RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
FOR UNDERGRADUATES

CASFER
REU Program

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering Research Center for Advancing Sustainable and Distributed Fertilizer Production (CASFER) strives to solve one of the most pressing problems facing humankind, how do we feed the growing world population?

CASFER hosts a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program every year during the summer. Our REU participants are talented students eager to learn and grow working in interdisciplinary teams. Students are placed in a wide range of projects, working directly with faculty, post docs and graduate students while contributing to the transformation of the agricultural and fertilizer fields into a Nitrogen Circular Economy.

REU Program 2026

Program Dates: June 8 - July 31, 2026

Application Deadline: March 6, 2026

The CASFER 2026 Summer REU Program will be housed at several of our partner institutions, including Texas Tech University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Florida A&M University, and MIT. Students will receive training in a laboratory environment and be expected to assist with ongoing research projects. REU students will work closely with scientific mentors and further develop their network of scientists, engineers, and industry professionals. This program is designed to develop not only a student's STEM-based skills, but also their professional skills.

Eligibility Requirements:

Undergraduate student in engineering, agricultural sciences, or environmental sciences
Strong Academic Record

Students Will Receive

On-Campus Housing
A Stipend of $6,000

Application Materials:

Resume
Statement of Purpose (explaining why you are interested in this program/project)
Unofficial Transcript
Two Letters of Recommendation

Apply Now

2026 REU Projects

Institution	Faculty	Topic
FAMU	Tarek Abichou	Business Models-Modeling Removal Value to Waste
FAMU	Tarek Abichou	EGROW formulations: Holders and Product Value to Buyers
FAMU	Katherine Milla	Comparison of Nutritional Values of Crops Grown using EGROW Formulations and Conventional Fertilizers
GT	Marta Hatzell	VFAs Separations: Obtain baseline data concentration factor of Volatile Fatty Acids (VFAs) for Microbial Digestion
GT	Sankar Nair	Nanofiltration Separation: Select and Fabricate rGO/rGO-X Membrane Candidates, Microstructure Tune to Increase Rejections
MIT	Fik Brushett	Process Intensification System for Ammonia Recovery and Delivery
TTU	Lindsey Slaughter	Soil Nutrient Cycling and Outcomes: EGROW properties, runoff, or different application methods to incubated soil samples
TTU	Gerri Botte	Process Intensification System for Ammonia Recovery and Deliver by Modular System Design, Integration and Bench Scale Demonstration
TTU	Gerri Botte	Electrocatalysis of Biosolids: Optimization of Nutrient Recovery and Volatile Fatty Acids (VFA) Production
TTU	Gerri Botte	Electrocatalysis of Biosolids: Fundamental Understanding of Electrolysis of Complex Feedstocks
TTU	Jenifer Gomez	Process Intensification System for Ammonia Recovery and Delivery : Integration and Optimization of the Magnetic Field
TTU	Balaji Rao	Chemical Composition of EGROW and Fate of Impurities