National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure 2024 REU ConvocationUniversity of Nebraska-Lincoln
Student Registration
Coordinator/Affiliate Registration
The National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI) Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Convocation is an end-of-program technical conference (2-3 days) held at one of the sites that conduct their own REU Programs. The Nebraska Nanoscale Facility and Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience will host the convocation in August 2024, where REU students will get excellent exposure to academic, research, and industry professionals in the field. Participants from NNCI REU site programs will present their results in poster and oral formats and network with their peers. This is a wonderful culmination of the research experience.
Questions? Please contact the Conference Coordinator, Jenna Huttenmaier, at jenna.huttenmaier@unl.edu or 402-472-2716
2024 NNCI REU Convocation Schedule (PDF)
Sunday, August 4
12:00-5:00 p.m.
Check-In
Students to Knoll Residential Center at 440 N 17th St
Sponsors to the Graduate Hotel at 141 N 9th St
6:00-8:30 p.m.
Registration, Welcome Dinner, and Speaker
Willa Cather Dining Center, Red Cloud Ballroom
Professor Christian Binek, Director of NCMN and NNF
Monday, August 5
7:00 a.m.
Breakfast
Students can eat at Cather Dining Center and sponsors at the Graduate Hotel
7:45 a.m.
Registration (for those who didn't register on Sunday)
City Campus Union, outside Auditorium
8:15 a.m.
Welcome and Logistics
City Campus Union, Auditorium
Professor Christian Binek, Director of NCMN and NNF
Jenna Huttenmaier, Education and Outreach Coordinator
8:30 a.m.
NNCI Overview (or Keynote Presentation)
City Campus Union, Auditorium
Dr. David Gottfried, Director, NNCI Coordinating Office & Dr. Quinn Spadola, Deputy Director, National Nanotechnology Coordination Office
9:00-11:00 a.m.
NNCI REU Convocation Concurrent Presentations Sessions A, B, C
Heritage, Regency A, and Regency B-C
11:05 a.m.
Lunch
City Campus Union, Platte River Room
11:15 a.m.
Keynote Speaker: Dr. James Tour, Professor of Chemistry, Professor of Materials Science and Nanoengineering at Rice University
City Campus Union, Platte River Room
12:00 p.m.
Set up Posters
Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center (connected to the Union)
Rooms 202 and 212
1:00-3:00 p.m.
NNCI REU Convocation Concurrent Presentations Sessions D, E, F
Heritage, Regency A, and Regency B-C
3:30-5:30 p.m.
Poster Session
Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center (connected to the Union)
Rooms 202 and 212
5:45 p.m.
Dinner and Browsing at University of Nebraska State Museum - Morrill Hall
7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, August 6
7:00 a.m.
Breakfast
Students can eat at Cather Dining Center and sponsors at the Graduate Hotel
8:30-10:30 a.m.
NNCI REU Convocation Concurrent Presentations Sessions G, H, I
Heritage, Regency A, and Regency B-C
11:00 a.m.
Lunch
City Campus Union, Platte River Room
11:30 a.m.
Keynote Speaker, Lynn Rathbun, NSF Graduate Fellowship Application Process & Japan Research Program
City Campus Union, Platte River Room
Lynn Rathbun, Laboratory Manager, Cornell NanoScale Facility
1:00-3:00 p.m.
UNL REU Symposium
Centennial, City Campus Union
-OR-
Stadium and Voelte-Keegan Research Center Tour
departing from City Campus Union
3:30 p.m.
Career and Grad School Panel/Closing Banquet
City Campus Union, Regency
5:00 p.m.
NNCI REU Convocation Officially Adjourns
Optional: Catch Shuttle to Lancaster County Super Fair
Carnival, Indoor and Outdoor Beer Gardens, BMX Stunt Bike Show, Mutton Bustin’, Live Shark Encounter, and More!
8:00 p.m.
Depart Super Fair for the Graduate and Knoll, drop off
*Some may be able to catch a late flight out on Tuesday, but students need to plan on staying until 5:00 p.m. per NNCI Coordinating Office
Abstract Book
Coming Soon
Keynote Speakers
James M. Tour
James M. Tour, a synthetic organic chemist, received his Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Syracuse University, his Ph.D. in synthetic organic and organometallic chemistry from Purdue University, and postdoctoral training in synthetic organic chemistry at the University of Wisconsin and Stanford University. After spending 11 years on the faculty of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of South Carolina, he joined the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology at Rice University in 1999 where he is presently the T. T. and W. F. Chao Professor of Chemistry, Professor of Computer Science, and Professor of Materials Science and NanoEngineering. He has over 800 publications, over 130 patents, and an h-index = 173 with ~140,000 citations. In 2021, he won the Oesper Award from the American Chemical Society which is awarded to “outstanding chemists for lifetime significant accomplishments in the field of chemistry with long-lasting impact on the chemical sciences.” In 2020, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and, in the same year, was awarded the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Centenary Prize for innovations in materials chemistry with applications in medicine and nanotechnology. He was inducted into the National Academy of Inventors in 2015. Tour was named among “The 50 Most Influential Scientists in the World Today” by TheBestSchools.org in 2019; listed in “The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds” by Thomson Reuters ScienceWatch.com in 2014. Tour was named “Scientist of the Year” by R&D Magazine, 2013. He was twice awarded the George R. Brown Award for Superior Teaching at Rice University.
Travel and Lodging
Airports
The Lincoln Airport is 5 miles from downtown Lincoln and City Campus. We encourage you to look at flights here first, but they are typically more expensive and have fewer available time options. The location is incredibly handy, however.
Omaha’s Eppley Airfield is 60 miles away and will have more flight offerings, typically at lower prices. We encourage you to rent a car to get to Lincoln or look at the shuttle service OmaLink. It is a 1 hour drive.
Lodging
REU students will be staying at the Robert E. Knoll Residential Center at 440 N 17th St.
Sponsors are encouraged to stay in the room block at the Graduate Hotel at 141 N 9th St. The Graduate is located in Lincoln’s Historic Haymarket which is a short walk to campus. To book a room, click here or call 402-467-0568 and mention the conference name. The group rate is $112 per night and includes breakfast.
Visiting Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska, has earned a reputation as one of the Midwest’s most beloved cities. Home to fine culinary and artistic treasures, a budding live music scene, breathtaking parks, golf courses, and trails, and a friendly Midwestern attitude, Lincoln offers the exhilaration of a big city and the serenity of the countryside all in one place. Lincoln hosts many sporting events, concerts, attractions, and museums that capture unique interests from all over the world and offers hundreds of choices for where to eat, sleep, work, shop, relax, and play.
About Lincoln WebsiteFood
Local treasures within walking distance include:
- Misty’s Steakhouse & Lounge - 200 N. 11th St.
- Bison Witches Bar & Deli - 1320 P St.
- The Blue Orchid - 129 N 10th St. #111
- Fleetwood Haymarket - 801 O St. #100
- Honest Abe’s Burgers & Freedom – 126 N. 14th St.
- Ivanna Cone - 701 P St.
- Lazlo's Brewery & Grill – 210 N 7th St
- Screamers – 803 Q St. #150
- The Mill Coffee & Tea - 800 P St.
- The Coffee House - 1324 P St
Entertainment
We have built in a couple of optional activities during the conference:
Monday evening - Rock Climbing on campus (beginners welcome) with Dairy Store Ice Cream provided
Tuesday evening – The Lancaster Super Fair will be in full swing and we will provide transportation and free admission
Additional activities can be scheduled on your own should time allow.
