Workshop Details |
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A Compendium of Undergraduate Research Programs
Examples of undergraduate research programs that embody the central
principles of URCs already exist. Workshop participants were asked to
provide short vignettes describing innovative undergraduate research
programs. Those programs that exemplified the guiding principles of multi-institutional,
unique partnering with industry or government laboratories, outreach
to K-12 teachers and/or students, targeting freshmen or sophomore students,
or using unique modes of mentoring undergraduate research were chosen
for inclusion here. Although there are undoubtedly many more research
programs across the nation built on the core principles of URCs of which
we are unaware, it is hoped that collectively, this sampling of programs
will provide a useful compendium of creative ways to effectively engage
undergraduate students in research at institutions representing the spectrum
of those involved in undergraduate education. These vignettes are arranged
in alphabetical order by lead institution. In the summer of 1996, two members of the Berea College Mathematics and Computer Science Department began an undergraduate research program that applies mathematical and computer modeling to various issues of local concern. Over the years, these summer research experiences have involved fourteen students with majors in mathematics, physics, and chemistry, three faculty members, two non-profit agencies, and several departments on campus. The problems addressed have covered a broad range of categories including risk assessment of the incineration of toxic materials, modeling sustainable forestry, estimating floodplain growth due to community development, and predicting the spread of the flu due to delays in vaccination. The students involved have frequently gone on to graduate school in fields related to their research and have won awards for presentations of the research. Undergraduate research in mathematics tends to be complicated by the desire to have students involved in more than surface roles regarding real problems to which faculty themselves do not know the answers. Due to the nature of theoretical mathematical research, unsolved problems tend to be well beyond the knowledge base of even graduating seniors, and in addition, the use of such research often is beyond the understanding of the students. In response to this reality, the Berea College Mathematics and Computer Science Department has attempted to design a program where the more applied research is always designed to require significant student input in a problem whose relevance is obvious to all. This program allows the students to use the mathematics and computer science they already know, teach themselves some of the basics of the field of application (e.g. physical hydrogeology), and then discover the excitement and frustration of real research on a problem they can clearly understand. As one example, in the summer of 1996, the research problem was to calculate
the dispersion of dioxins that would result if a stockpile of nerve gas
were to be incinerated (as was planned at the time) at an army depot
that is located less than 15 miles from Berea College. The work was generated
by the request of a local non-profit agency, the Kentucky
Environmental Foundation (KEF), and clearly had the advantage of being important to
the students involved. Moreover, the topic required them to master a
computer model simulating dispersion, the chemistry of dioxins, the relevant
biological food chain, and the mathematics that would help address all
these problems. The students stayed in close contact with the members
of KEF, opened dialogs with the EPA, and sought the advice of the designers
of the computer modeling program. The results turned out to be revealing
mathematically and surprising in terms of the actual impact. Bridgewater State College provides support for undergraduate/faculty research opportunities through the Adrian Tinsley Program for Undergraduate Research (“Tinsley Program”), http://www.bridgew.edu/ATP/. These opportunities include summer stipends, semester grants, travel grants, and a campus-wide undergraduate research symposium. Students in the natural sciences have been supported through the Tinsley Program, and a variety of external grants through their mentors. Since 1999, science students have actively participated in a Chemistry OutReach Program involving chemical demonstrations conducted at regional elementary and middle schools. The goal of this program is to excite the school children about chemistry, provide a resource of classroom demonstrations for the classroom teacher, and provide a service-learning opportunity for all BSC science students. In 2002, the OutReach Program was expanded by having groups of research students present their work at regional high schools. The goals are to encourage high school science students to seek out and participate in research activities at the college level, and to provide BSC research students with an unusual forum for presenting their research at a level where justification of their research projects (to “constituents”) is as important as how their data justifies their conclusions. BSC student presenters must prepare lecture material with visual aids, a collaborative group work activity based on the lecture, and a “fun” activity in the form of a game. For example, in 2002 a group of BSC students discussed their Green Chemistry research projects and following the group work activity acted as the hosts of a Green Chemistry “Jeopardy” game. The BSC presenters are also required to prepare evaluation forms for the students and classroom teacher to complete. The research component of the BSC OutReach program has only been in
existence for one year; thus, assessment is difficult at this time. It
is notable that all juniors who participated in spring 2002 have volunteered
to participate again in 2003. We hope to expand this program to regional
community colleges in 2003-04. We see this program as an opportunity
to bring in high school juniors and seniors, and community college students
and faculty to participate in research projects with BSC students and
faculty. Cameron University, a primarily undergraduate regional institution in Lawton, Oklahoma, has developed several collaborative programs with comprehensive institutions and companies in an effort to provide students with exceptional research opportunities that will enhance their undergraduate education. As
one example, Dr. Ann Nalley, a professor of Physical Sciences at Cameron
University, has worked for the past 20 years with local
industries
to provide enrichment programs for her students by forming industrial
partnerships to support internships. These collaborations have
been formalized through a grant from the Oklahoma Center for
the Advancement of Science
and Technology (OCAST) that provides funding on a matching basis
to support industrial R&D internships for both students and faculty in Oklahoma.
