Introducing Community College Students to Chemical Research

The Roberts Group currently directs efforts to engage community college students in chemical research through two different programs:

Green Energy At Texas (GREAT)
GREAT works to increase student retention and degree attainment by fostering mentorship relationships between students and UT Austin faculty, students, and staff by allowing students to design research projects focused on green chemistry and energy production. GREAT hosts faculty and student speakers at Austin Community College and organizes an 8-week summer research program.

GREAT is supported by the NSF via awards CHE-1610412 and CHE-1654404.

Chemical Research At Texas (CREATE)
CREATE is a new course-based undergraduate research experience module that has been added into Organic Chemistry 2125 at Austin Community College. This module introduces to chemical research by allowing them to design, synthesize, and characterize a library of organic dyes and pigments with potential utility for solar energy conversion.

CREATE is supported by Research Corporation for Science Advancement via a Cottrell Scholars Award.