In summer 2025, I participated in an NSF research experience for undergraduates (REU) at University of Texas at Austin. This REU was a part of the greater NSF Materials Research Science and Engineering Center REU program, which has a focus on materials research. At Texas, this was specifically called the Center for Dynamics and Control of Materials (CDCM). My research here was done with Prof. Thomas Truskett and involved the research of nanoparticle electrostatic interaction computation and modeling, where I used Python packages to run Brownian dynamics simulations and solve Integral Equation Theory (IET) problems. In addition to the research aspect of the program, there was also a large amount of career and graduate readiness programing, which included networking events, presentation making guidance, how to apply to graduate school informational presentations, and many more. Below, I have detailed all the aspects of my experience applying to REU’s, my experience in Austin, TX, my experience at my REU, and general advice for people interested in an REU experience.

Applying to an REU

In this cycle of summer REU applications, I applied to a 17 REUs. From all these applications, two programs discontinued, one program I did not hear from, and I was accepted to 5 programs. Below summarizes my applications.

The majority of these applications were due in mid-February, with some notable exceptions being due in mid to late-January. For each of these applications, in addition to your letters of recommendation, they also required a CV and one to several essay response questions.

• Letters of Recommendation: Regarding recommendations, the individuals who you ask for recommendations should be able to speak strongly to (1) your interest, success, and adaptability in science, and (2) your potential to be successful in research. The best letters of recommendation come from professors that you have done research with. This is proof that you can do research, and that you have support of a well-respected faculty member. The next best letter comes from a well respected (tenured) professor that you did exceedingly well in their class. For industry professionals, these should only be asked with they are a highly well respected and well-known academia-adjacent individual. It is often hard for reviewing committees to truly know if what they say about you is true if it comes from an industry professional. As for all letters of recommendation, make sure you ask at least a month in advance. This gives the professor plenty of time to write your letter.
• Your CV: Getting a strong CV is extremely important for your REU (and beyond) applications, and sort of acts as a TL-DR of your personal statement. This should highlight, in order of importance, your educational success, research experiences, industry experiences, publications, presentations, awards, laboratory skills, technical skills, leadership roles, relevant coursework, and interests. Follow a simple and readable style, and I would recommend the style guide found on the UW Business School Website (of course change the titles of the sections). Additionally, unlike an undergraduate resume, CV’s can extend onto more than one page but should not exceed two for an undergraduate.
• Personal Statements: Finally, the dreaded personal statements. You want your personal statement to highlight why you would be successful in research at their institution. You should begin with something talking about why you are interested in science, and who you are. Say your major(s) and minor(s) and why that supports your ability to succeed in research. Next talk about your experiences, be it in research, industry, leadership, etc. Then reiterate that you are interested in their institution and why you are interested in them. In this section, you should list 2-3 faculty members or research areas that you would be happy to conduct in at their program. Many application pages list projects or professors that are accepting REU students, so try and list a professor on that list! This is an important part of your personal statement, as you are often assigned to work with someone simply from the interest expressed in your application. Be sure to say both why you would be good for the research of the group, and why the experience would be beneficial to you.

My Experience in Austin, TX (non-research)

If I had a nickel for every time someone said “Oh, Austin in Austin, huh?” I would have quite a few nickels. Beyond the jokes, my summer in Austin was transformative and a perfect balance of rigorous scientific research and meaningful communities.

For most REU programs, in addition to the research stipend, most programs give you free housing, a meal plan in the university dining halls, a travel stipend for getting to and from the REU site, and other benefits like gym memberships. These were all provided to me at UT-Austin. The dorm was a typical college dorm with roommates, and the dining hall food was also typical. I especially enjoyed the gym at UT-Austin, being extremely close to the dorm they had us at and the awesome climbing wall that they have there. The campus was also very close to the Austin airport, which was very convenient when I had to travel home or friends and family wanted to visit.

For things to do in Austin, there was no shortage. The most notable features of Austin are the Food and Music scenes. Every single meal that I had in Austin was phenomenal. This spanned from nicer restaurants to the multitude of food trucks the city had (Fun fact: Austin has over 2000 food trucks!). The music was amazing too. Almost every single restaurant or bar in downtown Austin had music, often in open sky venues. They have a lot of big-name musicians visit at UT-Austins Moody Center or the COTA amphitheater, including the yearly (or biannual?) production of Willy Nelson’s Fourth of July Picnic. It’s no question that Austin is a great city to spend a summer for any college student.

My Research Experience at UT-Austin

This research experience was my first time doing computation research. At first, I was pretty skeptical about theoretical research at first, but quickly learned it combined most everything I love about chemical engineering. My mentor Tsung-Lun Lee and PI Prof. Thomas Truskett (recently transferred to University of Michigan) were extremely supportive and pushed me to succeed in the short time that I had. With the multitude of background knowledge that was necessary to build for theoretical work, it was incredibly valuable to have this support. They were very supportive in teaching me to use Python, which I previously had very little background in.

My project focused on computational and theoretical methods for colloidal nanoparticle systems, which have board applications for optoelectronic and pharmaceutical formulations. Charged interactions in these systems are poorly understood for nanoscale particles, with the common Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek (DLVO) model primarily holding for mesoscale particles where one can treat the ion distribution around the particle implicitly to facilitate a simple interaction model. Instead of just the simple DLVO molecular dynamics model, I developed three models of varying complexity and computational cost to account for ion-ion correlations and to examine how these factors affect structural behavior and overall interactions. In my research, I was able to develop a “primitive” colloid model which challenged the efficacy of DLVO theory assumptions, which serves as the foundation for further study within the group, leading to design principles or guidelines for experimental and broader communities.

While I entered this work with limited computational experience, I developed skills in Brownian dynamics simulations, Python workflows for molecular dynamics and integral equation theory packages, and supercomputing via NSF ACCESS at the San Diego Supercomputing Center (SDSC).

This program concluded with a couple presentation venues. Throughout the summer, we had two informal and one formal (concluding presentation) oral presentations, which we gave updates on our research and learned about the research of the other students in the program. I highly enjoyed these presentations, and it gave me the opportunity to organize my data and thoughts throughout the summer. There was also a program-wide poster session where I received honorable mention for best poster. In the same way, this was a great way to organize my thoughts and form conclusions from my research of the summer.

REU Programming at UT-Austin

Throughout the summer, there were several events that focused on personal enrichment, career development, and networking. Events included:

• Research seminars and faculty roundtables
• Workshops on scientific communication, abstract writing, and poster design
• Graduate school application and career preparation session
• Networking and industry panels
• Personal branding and LinkedIn workshops

These events were designed to help students grow into confident, capable researchers. Many were extremely valuable for understanding how to communicate science effectively and navigate the next steps toward graduate school.

Advice for Prospective REU Students

• Apply broadly. REUs are competitive, especially as funding fluctuates.
• Show enthusiasm. Programs want students who are genuinely excited about research.
• Pick places you could see yourself in graduate school. REUs are great “test drives” for future programs.
• Be confident. Talk about what makes you stand out
• Work hard once you’re there. Arrive early, stay late, and immerse yourself in learning. It’s the best way to prepare for graduate research.