The purpose of this OCAST R&D Faculty and Student Intern Partnership
(FSIP) program is to improve Oklahoma's R&D base by supporting student
and faculty internships in Oklahoma R&D facilities and to encourage
greater numbers of students to prepare for careers at scientific and
technical firms. Students are employed as interns in industry to perform
R&D research in chemistry either in the summer or during the
regular academic semester. Recent activities in this project include
partnerships
with Cosmetic Specialties Laboratory, Inc., a Lawton based Cosmetic
Manufacturing laboratory. Dr. Nalley and her students have been
involved in developing
analytical methods for analyzing cosmetics, which assist in maintaining
quality control and in new product development. In addition, a
partnership with Halliburton Energy Services Duncan Technology
Center located
in Duncan, Oklahoma has resulted in numerous projects including:
software
engineering, where student and faculty interns have worked with
software companies to develop software packages; assisting in problem
solving
strategies related to oil field production; the analytical measuring
of Log POW values; and the modification of natural polymers used
in oil production to make them environmentally friendly. More than
20
students
have had an opportunity to participate in the program. Contact:
Dr. Ann Nalley, Department of Chemistry, Cameron University. COSEN: CAROLINAS AND OHIO SCIENCE EDUCATION NETWORK: Mentoring, Peer-Support, and Research Experiences for Women and African-American Undergraduate Science and Mathematics Students. To encourage students to major in mathematics and the sciences and to consider research and teaching careers, a comprehensive program was initiated in 1989 and completed in 1999 by eight higher education institutions. Davidson College, Denison University, Duke University, Furman University, Kenyon College, Oberlin College, Ohio Wesleyan University, and The College of Wooster formed COSEN with funding from the Pew Charitable Trusts. The consortium was committed to supporting individuals underrepresented in science and mathematics, particularly women and African Americans. COSEN was envisioned as an experimental program. The underlying rationale for COSEN was that intervention, in the form of enriching experiences within a supportive environment, must be provided at a variety of levels throughout the formative college years. COSEN programs gave students a critical mass of affiliates, contact with professionals who were mentors and role models, and hands-on research experiences. The COSEN program annually sponsored mentoring and peer-group activities for students on each campus, led by women and African-American faculty; a one-week, hands-on research experience conference for 64 first-year students; three-week field research workshops in geology, marine biology, and tropical biology for 40 students; ten-week research collaborations, matching 25 students with faculty from different institutions, which concluded with a two-day research conference. Each year, these activities provided nearly 300 students with enriching science experiences within a supportive environment. Through COSEN, the academic community was strengthened. Faculty and administrators became aware of the issues facing those underrepresented in science. Cooperation between students and faculty on each campus and among campuses increased. Campus student groups became independent organizations, promoting leadership and academic excellence. COSEN conferences and research experiences gave students an understanding of the scientific process and the confidence to pursue scientific careers. An evaluation survey indicated that a majority of participants were considering attending graduate or professional school in science. By providing programs throughout the college years, COSEN offered a comprehensive approach, enhancing students’ education, experience, and expertise. A key element of COSEN success was the participation of faculty and
administrators with vision and ability. It was also important to have
a stable organizational structure and generous funding. The interrelationship
between consortial and campus programs strengthened both, with COSEN
events often motivating students to become campus leaders. Yearly participant
(faculty and student) surveys provided valuable information for monitoring
progress in meeting goals. The local mentoring/study groups, the first
year student conference, and the field and laboratory research opportunities
offered students positive experiences and a network of support. The combination
of these factors resulted in a cohesive and effective program. Contact:
Susan Palmer, Executive Director, The Five Colleges of Ohio, Kenyon College. The
Chemistry REU Consortium: Juniata College, Macalester College,
Northern Kentucky University, Saint Michael’s College, Trinity
College (CT), and
Trinity University (TX) constitute the first Chemistry REU Consortium.
Instead of a collection of 10-12 undergraduates attracted to the same
location, we attract them to similar projects at dispersed locations.
The unifying feature is that all the students are working on related
projects involving the synthesis of Theoretically Interesting Molecules.
The entire group meets together two to three times during the summer,
having an expanded group meeting where faculty and students hear about
what everyone else is doing and engage in intellectual discussion of
the design and execution of the research. The hope (which was realized)
is that these sessions will lead to significant cross-fertilization of
ideas among the groups. Further, one major researcher in this field joins
these meetings each summer, describing his or her own research and commenting
on the research of the consortium. One of these group meetings coincides
with one of the major national organic chemistry meetings, so students
hear many of the major researchers across the discipline describe their
chemistry and the ensuing discussions. Students present 15-minute seminars
on their projects at the end of the summer and also create posters of
their research for the Consortium Web Site. Contact: David Reingold,
Department of Chemistry, Juniata College. Further information: In 1948, The College of Wooster initiated a radical overhaul in its curriculum that was based on combining the acquisition of knowledge with the understanding of method. This change was based on the belief that a student’s drive to learn is best developed by undertaking a major independent research project that leads to self-discovery through three semesters of college work. Today, 50 years of the Independent Study program has created a culture shared by all at Wooster. Independent Study is not an honors program; the Wooster faculty believes that all students should be challenged to achieve their best efforts of independent and creative thought. The effectiveness of the Independent Study program at Wooster stems from the collaboration of students and faculty, learning by doing, and the challenge that it provides for all students. Although the emphasis of the Independent Study program is on the last two years of a student’s education, the foundation for critical thinking is laid much earlier in the College curriculum. The Wooster curriculum is designed to introduce students to the challenges they will meet as juniors and seniors, through required freshman seminars, writing-intensive courses and inquiry-based teaching across the curriculum. Although no formal link to Independent Study is established, the College designed the Sophomore Research Program in 1987 to provide a transition for students between First-Year Seminar and Junior Independent Study. The Sophomore Research Program provides opportunities for students to work as paid research apprentices to Wooster faculty members. Through this program, students become true partners with faculty in the research process and acquire an understanding of the process involved in conducting research. Formal Independent Study begins in the junior year, with one course
of that year devoted to independent investigation. During the senior
year, one course each semester is tagged for independent study credit,
representing 25% of the coursework during the senior year. For many science
students, the senior project is initiated during the summer between the
junior and senior years by working in a lab or out in the field with
a Wooster faculty member or taking an internship at another institution
or laboratory. Students identify their topics, design an approach to
answering their questions and test their hypotheses, collect the necessary
data, learn how to separate evidence from conjecture, and present their
work in a thesis during the spring semester. Many departments encourage
oral presentation of the student’s work. Upon submission of the student’s
thesis, two faculty readers evaluate the finished project and administer
an oral examination, allowing the student a chance to discuss his or
her work at a higher level with at least two individuals who have some
knowledge of the project. Contact: http://www.wooster.edu/programs/ K-16 Science at Edgewood College. A unique opportunity to teach and learn science exists at Edgewood through the Sonderegger Science Center, the center of science instruction for the three institutions comprising Edgewood Inc., which encompasses students from kindergarten through graduate school. Every effort is made to have students and faculty from different grade levels work together whenever appropriate. One example of this is with the Introduction to Natural Sciences course (Nat Sci). Nat Sci was developed to meet the needs of pre-service teachers. The subject matter is broad in scope and the lessons delivered in a way that models current best practices in K-12 science instruction. In addition, all elementary education majors must take their elementary science methods concurrent with Nat Sci. The methods course is team taught by science educators who are faculty in the Natural Sciences Department. Instructors of the two classes meet regularly to integrate the student’s experiences to the highest degree possible. One of the major activities in the Nat Sci course is a scientific research
project where students, working in small teams, participate in ongoing
scientific inquiry around major themes dealing with the natural environment
surrounding Edgewood College. (Edgewood is located on a large parcel
of land containing woods, prairie, and grassland, and is adjacent to
a lake, the University of Wisconsin Arboretum, and several city parks.).
At various times during these projects, college students are teamed with
“little buddies” from Edgewood Campus School (K-8). The “little buddies”
study similar topics in their science classes with the assistance of
University of Wisconsin graduate students as part of a KTI (kindergarten
through infinity) program. As an addition to a forty year plus history of successful undergraduate
research at Harvey Mudd College involving required senior research theses
and an intensive summer research program, a Sophomore Spring Semester
Introduction to Research course was initiated seven years ago in which
sophomores are offered the opportunity to work with chemistry faculty
to learn methods of research by doing research. Through an application
process, interested students are matched with faculty in whose research
they have expressed interest. All nine faculty in the department typically
take a student enrolled in this course. The students are paid a stipend
typically based on an afternoon per week of effort but do not earn credit.
