UPWARDD
Utilizing Plastic Waste in Applications for Removing Dissolved Debris
The Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) program UPWARDD: Utilizing Plastic Waste in Applications for Removing Dissolved Debris is housed in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Alabama and is supported by awards from the National Science Foundation (2029387). This program provides opportunities for hands-on environmental research within state-of-the-art laboratories at The University of Alabama, under the direction of faculty in Chemical and Biological Engineering, Chemistry, and Biological Sciences. Participants are sought for the following opportunity:
Open Positions
College Students (4 openings)
a. Must be a student at Stillman College or Shelton State Community College
b. 6 weeks of hands-on research experience
c. $6,000 stipend
d. Tentative dates: June 2, 2025 to July 11, 2025
Join
Important Dates
- Application Opens: March 24, 2025
- Application Deadline: April 18, 2025
- Notification Date: May 1, 2025
- Tentative Program Dates: June 2, 2025 to July 11, 2025
Eligibility Criteria
- U.S. citizen or permanent resident
Benefits and Requirements
Benefits
During the program, participants will:
- Participate in hands-on, supervised research in the field of polymer science & engineering on upcycling plastics
- Attend workshops to improve technical writing and oral presentations
- Participate in a river clean-up of plastic waste
- Tour a local recycling facility
- Attend workshops to learn CAD/Solidworks to design and build a 3D-printed object
- Present research results at a summer-end symposium
- Present research results at the ERN conference March 19-21, 2026
Requirements
Each participant must:
- Commit 40 hours per week to EFRI REM activities
- Attend lab meetings
- Attend professional development workshops and research seminars
- Attend weekly lunches to discuss progress
- Attend field trips
- Prepare and deliver an oral presentation
- Prepare and deliver a research poster/presentation
Activities
The scheduled activities are designed to engage students in engineering research and further increase interest and understanding of the wide-ranging field of polymers and plastics upcycling. The program will foster technical development and research skills, afford sufficient time to complete research assignments, and provide social and educational activities away from UA’s campus. Throughout each week, participants will spend most of their time in the research lab, under the supervision of their matched faculty mentor and their research team.
Friday Lunches: During the lunch period, the participants will meet as group with their research mentors to present their research in an informal setting.
Local Excursions: Local excursions will include a local river clean-up and a trip to the Tuscaloosa recycling facility.
Participant Symposium: Each participant will each give a presentation on their summer research the final Friday of the program at an all-day symposium. Feedback will be provided to participants on their presentation performance.
ERN Conference: All participants who have shown a substantial effort on their project will be encouraged to present a poster/presentation at the ERN Conference in Atlanta, GA March 19-21, 2026. A travel stipend will be available to cover the travel costs.
Application
Please fill out the following form to apply for the program.