Program Overview

All trainees in the Internet of Catalysis NRT program, regardless of learning level, continue to be actively engaged, mentored, and supported by the program throughout their graduate study.

Some trainees may be supported through non-NRT funds (e.g., teaching assistantship, other grant). All NRT trainees, regardless of funding source, are expected to include a thesis or dissertation chapter that reflects research enabled by the Internet of Catalysis program.

• M.S. or Ph.D. students
• Complete required 1-year curriculum starting in January of their first or second year of graduate study including the course, seminar series, and summer research hours.
• Present results in written and oral formats
• Attend NRT weekly meetings and monthly professional development
• Conduct career planning activity 

• PhD students only
• Apply for this level of training after participating in the Proficient 1-year curriculum
• Serve as near-peer leaders for the new cohort and play a leadership role in organizing NRT activities/courses
• Can apply for funding for research supplies or travel expenses from the NRT
•  Second year “Enterprising” Trainees will assist faculty members with integrating new modules on catalysis/data science into several undergraduate and graduate level courses. These learning modules will be derived from the trainees’ actual research.

Team-taught course called “Data Analysis in Engineering and Catalysis” (C&PE 715, 3-credits, spring semester). Students will work in groups on projects that integrate data science and catalysis. Teams will focus on a niche topic in research. They will identify information sources to collect data, design a model to extract information, apply/modify algorithms to develop a knowledge discovery approach, and  evaluate performance system through traditional experimental methods. This course will cover the fundamentals of data science and its applications in chemistry, including three main clusters:

• information retrieval models, indexing, text processing, and evaluation
• data mining
• cheminformatics

Interdisciplinary Summer Research (3 credits). NRT Trainees will enroll in 3 credits of summer research as part of a new framework to guide trainees in interdisciplinary research in the Internet of Catalysis.

• Trainees will conduct research and learning with peers outside of their area of expertise. We will also have sessions to discuss relevant techniques (e.g., Python, Matlab, data visualization, etc.). Students will gain communication skills by practicing storytelling and giving flash talks at the end of the summer.
• The overall goal of this summer research experience is to create opportunities for meaningful interdisciplinary conversations that enable student-driven research collaborations that continue into the fall semester and beyond.

Boundary-Spanning Seminar Series (1 credit). NRT Trainees should enroll in a semester of our boundary-spanning seminar series C&PE 802. Typical departmental seminars are highly technical and narrowly focused on niche areas. To engage our interdisciplinary group, we will invite diverse speakers (in terms of gender, race, career, industry, etc.) to:

• discuss broad perspectives about challenges/trends in the Internet of Catalysis
• tell personal stories about career paths

NRT trainees will also give talks as part of the seminar series to learn how to communicate broadly, gaining feedback on how to improve.

Trainees will keep a reflection journal for these seminars (and all NRT activities) to reflect on their learning, explore career paths, and gain transferable professional skills. Trainees will also have the chance to nominate/invite seminar speakers.

Our overall goal for the seminar series is to foster knowledge by engaging in dialog across disciplines, cultures, and ways of thinking. 

Non-NRT trainees and faculty are invited and encouraged to participate in this seminar series as well.

Data Science Elective These 3-credit courses will be enhanced with catalysis examples and students will gain skills in theory, experiment and computer simulation. For the graduate certificate, students must choose at least one elective from the following:

• C&PE 778             Applied Optimization Methods
• CHEM 914            Computational Methods in Physical Sciences
• EECS 649             Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
• EECS 731             Introduction to Data Science
• EECS 738             Machine Learning
• EECS 767             Information Retrieval

A Festival of Learning Why (FLY). Each year, NRT training begins with the Winter FLY, an innovative week-long event in January. Activities include teambuilding, communicating across disciplines, active inclusion, and global awareness.

The purpose of this event is to showcase NRT research and broaden trainees' global and cultural perspectives.

A series of challenges will push trainees out of their comfort zone to a place of “productive discomfort” that energizes creativity. Warm-up activities and a time for self-reflection will be key to helping attendees process and learn from the activities. We believe that this immersive experience will foster personal connections between NRT mentors/trainees and set the stage for building the common language needed to embark on interdisciplinary collaborations.

Winter FLY will also expose students to the importance of catalysis research by emphasizing globally relevant societal issues related to catalysis and its applications.

Our Winter FLY event coincides with eagles nesting in nearby eastern Kansas. We will end the event with a trip to see eagles at the annual Kaw Valley Eagles Day (sponsored by the Audubon Society, local school district, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers).

Future Winter FLY events will occur in January, the week before the spring semester starts.

All NRT trainees are expected to attend the bi-annual CEBC Industry Advisory Board (IAB) meetings (October and April). 

At these meetings, trainees will have the chance to present their research and network with representatives from our science and industry advisors. They will also gain insights on how research is conducted in the private sector and how discoveries are commercialized.

All Internet of Catalysis research projects are formally evaluated at the spring meeting. Trainees gain feedback from these evaluations to advance the project and provide insight on how the project might address challenges in industry.

Students in the NRT program will participate in a variety of professional development activities including but not limited to developing presentations, career planning, mental health awareness, and unconscious bias training. Skills training are incorporated within NRT courses, seminars, industry advisory board meetings, and workshops, to help students improve communication skills, build professional relationships, and grow their network. These opportunities give students the tools and connections to launch successful careers upon graduation.

The Spring 2023 Boundary Spanning Seminar schedule is available here.