Stipend funds are provided by the department from a Henry Dreyfus research
grant. Accepted students appreciate the opportunity to begin meaningful
science. While primarily targeting sophomores, freshmen have been placed
in the program. Students are introduced to the chemical literature, the
techniques necessary to pursue the project, and general methods of conducting
research. Hope College’s strong undergraduate research program stems in large
part from the faculty’s focus on the success of the student research
experience in developing scientific skills and producing new scientific
results. Research students at Hope College know that the faculty take
a personal interest in their learning, are eager to help them develop
to their full potential, and are dedicated to their future success. Contact:
Will Polik, Department of Chemistry, Hope College. Although there are several PhD. programs at Idaho State University, the Chemistry Department is consistent with any at predominantly undergraduate institutions except for the existence of a BS/MS program. Recently, this program has been combined with an NSF REU program to provide regional students, particularly two-year college students, with the opportunity to participate in research and continue their studies to receive a graduate degree. The BS/MS program is a three-year program to which students are admitted after their second year in college, provided they have completed the core requirements. This program provides an excellent opportunity to recruit 2-year college students within the region who have not been traditional graduate school prospects. Students admitted into the program are awarded a stipend and tuition waivers. They are required to perform research on a part-time basis during the academic year and full time during 10-week sessions during their first and second summers of the program. Their academic program requires them to take graduate courses as early as their junior year. Due to limited funding, only three students are funded per year for a total of nine students. This matches the number of departmental faculty active in research and allows greater mentor-to-student contact. A recently awarded (2000) NSF REU grant has as its mission to provide
undergraduate research opportunities to regional 2-year college students,
opportunities which are non-existent at their campuses. While REU participants
are encouraged to continue their education and research efforts at an
institution of their choice, some students have proceeded to matriculate
in the BS/MS program at ISU. Research opportunities for participants
span the traditional fields within chemistry and also involve atmospheric,
environmental, and labeled biological substrate chemistry. Science In Motion: A Basic Education/Higher Education Science and Technology Partnership. “Science in Motion” was created at Juniata College to meet the needs of local high school chemistry teachers in teaching “hands-on science.” The program was launched following a year of discussion between basic education and higher education faculty about how to update science curricula to include the use of modern instrumentation and technology. The basic education/higher education partnership program was formed based on the following six guiding principles. 1) More can be accomplished in science at the high school level, but those in the best position to know what is needed are the teachers themselves. 2) The excitement of science, for students and teachers, is best transmitted through hands-on work—that is “learning science by doing science.” 3) There is science equipment that is both powerful enough to solve real problems and also suitable for high school students. 4) Higher education faculty are in a position to help basic education through the sharing of both knowledge (providing professional development) and resources (providing access to state-of-the-art equipment and fully prepared laboratory supplies and materials). 5) A program such as “Science in Motion” should not add to the burden of high school teachers, but rather must supplement and enhance classroom learning. 6) The same group of teachers should be involved over a period of several years so that a systemic change can take place. The National Science Foundation initially provided two five-year grants to fund a program that supported chemistry and biology teachers. The concept of Science In Motion subsequently spread to other disciplines and other locations. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania now funds a total of eleven basic education / higher education science and technology partnerships. State-wide programs modeled after the Juniata experience are in operation in Alabama and Delaware, and smaller regional programs exist in California (Occidental College), Illinois (Chicago Science Alliance), North Carolina (North Carolina State University), Indiana (Purdue), and New York (Marist College). In summary, the success of the program has shown that teachers are not
the major barrier to good science teaching in our schools; the major
barrier is a systemic lack of time, resources and support for science
education in public education. The specific challenges are: 1) access
to adequate resources, 2) access to good professional development opportunities
for science teachers, and 3) the development and support of inquiry-based
science curricula. This partnership helps educators to address these
challenges. As a result, high school students with interests in these
sciences become more likely to pursue careers in science because they
have had exposure to the stimulating practice of hands-on science. Subsequently,
these students are in a much better positions to begin early undergraduate
research careers. Undergraduate students employed by the program also
benefit from the experiences gained in developing, teaching, and supporting
high school laboratory exercises – an ongoing need to keep science education
up-to-date. Contact: David Reingold, Department of Chemistry, Juniata
College. Keck Geology Consortium. The Keck Geology Consortium is a group of twelve, small geoscience faculties (Amherst College, Beloit College, Carleton College, Colorado College, Franklin & Marshall College, Pomona College, Smith College, Trinity University, Washington and Lee University, Whitman College, Williams College, The College of Wooster) who work together to improve undergraduate geoscience education through research. Since it’s founding in 1987, the Keck Geology Consortium has sponsored 103 research projects for undergraduate students, supporting 800 undergraduate students from over 80 schools across the nation and overseas. Project faculty representing 43 organizations have worked with the Consortium. Consortium alumni are a diverse group: 48% are women, and since 1991, when the Consortium began collecting data on racial and ethnic identification, 21% are from groups under-represented in the geosciences. Alumni span the distance along career path from graduate school to mid-career, work in geoscience-related business and industry, are K-12 and tertiary educators, work for non-profit organizations, and a occupy a variety of professions outside the sciences. The Consortium offers research projects at two levels: introductory projects for rising juniors and advanced projects for rising seniors. These projects are designed for large groups, nine to ten students and three faculty, in order to combine the intellectual excitement of working in a research group with opportunities to work independently on scientific research. Students working on advanced projects make a yearlong commitment to the program, and the nature of their experience varies markedly throughout the year. In the summer, students spend four-weeks at the study site, learning the geology, identifying a project, and gathering data. Field time is an intense experience during which students and faculty form connections that will characterize the group for the next academic year. Following the fieldwork, students return to their home campus and work under the guidance of an on-campus faculty sponsor. Introductory projects give beginning students a taste of geoscience research, as well as sense of the challenge and enjoyment that comes from solving Earth Science problems. In these projects, students work in small teams to complete a project in five weeks. These are intense weeks for students as they learn not only the research problem but also the dynamics of their particular group. Students improve their communication and cooperation skills as they gather and interpret data, and produce a paper in a relatively short period of time. During the academic year, students work, via e-mail and the post, to produce an extended abstract and poster for presentation at the annual symposium. The program year culminates for all students with presentation of results
at an annual symposium the following spring. Students are required to
submit four-page extended abstracts for publication in the symposium
volume. At the symposium, students present their work in both poster
and oral presentations. Students are also required to complete independent
study or senior thesis based on their Consortium project. Many also present
results at regional and national conferences. More detailed information
