This 2.5-day workshop will seek to provide mentorship to aspiring underrepresented minority students with ambitions to become independent academic researchers in the areas of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering as it relates to Polymer Science, Materials Science, and Supramolecular science. This pilot workshop will be held in Massachusetts outside of Boston at MIT’s Endicott House (www.mitendicotthouse.org) from the evening of Sunday June 15 to noon on Wednesday June 18, 2008. Other professors from around the country will be invited and we hope to maintain a student/faculty ratio that is less than four. We anticipate a second meeting in 2009 or 2010 to be hosted by Carnegie Mellon University in the Pittsburgh area.

Students from Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Polymer Science, Materials Science and related departments are encouraged to apply. Applications should be e-mailed to tswager@mit.edu and should include: The Student’s resume (PDF), a short personal statement (including research interests and career goals), and faculty references (telephone and e-mail). The students should also arrange for one or more faculty members to send brief reference letters to tswager@mit.edu. The workshop attendance will be limited to 20-25 students. Reasonable travel costs will be covered. Final selection of participants will be made by May 16, 2008. Early submissions are welcome as applications may be accepted before the deadline date.