In the spirit of cross-MRSEC collaboration, the University of Delaware MRSEC (CHARM) and the University of Pennsylvania MRSEC (LRSM) jointly facilitated a joint “MRSEC Day” for their respective REU programs in Summer 2025.
Hosted at Penn on June 30, 2025, CHARM & LRSM REU students (36), staff (3), and graduate students, postdocs, and RETs (13) participated in a day of educational and networking activities including:
Welcome and icebreaker activities
Introductions to both Centers and Universities
Personal branding workshop ran by the CHARM Education Director
Networking lunch between both student groups
“Quickfire” 60-second elevator pitch competition centered around student research projects
The participating graduate students, postdocs, and RETs volunteered as judges and moderators for the quickfire competition, engaging students with questions and providing brief feedback after each presentation via judging rubrics.
Based off its success in 2025, coordinators from both Centers have decided to hold another MRSEC Day on July 17, 2026, for the incoming REU cohorts, this time hosted at UD.
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Center for Hybrid, Active, and Responsive Materials
UD CHARM advances foundational understanding of new materials driven by theoretical and computational predictions paired with cutting-edge experiments to enable the integration of unconventional, ultra-small, building blocks.