about the Consortium program and structure can be found at http://keck.carleton.edu. Undergraduate Research En Masse at Lehigh University. For the past five years, Professor Steve Regen has incorporated original research projects as part of a second-semester organic chemistry laboratory. The goal has been to provide a research experience in the chemical sciences to as large and as broad a student body as possible. This past year’s experiment is illustrative: In the fall of 2001, students worked on idea of combining ion exchange chemistry with micellar chemistry to create a new class of materials (“hydrophobic sponges”) that could remove organics from water. In the first few weeks of the spring 2002 semester, fundamentals of polymer and ion exchange chemistry were presented to the students during pre-lab briefings, along with how soaps work. Then, the basis of the research idea was presented to the class. Students were told that two of Professor Regen’s coworkers (Dr. Vaclav Janout and Mr. Xun Yan) were preparing resin-bound surfactants and that they were trying to develop an analytical method that could be used to measure the absorption of organics. The students’ task in this project would then be to do structure-activity studies. A detailed procedure was given to the class, and they then obtained the key data during one long (double-laboratory) period; experimental methods included micropipeting, GC calibrations using an internal standard, and quantitative GC analysis were employed. Students submitted signed and dated data sheets, which included their raw data plus calculated absorption values. The data were compiled by Mr. Yan and returned to the class in the form of Tables and Figures, along with copies of their data sheets. With the exception of five students, the quality of the data generated was very good—smooth curves were obtained with minimal scatter. The five students were given an opportunity to repeat their experiment on a Saturday; four chose to do so and obtained data that “hit the curves” produced by their colleagues. The results were discussed in class and a reasonable interpretation of the data formulated. The students were kept fully engaged, intellectually, throughout the project. After obtaining written permission from the students to include them as coauthors, a manuscript was prepared based on their findings and submitted to Macromolecules. Prior to submission, the process of scientific publication was discussed. All correspondence with the Editor (including the reviews) were shared with the students. The paper was published [Macromolecules, 2002, 35, 8243] using a special coauthor format designed by the ACS, where the names of the students were listed at the bottom of the first page. We had a “paper signing party” at a local ice cream parlor in September of 2003 to celebrate their achievement. In February of 2003, emails were sent to this class (79 students) requesting
feedback on the research part of the course; 25 responses were received,
all of which were strongly positive. For other similar projects, see:
Chem. Mater., 1998, 10, 855; Macromolecules, 1998, 31, 5542; Org. Lett.,
2000, 2, 2157. Contact: Steve Regen, Department of Chemistry, Lehigh
University. Preparation for Undergraduate Research at Lewis-Clark State College. At Lewis-Clark State College (LCSC) all chemistry majors are strongly encouraged to complete a research project before graduation. While many individual faculty strive to develop research projects that are beneficial for undergraduate students, the Lewis-Clark State College Division of Natural Science has developed a sequence of research preparation courses that have proven to be quite beneficial. Past experience demonstrated that substantive research projects require significant preparation, particularly in the area of literature review and project design and planning. In order to enhance student preparation for, and exposure to research, all Natural Science majors at LCSC are required to take NS 380 (Natural Science Seminar – one credit). In this course students spend four weeks developing extensive literature-searching skills that utilize multiple on-line search engines and databases. Since this course is taken by science majors from multiple disciplines and because of the interdisciplinary nature of much current research, students are exposed to research skills in multiple disciplines including chemistry, biology, earth science, computer science and math. As the semester progresses, students use primary literature found during these searches to prepare abstracts of scientific articles. They learn about scientific writing styles and how to use citation software. Additionally, students are exposed to many on-campus resources that are useful in doing research or preparing presentations or manuscripts. Some examples include the media center, computer services, etc. The course culminates in individual student presentations on an area of research that is of interest to the student. After completing this course, students who elect to conduct a research project take a second course, NS 398 (senior proposal – two credits). In this course students select a faculty mentor with whom they will work to develop a formal research proposal for a project to be conducted in subsequent semesters. Using the skills developed in NS 380, students conduct a primary literature review, design a detailed proposal outline and write a formal proposal modeled after the National Science Foundation proposal format. The proposal contains a project summary, project description, citations, timeline for completion, resource requirements (budget, facilities, equipment), methods of dissemination and letters of support from any collaborators in other departments, institutions, industry or government agencies. When completed, the proposals undergo review by a faculty panel and are either accepted, accepted with revisions or rejected. Projects that are approved usually result in research projects that last at least one year. The culmination of the research projects is a presentation to the college faculty which is evaluated on both content and presentation quality. This formal preparation for conducting research has had significant
positive benefits. Projects are better planned; students are much more
familiar with the literature in their research area and thus take a more
active role in designing their projects. One student proposal was only
slightly modified and submitted to a company that resulted in donation
of a Raman spectrometer to LCSC. The end result of this process is an
increase in student presentations at scientific meetings, numerous award-winning
student posters and an increase in student co-authors. Contact: Christine
Pharr, Department of Chemistry, Lewis-Clark State College. The MERCURY Undergraduate Research Consortium. Computational chemistry faculty from seven undergraduate institutions have formed a consortium known as the Molecular Education and Research Consortium in Undergraduate computational chemistRY (MERCURY). The consortium allows faculty and students from Colgate University, Connecticut College, Hamilton College, Hobart & William Smith Colleges, College of the Holy Cross, Mount Holyoke College and St. Lawrence University access to state-of-the art computational power and numerous opportunities for student and faculty collaboration, mentoring and cross-fertilization. The objective in forming the MERCURY consortium was to help undergraduate research programs flourish, and this has indeed occurred as evidenced by the number of proposals and papers submitted by members either collectively or individually. The consortium has recently received $780K from the National Science Foundation’s Major Research Instrumentation program to purchase computational resources. MERCURY institutions provided $615K in matching funds, and with these funds, an excellent collection of computers that provide heavily-used computing cycles for faculty and undergraduate students has been assembled. Another measure of consortia success is that in the two years since the consortium was first established, its collective publication rate has almost doubled, the number of external grant awards has more than tripled (submittal rates are even higher) and more than four million dollars has been raised to support computational chemistry research involving undergraduate students. The faculty involved in the MERCURY consortium have mentored over 250 undergraduates, of whom 1/3 to 1/2 have gone on to graduate school, and a disproportionate number of these students have been women and minorities. The
MERCURY Consortium annually organizes a national meeting focusing on
undergraduate computational chemistry. Students and faculty benefit
intellectually and socially from engaging in detailed scientific
discussions with others. The ability to discuss science with others
passionately
engaged in the same subfield is a rare opportunity for an undergraduate
and these exchanges further students’ education and continue to
encourage
students’ interest in pursuing graduate studies in chemistry. Contact:
Susan Parish, Department of Chemistry, Hobart & William Smith
Colleges. For more detailed information please see mars.chem.hamilton.edu. The Murdock Trust has supported and, more recently, administered a program that provides two summers of full-time research experience for in-service high school science teachers. This “Partners in Science” program was initiated by Research Corporation, with offices in Tucson, and was administered nationally by them for about ten years, with the Murdock Trust providing funding and auxiliary services in the Pacific Northwest. Since the year 2000, the Trust has assumed full administration of the program in the Pacific Northwest as well as sponsoring the annual national conference for teachers in that program. The Camille & Henry Dreyfus Foundation has also funded this program for several years in the New York City area. This program is addressed to in-service high school science teachers who teach biology, chemistry, astronomy, geology, or physics. Its purpose is to provide teachers with an experience and a perspective on science that most have never received: that of science as an organic and open-ended activity. Grants in this program are made to the host research institution (mostly colleges and universities), and include summer stipends for the teachers as well as some minimal travel, research, and incidental support. After completing the two-year research experience, teachers may apply for Supplementary Awards, limited to $6,000 each, to go directly to their high schools to implement the hands-on approaches to teaching that they have learned in the research laboratory. To date, about 620 teachers have participated nationally (about 245
of these in the Pacific Northwest), impacting about 500,000 high school
students in their classes. In a recent evaluation of the program, many
teachers commented that, as a result of the experience, they feel more
confident in their teaching, they have new excitement and feel greater
professional dignity, and are connected better with the community of
scientists. Many noted increased enrollments in their science courses,
greater numbers of science majors, and more student motivation and interest.
