You will earn 6 research credits over 6 weeks, conducting faculty-supervised, hands-on, directed study research projects with results that will culminate in the preparation of a research paper. You will complete a minimum of 240 hours on research in and out of the laboratory.
Faculty mentors will work closely with you to direct your continued growth and knowledge development in the chosen research topic discipline.
| Course ID | Title | Credits | Syllabus |
|---|---|---|---|
| SCOT RSLW 392S | International Independent Research in STEM Fields | 6 |
Requirements of entry to Life Science Projects:
Requirements of entry to Chemistry projects:
Requirements of entry to Psychology projects:
The project will use conventional microbiological techniques to sample from a range of urban environments that present thermal challenges and seek out mesophilic and thermophilic organisms able to survive and grow in these conditions. The properties of these bacteria will be analyzed and identification will be attempted by sequencing of the 16s rRNA gene. Students on the project will develop skills in microbiology and molecular biology and the project will offer substantial opportunities for independent investigation.
The aim of this project will be to characterize the bacteria of faecal origin in a local watercourse, to establish which indicator organisms are present, determine if any are pathogenic to humans, and then to attempt detection of bacteriophage. Students on the project will develop skills in environmental monitoring, microbiology and molecular biology.
The aim of this project will be to establish an experimental system with C. elegans using a forward genetic approach. Using ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS), a mutagen that induces direct mutations in DNA, such as missense and nonsense mutations you will screen populations of C. elegans looking for any phenotypic changes that may be biologically interesting and attempt to further characterize the mutants. In addition, C. elegans is an excellent model organism for the study of addiction to compounds such as alcohol and caffeine, areas that can also be investigated during the project. Students on the project will develop skills including: genetic crossing using a model organism, independent experimental design and execution, critical thinking, data analysis and interpretation, time management, scientific writing and communication.
One significant outcome of current climate change models is that agriculturally important species will become more susceptible to devastating diseases, leading to impacts on food supply. The aim of this project will be to investigate proteins involved in the spread of disease from cell to cell in plants. The student will conduct experiments which temporarily alter the expression levels or functions of relevant genes and proteins. The student will then investigate how different environmental conditions (temperature, light, water levels etc) affect cell to cell movement in combination with altered expression of the genes of interest. Students on the project will develop skills in experimental design, molecular biology, cell biology and fluorescence microscopy.
Although Virtual Reality (VR) is a promising tool for the investigation of memory, to date there has been relatively little examination of how learning mechanisms operate in VR and how these processes might compare (contrast) with learning that occurs in real life. Existing literature on this topic is spread across multiple disciplines and uses various distinct apparatuses, potentially obscuring differences that may exist between studies that could be caused by genuine theoretical discrepancies or could be simply explained by accounting for methodological variation. In this project, we will look at how VR teaching lessons influences memory via manipulation of social agency and social presence. The results will shed light on the most effective use of VR to enhance memory with a particular focus on learning in an educational setting.
The research projects available will explore intricate intersections of neurodiversity, perceptual differences, and cutting-edge educational methodologies. There is scope to focus on different neuropsychological conditions including autism, ADHD, synaesthesia, aphantasia, or alexythimia. Our aim will be to understand how individual minds uniquely perceive and process information with the potential to integrate cutting-edge technologies including EEG, ECG, robotics, and eye tracking. The goal is to use mixed methods approaches to uncover innovative strategies and technologies that will advance teaching methods and support neurodiverse learners in their educational journey.
This project will investigate automation of reactions under inert atmospheres, allowing us to rapidly study some of the most highly reactive species known. In particular we will investigate reactive copper species which can facilitate C-N cross coupling. Using digital liquid and gas handling we will undertake multiple sensitive reactions at once for optimization of reactivity. The student will gain digital chemistry skills as well as learning glovebox and Schlenk line technique.
In this project you will use cutting-edge microscopy techniques to measure the light emitted from single polymer chains. By measuring this on picosecond-nanosecond timescales we can determine how excited states move along the chain and interact with each other. This is important to understand for organic light emitting diodes, photovoltaic cells and in more exotic domains such as quantum information science.
Complex metal nitrides, such as inverse perovskite nitrides, will be prepared, characterised and tested for ammonia synthesis. The latter will involve both investigation of heterogeneous catalytic pathways and chemical looping which involves a two-stage chemical reaction (ie reduction of the metal nitride followed by nitrogen replenishment).
In the Bio Nano Sensing group, we work to design the next generation of sensing materials and technologies that will protect human and environmental health. We are currently building new molecular and nanoparticle systems to enable near-patient detection of liver diseases and bacterial infections, as well as sensors to measure environmental pollution arising from wastewater and sludge. To do this we synthesise optically-active, supramolecular systems – combinations of small molecules and nanoparticles that self-assemble and change colour or fluoresce when they interact with our sensing targets. To better link our molecules and nanoparticles/nano-surfaces we are exploiting very strong but non-covalent bonding, based around host-guest supramolecular interactions, enabling us to create regenerable, switchable and editable nano-systems.
Relevant reading:
Supramolecular Click Chemistry for Surface Modification of Quantum Dots Mediated by Cucurbit [7]uril, Katie McGuire, Suhang He, Jennifer Gracie, Charlotte Bryson, Dazhong Zheng, Alasdair W. Clark, Jesko Koehnke, David J. France, Werner M. Nau, Tung-Chun Lee, and William J. Peveler, ACS Nano 2023 17 (21) : https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.
The aim of the project is to develop disposable sensors capable of detecting multiple compounds with higher sensitivities, while also achieving multiplexing with multinuclear cluster based recognition compartments that interact with specific compounds. Such sensors will greatly enhance environmental monitoring and improve efficiency in industrial processes.
In this project you will be working at the interface of chemistry and microscopy. You will build a bridge between some of the fundamental concepts of practical organic chemistry (how we expose chemicals to each other and observe their reactivity) and the field of microscopic imaging. We will create a setup composed of a bespoke low-cost microscope designed in Glasgow, a stage housing arrays of microscopic chemical reactions, and open source software translating the spectroscopic data from the microscope to evidence of chemical reactivity. This project is especially suited to those with a broad range of technical interest including chemistry, computing, and physics.
| Grade Range | Description | Suggested U.S. Equivalent |
| A1-A5 | First Class | A |
| B1-B3 | Second Class Upper | B+ |
| C1-C3 | Second Class Lower | B |
| D1-D3 | Third Class/Pass | C |
| E1 and below | Fail | F |