Beckman Scholars Program
About the Program
The mission of the Beckman Scholars Program at Northeastern University is to enable and empower exceptionally talented, full-time undergraduate students with financial support and mentorship to gain and sustain a meaningful research career in STEM.
The application period for the 2025 cohort is now closed and will reopen next year.
On This Page:
Essential Program Information/Apply
Am I Eligible?
- Undergraduate students who are first-years, sophomores, or juniors are eligible.
- Applicants must be willing to commit to 15 months of continuous research (one summer, academic year and the following summer).
- Applicants must be full-time students and remain in good academic standing.
- Student must intend to pursue an advanced science degree (PhD, MD, MD/PhD) or other scientific pursuits.
- Student must be a United States citizen, a permanent resident of the United States or its possessions, or hold DACA recipient status.
- No previous research experience is necessary.
Timeline
- Completed Applications Due: March 1
- Finalists Announced: March 30
- Interview week: April 1-11
- Scholars announced: April 15
- Scholars start: May or July 2025
Thank you for your interest in the Beckman Scholar Program at Northeastern University. The application period for the 2025 cohort is now closed and will reopen next year.
The application requires the following:
Contains basic information about the student (class year, major or intended major, contact information) and eligibility checklist.
No more than two pages, in a .pdf format
Copies of unofficial transcripts
In no more than two pages, discuss the following:
- 1 paragraph on personal motivation for becoming a Beckman Scholar
- 1 paragraph on career (short term and longer term) goals.
- 1 paragraph stating your motivation for conducting research including prior experience (if applicable) and interests
- 2 paragraphs on reasons why you want to enter the program and which mentor(s) (limited to top 3) you would be interested in working with as part of the program. Justify your selection.
A panel of Beckman Science Program mentors and affiliates will evaluate application packages and interview presentations.
Mentors
Beckman Scholars will work with mentors in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology.
Expertise: Materials Science, Polymer Chemistry
Research: The DMAS Research Group focuses on the incorporation of polymers into a circular economy. We are interested in finding alternative techniques for manufacturing materials in a more sustainable manner. We work at the interface between polymer chemistry and materials science, generating cutting-edge technologies based on macromolecules. We are currently developing foams via frontal polymerization, studying the mechanical recycling of polymers, and exploring reversible polymer ligation processes.
Expertise: Carbon Capture, Carbon Utilization, Electrochemistry
Research: The Barecka Lab’s goal is to accelerate the adoption of new, carbon-neutral manufacturing methods for chemical, pharmaceutical and environmental sectors. We explore the potential of electrochemistry and discover new ways of turning CO2 into valuable products, develop better catalysts and separation techniques, elucidate chemical pathways, design more efficient electrochemical reactors, as well as model complex processes and evaluate their techno-economics.
Expertise: Chemical Biology and Biotechnology
Research: The Beuning Lab studies DNA damage responses, protein dynamics, protein engineering, and enzyme function, with applications in cancer and other aspects of human health, forensics, and green energy. This work involves methods from microbiology, genetics, biochemistry, and biophysics, as well collaborations with theorists, physicists, and structural biologists.
Expertise: Bioanalytical Chemistry, Materials Chemistry
Research: The Deravi Lab works at the interface of bio-analytical chemistry, materials science, and design. We investigate fundamental mechanisms behind systems in biology to inform the design of new classes of bio-derived and bio-inspired materials that may interface with or enhance the performance of humans and the environment. Current research projects include building photonic sensors inspired by cephalopods and designing bionic protein materials for implantable electronics.
Expertise: Biophysics, Materials Chemistry, Theoretical Chemistry
Research: The Dong Lab develops and uses physics-based and data-driven computational methods on classical and quantum computers to understand multiscale processes in functional materials and biological systems, from electronic structures to emergent properties. We exploit photoexcitation, spin, and dynamics to design novel bio-inspired catalysts important in renewable energy and biomedical applications, and develop computational design frameworks for these systems.
Expertise: Biophysics, Materials Chemistry, Theoretical Chemistry
Research: The Lopez Research Group works at the interface of computational chemistry, machine learning, and green chemistry. We develop quantum mechanical and machine learning techniques to understand and design sunlight-driven reactions and discover new materials for solar cells. Current research is focused on modelling photochemical reactions in complex environments, including molecular crystals. We achieve our goals through collaboration with experimentalists on-campus and abroad.
Expertise: Biochemistry of Signaling Proteins, Chemical Biology, Structural Biology
Research: The Mattos Lab studies the structural biology and biochemistry of Ras proteins and their mutants, which appear in 20% of all human cancers. A combination of Xray crystallography, NMR spectroscopy, enzyme kinetics and MD simulations is used to reveal the structural and dynamical features of Ras and complexes with binding partners, resetting the foundation for structure guided drug development against Ras-driven cancers.
Expertise: Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry, Carbohydrate, Organic
Research: The O’Doherty Research Group uses asymmetric synthesis to solve chemistry problems. These problems usually revolve around the synthesis of complex molecules and its application for medicinal chemistry. Of particular interest to the group is the role of stereochemistry in biologically active compounds, where the systematic synthesis and testing of stereoisomers can shed light on these questions. We call this approach Stereochemical Structure Activity Relationship (S-SAR) studies.
Expertise: Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Theoretical Chemistry
Research: The Ondrechen Lab develops theory and uses computation and machine learning to address biochemical problems. We study how enzymes work and apply that knowledge to enzyme design and optimization of RNA synthesis. We develop theory to predict biochemical function for Structural Genomics proteins. We also use computation for drug discovery; two current project are for SARS-CoV-2 and amoebic encephalitis. We test our predictions in collaborations with experimentalists.
Research: The Sayre Group designs photocatalysts to maximize the efficiency of light activated reactions. We employ steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopy techniques along with electrochemistry to illuminate photocatalysis mechanisms. Photocatalysis applications include artificial photosynthesis, pharmaceutical synthesis, solar fuels, and polymer upcycling.
Expertise: Carbon Cycle, Environmental Chemistry, Plastics in the Environment
Research: Aron Stubbins’s Lab studies environmental chemistry. This includes local and global biogeochemical research to better understand the global carbon cycle, how humans have altered it, and how this impacts climate and other aspects of the environment. Another focus is on plastics, particularly their fate and impact in the environment. Students studying natural organic carbon or plastics do a mix of field, experimental, analytical, remote sensing, and modeling work.