As a direct result of their research experience, teachers indicated that
they introduced (per teacher-participant) 0.49 new regular courses (mostly
emphasizing hands-on work), 0.90 new laboratory courses, and 0.42 new
units into their curricula. Over a third of the teachers were successful
in approaching other sources, either local or national, for additional
funding for their school science programs, totaling over $1.3 million.
Contact: John Van Zytveld, Murdock Foundation. National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center (NEMAC). The National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center (NEMAC) is part of a major proposed collaboration in the Asheville, North Carolina area, bringing together three very different cultures – the academic community, the government, and private enterprise – for addressing the region’s economic well being. The Center will be located on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Asheville (UNCA) and will work in collaboration with other academic institutions, governmental agencies, non-profit companies, and commercial companies. NEMAC will support many elements of the western Carolinas economy and will build on the infrastructure created through public funding already in place. Others that are a part of this collaboration include the Education and Research Consortium of the Western Carolinas (founded by Congressman Charles H. Taylor of the 11th Congressional District), the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), and Barons Services Advance Meteorological Systems (BARONS). These organizations will initially supply the academic, governmental, and commercial expertise necessary for the collaboration. UNCA will provide the direction and administration of the Center. Previous thriving collaborations have shown that participation by all three sectors is vital to success. The Center will add to the intellectual base of UNCA and will provide the institution with a means to be pro-active in the region in a way that is consistent with the goals and mission of the University. NCDC will gain increased use and relevance of the data in its archive, and BAMS will gain incubation resources to allow it to begin the commercialization of NCDC data. The participation of the commercial sector is key to the success of the NEMAC, since the initial funding from the Library of Congress is seed money with the expectations that NEMAC will become self-sustaining from both commercial products and regional and national funding sources. It is envisioned that NEMAC will provide UNCA faculty and undergraduates
research opportunities during both the academic year and the summer.
Very important is the additional intellectual capital for UNCA coming
from both the collaborations and those scientists who will be employed
by the center. Contact: John Stevens, Chief Research Officer, University
of North Carolina-Asheville. North Carolina State University provides diverse REU opportunities for national and international undergraduate students, including those from predominately Black and Native American universities, to participate in faculty-mentored summer undergraduate research. REUs in Chemistry and related fields are cited below, as are programs to stimulate interest in science for K-12 students and to prepare middle and high school science teachers for modern approaches in science education. NC State is a member of the University of North Carolina Undergraduate Research Consortium, a system-wide network of 16 universities with a common goal of promoting undergraduate research experiences across these and other universities. It forms an ideal, well-organized model for developing a NSF Undergraduate Research Center. North Carolina State REUs are as follows: Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Research at Oakton Community College. At Oakton Community College, in Des Plaines, Illinois, we are in the third semester of an embedded and interdisciplinary undergraduate research program for community college students. This experience is offered as a course during the academic year. For each of three semesters, Spring 2002, Fall 2002, and Spring 2003, there have been an average of 8 students enrolled in the class. The course is taught by 5 faculty from chemistry (1), biology (3), and medical laboratory technology (1). All faculty members are present during course time and meet outside of class to plan each week. Students participate in three interdisciplinary research projects. The first, in collaboration with Northwestern University, studies biofilms that develop during cystic fibrosis. The second, in collaboration with the Chicago Botanical Gardens studies the fungi that connect the roots of oak trees. The third, in collaboration with the Advanced Photon Source (high energy synchrotron) at Argonne National Laboratory, Brookfield Zoo, and the Field Museum of Natural History studies molecular evolution through the x-ray crystal structures of lysozyme from the egg whites of different species. The interdisciplinary nature of the experience is exciting for both
the students and the teachers. The students learn science by doing science
in an environment where they observe their teachers thinking about a
scientific question from different disciplines. Oakton Community College
is hoping to become a model for other community colleges. Over half of
the nation's enrolled undergraduates attend community colleges and over
75% of future K-12 teachers receive their only science education at a
community college. If community college students can be given exciting,
discovery-based research experiences, community colleges are in a powerful
position to change the way the nation thinks about science and the way
future teachers teach science. Contact: Mark Walter, Division of Science
and Health Careers, Oakton Community College. Undergraduate research at Pacific Lutheran University (PLU, Tacoma, WA) has been ongoing for more than 40 years. The program began in 1958 when the first grant was awarded to PLU by the Research Corporation, followed by the first NSF undergraduate research grant in 1962. Since then, a variety of sources have supported undergraduate research programs, including grants from the Research Corporation, NSF, and private foundations such as the M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust. Students are involved in research as early as possible. Some students who begin research early in their academic career, e.g., before their sophomore or junior year, continue their research at PLU in subsequent summers, and their continued participation strengthens the program. As veteran researchers they are able to accomplish more in the second (or third) summer, and they can serve as peer mentors for beginning research students. Some students, after completing one or two years at PLU, move on to NSF REU sites or other summer research programs in larger settings. Collaborations between PLU faculty and colleagues at research universities also open the door for PLU undergraduates to conduct research at the collaborator’s institution. Faculty at PLU have built bridges with non-PLU researchers in the community through the Partners in Science program (described above). One faculty member has recently authored an RUI renewal grant that proposes to include involvement of local MESA (Math, Science, and Engineering Achievement) Program high school students in his research lab. Other faculty have mentored students engaged in the high school International Baccalaureate program, and students from nearby high schools who simply wanted to gain experience in a chemistry lab. PLU faculty have also maintained and developed connections with some
of the national laboratories. PLU students have also gone to several
national laboratories for summer-long research experiences. Contact:
Craig Fryhle, Department of Chemistry, Pacific Lutheran University. A partnership between San Jose State University and the IBM Almaden Research Center supports a unique summer internship program in which undergraduates and teachers do publishable research at the leading edge of technology in an industrial research environment. The program, started in 1994 and extended in 2001 for three more years, is supported by a Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI) grant from the National Science Foundation. The program encompasses projects in the areas of chemistry, engineering, and physics of materials with special relevance to the microelectronics, semiconductor, and computer industries. The goals of the program are manifold: to do research that would not be possible without complementary resources (people, equipment, stipends); to expose participants to academic/industrial environments; to enhance scientific education; to increase the participation of underrepresented groups in science and engineering; to provide information for enlightened career decisions. Summer projects are at the IBM Almaden Research Center and draw about 20 undergraduates and 4 teachers from across the United States. Year round collaborative research for SJSU students at both institutions is also supported by this program. Participants are individually mentored and become part of their mentor’s research group. Career Day, a weekly technical seminar on IBM research frontiers, and a concluding poster technical meeting enrich the internship experience, while networking with interns from this and other programs and interacting with an international group of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows broaden it. The interns form a diverse group, coming from large universities, from primarily undergraduate institutions, and from community colleges across the United States. Typically 50% of the participants are women and 13% are members of groups underrepresented in science and technology. Non-local undergraduate participants are housed together in the SJSU dorms as part of their award, fostering a sense of cohesiveness within each group of interns. Recruiting is done via post, e-mail and Internet postings to summer internship sites; word of mouth is one of the most effective methods of reaching potential interns. IBM scientists distribute information about this program and other internship opportunities when they speak at college campuses. Additionally, the grant provides some support to interns to present their work at regional and national scientific meetings, another avenue to prospective participants. In developing this program, many issues have had to be addressed. For
