Research Experience for Undergraduates | 2012 REU Fellows

Alex Simon

Rising Senior
Virginia Tech
CEINT Research Site: Meyer Lab, Duke University
Projects Title: Investigating  Nanoparticle Toxicity using Caenorhabditis elegans

Participating in the CEINT REU provided me with an opportunity to not only further my experience conducting nanoparticle research but to also get a new perspective on the potential implications of nanotechnology.  I enjoyed meeting new people and listening to them discuss how they progressed with their own research helped me to formulate my own research goals more appropriately- an experience which will surely help me in the future.  The laboratory research and presentation experience provided through CEINT will certainly help me as I adjust to graduate research in my future.  I was glad to meet fellow undergraduates as well as graduates and professors, get a feel for a university I was interested in attending for graduate school, and gain more experience working in a field I love.

Career Impacts and Plans

This REU encouraged me further to pursue nanotechnology as a particular interest for future research in grad school.  Having this internship probably contributed to my being awarded the Ryan Fellowship for exploration in nanoscience at Northwestern, the university which I am attending for graduate school.  This summer I will begin work at Northwestern early and hope to evaluate my options for future research as I begin my graduate research- possibly in nanotechnology.