alpha Drive, Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania 17022, United States.
²⁵ Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Santa Clara University, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, California 95053, United States.

Abstract

The Primarily Undergraduate Nanomaterials Cooperative (PUNC) is an organization for research-active faculty studying nanomaterials at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs), where undergraduate teaching and research go hand-in-hand. In this perspective, we outline the differences in maintaining an active research group at a PUI compared to an R1 institution. We also discuss the work of PUNC, which focuses on community building, instrument sharing, and facilitating new collaborations. Currently consisting of 37 members from across the United States, PUNC has created an online community consisting of its Web site (nanocooperative.org), a weekly online summer group meeting program for faculty and students, and a Discord server for informal conversations. Additionally, in-person symposia at ACS conferences and PUNC-specific conferences are planned for the future. It is our hope that in the years to come PUNC will be seen as a model organization for community building and research support at primarily undergraduate institutions.

Publication types

Review