example, academic and industrial institutional goals sometimes differ,
and timetables and milestones may be out of phase. Intellectual property
and confidentiality issues have to be considered and resolved. A personal
champion at each institution has been a must. Our experience has been
a win-win-win situation-- the industrial partner gains research, enhanced
academic ties and an injection of youthful enthusiasm; the academic partner
gains research, student and faculty industrial awareness and can leverage
other funding; and the interns gain unique insider experience in an industrial
research environment. Contacts: Charles Wade, Dolores Miller, IBM Almaden
Research Center, and Joseph Pesek, Maureen Scharberg, Department of Chemistry,
San Jose State University, San Jose, CA. The Summer Program for Research Interns (SPRI) at The South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics is a program for rising high school seniors in public and private schools in South Carolina. The goal of SPRI is to motivate bright, academically talented students to pursue careers in science, mathematics, or technology. Participants in the program include rising seniors at GSSM plus a number of students from other state high schools who are chosen from a pool of applicants. The participating students are paired with researchers in a field in which the student has indicated an interest. The student works in the researcher’s lab for an average of six weeks during the summer on a project that can usually be completed within that six-week period. At the conclusion of the research, the student writes a summary of the project in the form of a scholarly paper. The students also present the results of their research at the Governor’s School Annual Research Colloquium. The research project can take a number of forms. As students work on the projects, they not only gain a considerable amount of information on the subject, they develop skills inherent to the field in which they work. Students usually begin the research by studying the background of the subject with the direction of the research mentors. Once the students have a background in the area of research, they begin to work in the laboratory or in the field. By the completion of the project the students often become proficient in their specialized fields of study. Many students continue in their summer research field through college. For example, Rosa Bailey worked with Dr. William Pennington at the Clemson University x-ray crystallography lab in the summer of 1991. Rosa recently completed her Ph.D. in x-ray crystallography at Clemson. She worked with Dr. Pennington throughout her college career in that same lab in which she did her summer research. Another student who completed her research in the summer of 2002 in a University of South Carolina biology lab said, “My research experience helped me decide on my major for college. It was truly an exciting and educational experience.” Participating institutions include the three major research institution
in South Carolina, Clemson University, the Medical University
of South Carolina, and the University of South Carolina. Additional institutions
include other state colleges and universities, industries, and private
and governmental institutions. A few students serve their internships
in institutions in other states or foreign countries. Since the program
began in the summer of 1990, thousands of student interns have participated
at more than 80 institutions. Contact: Robert Trowell, South Carolina
Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics. During the Summer 2002, the Department of Chemistry expanded the SURE program to include economically disadvantaged high school students from southeastern Massachusetts (Apponequet Regional High School, Brockton High School, Newton Country Day School, Quincy High School and Rockland High School). Academically gifted, economically disadvantaged high school juniors and seniors worked in Stonehill’s chemistry and biochemistry laboratories for eight weeks as part of the American Chemical Society’s Project SEED (Summer Educational Experience for the Disadvantaged). The SEED program was jointly sponsored by the American Chemical Society and the Verizon Foundation’s EdLink program. The program’s aim is to increase the number of students from under-represented groups that choose to go to college to study science, particularly chemistry or biochemistry. Each high school student was jointly mentored by a faculty member and a SURE college student. The SURE students started working in the laboratories three weeks before the high school students arrived and thus were comfortable working in the laboratory, but still remembered clearly the many questions they had when they first started three weeks prior. A unique feature of the Project at Stonehill is the coupling of the
SEED student with a SURE scholar. The high school students benefit from
the extra chemistry knowledge and experience that the undergraduates
have while obtaining a first hand account of college life. The Stonehill
students benefit from teaching, which reinforces their knowledge of the
principles and applications of chemistry. The need to describe the research
to the high school students makes the SURE students have a better understanding
of it. Timberline High School, Boise, ID. High school chemistry programs have recently been initiated with Boise State University (BSU), the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (IDEQ), memory-chip maker Micron Technology, and local non-profits for service-learning activities in the city of Boise. The underlying strategy of these programs has been to place students with university researchers, and to build programs that have an emphasis on student engagement in chemistry. The latter are “light” in their research aspects. Program descriptions: The Maryland Educators Summer Research Program (MESRP), headquartered in the Center for Science and Mathematics Education at Towson University, provides opportunities for motivated in-service and preservice teachers to experience cutting-edge science and technology through authentic research experiences. This hands-on approach promotes inquiry-based learning and gives teachers the credibility and experience needed to incorporate current content and authentic data into science and mathematics curriculum. MESRP operates on a yearly cycle, beginning in early spring, when eligible inservice and preservice teachers are invited to apply for participation in the program. A selection committee, appointed by MESRP, reviews and ranks all applications and makes recommendations for placement according to each candidate’s suitability for specific sites. Site Representatives interview candidates recommended for placement at their sites to determine final approval for intern placement. During the summer, interns team with mentor scientists for a six- to twelve-week internship to participate in research at government, university, and private laboratories throughout Maryland. As both learner and contributor in the research environment, interns gain a wealth of knowledge that will impact how they view teaching and learning. Whenever possible, in-service and preservice teachers are paired at research sites, enabling experienced teachers to serve as mentors who can provide valuable insights on both classrooms and workplaces to preservice teachers. Likewise, preservice teachers are able to contribute fresh perspectives from their teacher preparation program. The commitment to learning does not end with the research experience. During the school year following their internship experiences, interns participate in outreach and professional development activities designed to build bridges between laboratories and classrooms, while providing resources and further learning opportunities for themselves and other educators. These activities, which include a Classroom Implementation Project, a Speaking Event, and a Collaborative Activity, facilitate the transfer of attitudes and beliefs about science and mathematics education into classroom practices that engage students in active, investigative learning that will ultimately improve their attitudes, perceptions, and performance in science and mathematics. As the program concludes its third year, it is evident by the existing
evaluations that the design and implementation of MESRP has far-reaching
potential to significantly impact the future of science and mathematics
education. The continued support of the research laboratories and various
funding agencies speaks to the validity of the program and a mutual interest
in the enhancement of the teaching and learning of science and mathematics
