Rice University is part of an exciting, multi-university collaboration to develop and sustain a National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center called BioXFEL (Biology with X-ray Free Electron Lasers). BioXFEL is a consortium established in 2013 of eight U.S. research universities that addresses fundamental questions in biology at the molecular level. Using a recently-invented pulsed hard X-ray laser, our researchers can capture biological molecules in atomic detail, view their functional motions by taking brief snapshots, and observe interactions in their native environment. This opens up a new world to biology, to science, and to human health.
BioXFEL is sponsoring a summer internship program to be held at Rice University. This 10-week internship is designed to incorporate undergraduate students from the surrounding greater Houston area. Special consideration will be given to students from historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) as well as other underrepresented groups. Students will be given the opportunity to engage in scientific research projects involving crystallography, biochemistry, protein chemistry and other XFEL-related topics.
At the end of the 10 weeks, each student has the chance to travel to the XFEL facility at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) in the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory at Stanford where they may present a poster on their summer project.
Participation in the program includes the following opportunities:
- General and site-specific lab safety training
- Scientific journal club
- Weekly lunch seminars with faculty presentations on various research topics
- Ethics training
- Field trip to the brain lab at Baylor College of Medicine
- Scientific oral and poster presentation practice
