MATRIX-UNI Program

Discover high-quality research opportunities for undergraduate students with the Molecule Maker Lab Institute through the Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP) at the University of Illinois. Join us from June 2 to July 25, 2025, for a transformative summer experience!

The MATRIX-UNI program – MMLI Advancing Talent and Research through Inclusive EXcellence in AI and Chemistry in the UNIversity – is designed to provide hands-on research training for college students eager to explore careers in research.

Please register your interest by filling out our interest form. The application deadline is Monday, February 10, 2025.


Benefits

Stipend of $4,000

Funds to cover travel to and from Urbana-Champaign

On-campus housing and meals, plus supplies for workshops and symposiums

Summer health insurance


Amenities

Access to campus recreational facilities, including gyms, pools and sports facilities

Access to the university libraries

Pass for free access to the MTD bus, which has extensive network access coverage

Application deadline:

Monday, February 10, 2025

To be considered, you must submit your application materials through the UIUC Graduate College SROP.

Applications should include the completed BTAA website form, transcripts, two letters of recommendation and resume.

Decisions will be made by March 15, 2025.

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Projects for 2025

AI tools for predicting enzyme properties
  • Faculty mentor: Professor Huimin Zhao
  • Graduate mentor: TBD
AI-guided modular molecular synthesis of medicines or materials
  • Faculty Mentor: Professor Martin Burke
  • Graduate Mentor: TBD
Information extraction and retrieval augmented generation (RAG) using large language models (LLMs)
  • Faculty Mentor: Professor Jiawei Han
  • Graduate Mentor: TBD
  • Requirements: This project is to essentially turn unstructured text data into structured information for chemistry applications. 
  • Pre-requisite: A good computer science background, especially on Large Language Model (LLM) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) and is interested in Chem applications.

Helpful Resources for Applicants