in the state of Maryland. The Department of Chemistry at Trinity University believes that undergraduate research is the cornerstone of effective undergraduate chemistry education. Part of the vitality in such a program comes from a critical mass of student researchers. With funding from the National Science Foundation, ACS-PRF, Research Corporation, the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, and the Welch Foundation, between 19 and 45 undergraduate researchers have been supported every summer for the past decade. The average number of summer research students has been 33. While the size of the program is significant, hidden in the numbers is the program’s novel approach. Great emphasis is placed on involving students in research early in their academic careers. For that reason, heavy recruiting is done in first and second year chemistry classes among students who have not yet declared a major. The rationale for this approach is based on the belief that the experience in a research lab is fundamentally different from that in a teaching lab, no matter how much aspects of discovery are incorporated into the curriculum. If this is indeed the case, a student considering science or medicine as a career benefits most from early involvement in research. Such an experience clarifies for a student that a scientific career is an appropriate choice, or helps them decide to make other plans. Last summer, the department supported 34 students on summer research projects; 22 of the students had completed no more than two years of college chemistry. This philosophy extends to include high school students in the research lab. On average, two high school students per summer have participated in research with the support of the Dow Chemical Company Foundation. Many of the high school students involved in the program subsequently enroll at Trinity University. By recruiting research students early, many of chemistry majors leave Trinity University with two, three, or even four years of research experience. Consequently, they are highly recruited by graduate institutions. Student research efforts also continue during the academic year, with 33 students enrolled in research for credit last year and about 15 more students doing research on a volunteer basis. Volunteering in research allows students who are concerned about their ability to sustain research activity during a tough academic semester to continue their excitement about research by maintaining a research presence, attending research group meetings, and benefiting from many of the activities associated with research. The emphasis on the involvement of young students in research was underscored by the creation of an independent study course targeted to students in their first two years at Trinity University. Because many research students start doing research before declaring a major, research experiences are provided to many students who majoring in other areas. This is an important additional benefit to this approach in that non-science majors are trained in research. In terms of increasing the general level of scientific literacy, having English or Economics majors who have been involved in meaningful scientific research is the highest level of scientific literacy. A second focus of the department involves students from predominantly Hispanic schools in chemical research at Trinity. These efforts offer research opportunities during the summer to students from local colleges and universities with very limited research opportunities at their home institutions. This group of local schools includes both four-year institutions and two-year community colleges. The program, which supported ten students per summer, guaranteed places in research groups for students from seven local schools with large enrollments of Hispanic students. The remaining three slots were reserved for Trinity students who then served as mentors. Typically safety, ethics, and research seminars were included among the list of activities. A number of social activities helped build community. It was not unusual for students who had participated in research through this program one summer to be picked up by individual research grants in subsequent summers. The Trinity University Chemistry Department has seven full-time faculty
members. The faculty members maintain externally funded research programs,
and involve undergraduates in those programs. Peer-reviewed papers based
on the research of these students are routinely published. Research students
are encouraged to present the results of their efforts at local, regional,
and national meetings. These publication and presentation opportunities
are not restricted to the best students; rather all students involved
in the program have real opportunities to work on meaningful, publishable
research. Faculty at many institutions tend to assume that students need
to be reasonably far along in their academic careers in order to contribute
effectively to a research project. This has not been the experience at
Trinity. Students are particularly good at rising to expectations. Contact:
Michelle Bushey, Department of Chemistry, Trinity University. Rollinson Fellowship Program, University of Maryland. For the past three spring semesters (2001–2003) the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Maryland, College Park has implemented an initiative designed to provide a number of first year undergraduate majors with the opportunity to pursue independent research under the mentorship of research active faculty members and graduate students. Entitled the Rollinson Fellowship Program (RFP), this initiative has matched motivated – although not necessarily experienced – students with small, self-contained projects that fit into the larger goals of participating research groups. Support from the both the Department (through the Carl Rollinson Endowment) and the College of Life Sciences enables the RFP to match eight applicants to eight individual research projects each semester. Participating undergraduates are named Rollinson Fellows and receive a $500 tuition allowance. In addition, each Rollinson Fellow is able to spend up to $300 dollars to help defray costs associated with their research. The RFP requires that Fellows work ~7-10 hours per week on their respective projects. The program culminates with a Rollinson Fellowship Research Symposium during which all participating Fellows present their work in 10-12 minute, ACS-style research talks. Following the symposium, Fellows submit 4-5 page papers summarizing their results and their impressions of the RFP. A unique aspect of the RFP is its acknowledgement that mentoring first year undergraduates is time intensive, both in terms of planning manageable, self-contained projects, and day-to-day supervision in the laboratory. In recognition of a research group’s commitment, the RFP provides partial RA support for participating research groups. This support encourages faculty to contribute research projects as well as commit their time and the time of graduate student mentors. Typically ~75% of all first year Rollinson Fellows continue to do research
in their groups after the program ends. Many students acquire support
from the College’s Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) program. Rollinson
Fellows have appeared as co-authors on papers in J. Chem. Phys, J. Phys.
Chem. B, J. Org. Chem., among others. The RFP remains a popular mechanism
for introducing first year undergraduates to independent research as
well as a means of developing mentoring skills within the graduate student
ranks. Contact: Robert A. Walker, Department of Chemistry, University
of Maryland. When the Dental School received a large grant for offering a 5-week early intervention course for a group of 30 at-risk, first- and second-year students from mainly HBCUs, they approached the chemistry department for assistance. Jason took his experience in teaching first-year students in the Honors program and designed a 36-hour program (20 facilitated discussion, 16 laboratory) for the chemistry unit. He integrated his growing subject matter knowledge, laboratory research experience, and teaching experience into a novel program. Collecting survey and performance-based educational research data, he was also able to show the striking effect of an intense mastery experience on the confidence of these at-risk students. The next year, Scott picked up this chemistry unit and two other students used Jason’s experience as a template to expand to a biochemistry unit and a physics unit. The College wished to offer a series of 2-week (80-hour) intensive short courses to promising high school students. As juniors, Scott, Ian, and Desiree designed a program that would have these students analyzing NMR spectra as the entrée into the course goal: understanding structural chemistry. They, like Jason, drew from both their research and teaching experiences in designing this unit. During the implementation, Ian also collected, and did discourse analysis on, videotapes of students doing performance-based tasks, comparing the skills of these students to solve and NMR problem compared with some experienced senior students. The next year, Sarah, Nicole and another colleague used the 2-week period to design and implement a molecular biology unit. As a senior, Ian joined a 7-person team (2 faculty, 1 post-doc, 4 graduate students) in the design and development of instructional materials for implementing a studio-format version of General Chemistry. He joined the team on their weeklong fact-finding trip to Cal Poly, where some studio implementation had been done. He brought his design experience to the team, and wrote the first draft of the acid-base unit. Two other chemistry majors, Laura and Kim, are also pursuing secondary
education certification. They joined a team of 2 faculty, 2 graduate
students, and 2 in-service teachers working on a high school textbook
project. Laura and Kim, both of whom had done 2 years of undergraduate
research, brought a valued perspective to developing, testing, and writing
materials for the laboratory program as well as the teacher’s edition.
