Dr. Simon North, the executive associate dean for the College of Arts and Sciences and John W. Bevan Professor in chemistry, played the long game in his quest to enhance the educational experience for Texas A&M University’s chemistry students. As head of the Department of Chemistry from 2016 to 2024, North envisioned a new facility that brought the university’s scattered undergraduate chemistry classrooms and laboratories together under one roof. That cutting-edge facility — the Instructional Laboratory & Innovative Learning Building (ILSQ) — opened its doors in 2023.
Next on North’s agenda was to secure a steady stream of funding to support a paid 10-week summer laboratory research experience for Texas A&M chemistry undergraduates. For decades, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has financed similar opportunities through its Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) grants, available in a wide range of academic disciplines. The catch with the NSF grants is that students cannot participate in the program at their home campus. North wanted to enable his department’s students to have the REU experience without leaving Texas A&M.
Once again using connections, persuasion and an abundance of goodwill, he secured the funding needed to grant his wish. Last summer, 10 Texas A&M chemistry students became the inaugural cohort of the Summer Research Scholars Program.
His Turn To Act
North’s years in departmental and college leadership positions means he’s accustomed to seeking funding for efforts that will bolster chemistry educational offerings. August, the College of Arts and Sciences announced that four Texas A&M chemistry graduates had pledged endowed gifts to the Texas A&M Foundation in support of undergraduate research in the department. North played a significant role in securing those gifts.
He then determined it was his turn to act.
“I decided I should put my money where my mouth is,” he said. “So, I talked to my wife and my family and we decided to give back in some way that was meaningful.”
That “some way” turned out to be lending perpetual support to the newly formed summer research program. In October, the North family signed a gift agreement with the Texas A&M Foundation creating the Dr. Simon W. North Summer Research Scholars Program endowment. Proceeds from that endowment and from the endowments of the six former students are enabling select undergraduates to get a taste of graduate school life, continue working on ongoing group research projects, and determine early on if a laboratory research career is the right path for them.
“We’re hoping that those students who see themselves as perhaps being interested in research can take advantage of this program,” North said. “Students could certainly do research over the summer for class credit, but they would have to pay tuition and they wouldn’t have a stipend. Many of our students need to work in the summer to make money. And so being able to do research and being paid to do research is important from the standpoint of broadening the participation of the students, particularly some first-generation or low-income students.
While the Summer Research Scholars Program is not the first of its kind at Texas A&M, this program avoids funding uncertainties which have resulted in challenges in offering opportunities consistently in the past. This revitalized program is now on firmer footing thanks to the endowed gifts that provide permanent sources of funding.
Program Benefits
North is a 27-year veteran of the Texas A&M chemistry faculty. This year, he also took on the role as executive associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. A lengthy list of teaching excellence awards points to the fact that he is finely attuned to the needs of his students and heavily invested in continually improving chemistry education at the university. He is a major fan of the NSF REU grants — in fact, he participated in the program when he was a student at the University of New Hampshire. He is also aware, though, that it’s not always easy for students from every walk of life to spend 10 weeks at another campus, even if they’re getting paid to do so.
There are other student considerations, as well. By nature, laboratory research projects are often long-term endeavors. While exploring graduate school options at other campuses is beneficial in many ways, participating in an REU also means that students are frequently leaving behind their research at Texas A&M before their projects are complete. By remaining at the university, students have valuable, concentrated time to focus on their ongoing research — a rare gift they are unable to enjoy during the fall and spring semesters when their laboratory time is competing with classes and other activities.
Offering summer research opportunities at Texas A&M is also beneficial to the university itself, North said.
“My vision of this program is to use it as a recruiting tool for chemistry undergraduates,” he explained. “We can tell them that not only are we an R1 top-ranked research program, but that after they finish their first couple of years, they have the option to stay here over the summer to engage in research.”
A Taste Of Lab Life
Texas A&M junior Lauren Brown ’26 was among the 10 chemistry students who participated in last summer’s first Summer Research Scholars Program. Her experience convinced her that after a long search, she has truly found where she belongs.
At the age of 35, Brown is considered a nontraditional student. However, she doesn’t regret taking her time to figure out her destined career path. She moved from Santa Fe, Texas, to Austin when she was 18 to begin college but found herself floundering. She dropped out and went into the workforce.
For seven years, Brown worked as a pharmacy technician, with the intention of one day going to pharmacy school. Ultimately, being a pharmacist wasn’t something she could see herself doing indefinitely. She was, however, drawn to the chemistry side of pharmaceuticals. She began taking community college classes and found herself captivated by laboratory research. She transferred to the Texas A&M chemistry department in 2023 and ensured she was involved in lab work from her first semester on.
When she found out about the summer research program, she immediately knew she wanted to be a part of it.
“The lab is like my home,” Brown said. “It’s one of my favorite places to be. During the semester, I have so many other responsibilities and I feel like I can’t devote as much time, energy and mental effort to my research. But over the summer, you’re not taking any other classes and you can just focus on your research. It gives you a taste of what graduate school is like. It also gives you the ability to hone your skills because you’re in the lab all day rather than just a few hours at a time.”
Participating in summer research at Texas A&M provided her with a more specific benefit, as well.
“I’m already part of a research group here,” she explained. “We were making great progress on a paper in the spring and were able to get it finished over the summer, then start a new project. I feel like my productivity was so much higher this summer in part because I didn’t have to go elsewhere and become familiar with a new lab environment.”
After completing her undergraduate requirements, Brown plans to focus her graduate school research on the organic chemistry area of natural product and total synthesis. This involves using laboratory methods to construct the kinds of complex organic compounds found in nature. Many scientists in this field end up making chemical compounds for pharmaceutical companies. At Texas A&M, Brown’s research group is attempting to streamline the often-grueling process of making useful molecules by developing simple, efficient, synthetic methods of doing so. Uninterrupted hours in the lab this summer enabled the group to make considerable progress with their research.
Brown said she’d like to work somewhere like The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, developing drugs to treat cancer. After losing a beloved dog to cancer last year, she said a bonus for her would be helping to develop crossover drugs that would treat humans and animals alike.
I’m so grateful to all of the summer program donors. Without them, this fantastic experience would not have been possible.
A Family Affair
The mission of the Department of Chemistry’s Summer Research Scholars Program is inextricably linked to that of the ILSQ building. Serving 15,000-plus freshmen and sophomores from across academic disciplines, the West Campus facility is a showcase for all things chemistry. The first gifts for the summer program were given by former Texas A&M chemistry students and their wives: Dr. Matthew ’82 and Patricia Harthcock, Dr. Mike ’75 ’79 and Gabrielle “Gigi” ’78 Killough, Dr. Patrick Killough ’75 ’82, Dr. John Beckerdite ’76 ’83, Drs. Brenda Theis ’86 and Lloyd Forrest Colegrove ’83, ’89.
North’s endowed gift is a family affair. Four signatures appear on the Texas A&M Foundation gift agreement: Simon North, his wife, Diana North, and his parents, Dr. William and Geraldine North. Though none of the four are Texas A&M graduates, Diana North is a sign language interpreter with Texas A&M Disability Resources, and all three of the couple’s children are Aggies. William and Geraldine North— who Simon North said had long been “Aggies from afar” — relocated from New Hampshire to Bryan after retirement.
In appreciation of their gift, a group study area in the ILSQ was named the “Spirit Collaboration Room” in their honor. Other ILSQ rooms were likewise named in honor of the recent former student gifts.
A Perfect Fit
Programs like the Summer Research Scholars help chemistry undergraduates get a taste of what the laboratory research field is all about before they commit to graduate school and to a career. Brown said she’s had friends who have participated in REU-type summer programs and decided that working in a laboratory is not their calling after all. Her 10-week summer experience, however, made her more certain than ever that laboratory research is the perfect fit for her.
“I’m so grateful to all of the summer program donors,” she said. “Without them, this fantastic experience would not have been possible.”