Contact: Brian Coppola, Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan. Chemistry isn’t what it used to be! Over the past several years, whole new chemistry-dependent disciplines have been created or reinvented: genomics, nanomaterials, computer simulation and modeling… The list goes on and on. Anyone who is familiar with the University of Minnesota’s Chemistry Department knows that it’s helping lead the charge into chemistry’s brave new world. Other departments, especially small ones, are not so lucky. How can they stay vibrant in an era of such unprecedently rapid change? That’s where the Research Site for Educators in Chemistry (RSEC) comes in. The RSEC, which is directed by chemistry professor Jeff Roberts and funded by the National Science Foundation, aims to foster new scientific interactions between faculty at the University of Minnesota and faculty at Upper Midwestern undergraduate institutions. Those institutions run the gamut from large public schools, like St. Cloud State University, to small private colleges, for instance Carleton. The RSEC is organized around four interdisciplinary clusters: chemical biology, computational chemistry, environmental chemistry, and materials chemistry. RSEC participants can apply for financial support, including summer stipends and sabbatical salary, for new research collaborations in those areas. Beginning in 2003, the RSEC will deliver to participating departments an Internet seminar series featuring presentations by internationally prominent scientists. Lastly, the RSEC provides participants with assistance in obtaining external research funding through feedback and advice on proposal. The Minnesota RSEC was inaugurated in September 2001, and so far it has been able to support fifteen new collaborations involving professors and students from nine undergraduate institutions. What have participants had to say about the RSEC? Mark Vitha of Drake University spent six weeks with Ilja Siepmann in the summer of 2002 working on the application of computational chemistry methods to liquid chromatography. Mark writes, “I would certainly recommend the U of M RSEC to my colleagues. The flexibility built into the program in terms of the arrangements of the collaborations is a definite strong point, as it should allow for many faculty members to find some way to participate in and benefit from the program.” University
of Wisconsin River Falls Professor David Rusterholtz and
his students collaborated with Tom Hoye in the winter of 2002. They worked
on the synthesis of a fragment of the peloruside A structure. Dave is
a big supporter of the RSEC. “I highly recommend this program to others.
I see no way to keep up with the forefront of chemistry without the aid
of others, i.e., the U of M Chem faculty.” Contact: Jeff Roberts or Vicki
Woodcock, Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota The Chemistry Department at UNC-Charlotte offers B.A., B.S. and ACS-approved B.S. degrees. Two semesters of research are required for the B.S. degree. While some students are involved in research only for the required time period, many elect to become more extensively involved. Many students learn about research through their course instructors and from other students. The Chemistry Department has several mechanisms for introducing students
to research at early stages in their academic careers. A special laboratory
section in the second semester sophomore organic chemistry course allows
students to work on independent projects in a research laboratory rather
than enroll in the “regular” organic chemistry laboratory course. Students
in this special section are there by invitation of the faculty, so only
the top few students have the opportunity to participate in this activity.
Most of the students who enroll in this course continue to do research
in the same research laboratory for the remainder of their career at
UNC Charlotte. Another way of exposing students to research is through
the project component of the Quantitative Analysis course. Sophomore
and junior chemistry and biology majors account for the majority of students
enrolled in this course. Midway through the semester, students choose
a short research project either from a provided list of possible projects
or a project of their own design. Students work on their projects during
the last quarter to third of the semester, after they have learned some
basic laboratory skills in the earlier part of the course. At the end
of the semester, a “poster day” is held in which students present their
projects in poster format, much as they would do at a Gordon Conference
or an ACS meeting. Faculty and students attend the poster sessions and
interact with the students. The poster session shows the students that
scientists learn much from one another by socializing. The project experience
is usually quite successful as students take ownership of their work.
Students sometimes join research groups as a result of meeting faculty
at the poster sessions. Individual projects are also conducted in the
laboratory components of the Instrumental Analysis courses, which enroll
junior and senior chemistry majors, many of whom are already involved
in undergraduate research. Contact: Bernadette Donovan-Merkert, Department
of Chemistry, University of North Carolina-Charlotte. University
of North Carolina Undergraduate Research Consortium. In the
spring of 2002, in response to the growing prevalence and importance
of undergraduate research, the UNC Office of the President formed the
UNC Undergraduate Research Consortium. The mission of the consortium
is to support and promote high-quality undergraduate research, creative
work, and inquiry-based learning in all fields of study with faculty
and other mentors. Composed of representatives from the UNC Office of
the President and each of the 16 constituent institutions, the consortium
serves as an advisory council to the Vice President for Research and
Sponsored Programs at the UNC Office of the President. It also serves
as an inter-institutional UNC forum for recommending and implementing
activities supporting undergraduate research. The members of the consortium
meet quarterly, either in face-to-face or teleconference meetings. During
its first year, a web page for the consortium was created. The web page
describes the consortium, offers a working definition of undergraduate
research, states the goals and activities of the consortium, lists the
members and subcommittee members, and provides links to campus web sites.
The consortium seeks to pursue activities that will facilitate and promote
research on and among each of the sixteen campuses. See For the last five years, Williams College has cooperated with the RFK Science Research Institute, a summer program for New York City high school students from underperforming academic settings. By performing multidisciplinary hands-on science research, 6-10 high school students each year develop their critical thinking, logical reasoning, scientific writing and presentation skills. Supervised by Williams College Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) Lab staff, students prepare teeth and other fossils from archaeological and paleontological sites for ESR dating. They are involved in the all aspects of the research, from selecting and preparing the fossil samples for dating, to running the Williams ESR spectrometer, and calculating ages. In these respects, this program is similar to other collaborations between schools and colleges. However, there are two significant differences. This program reaches out to an ethnically diverse population many of whom would not consider college because it is not within their family's cultural experience. We have, for example, had an Afghani woman whose mother came to Williamstown with her, despite severe criticism, to enable her to complete her project. Further, the mentoring available reaches well beyond guidance in how to complete a research project. This program provides college application guidance through visits to the Williams admissions office during the time on campus. Then program scientists continue mentoring through the fall and winter as students prepare detailed reports, and present their data not only at science fairs, but also to science classes in their home schools. Every student who has completed the program (45 of 49) has entered one or more science fairs and other competitions, and has won some level of prize. Five students have been national semi-finalists in Intel or Westinghouse competitions, while one placed in the top ten for New York State. Another was a NYC representative to the International Science and Engineering Fair where he won several awards. These results demonstrate that the students genuinely comprehend their work and can explain it to others. In turn, science fair recognition catches the eye of college admissions officers, boosting the chances for students who might not otherwise seem eligible for acceptance. One student is currently a Williams student, and committed to a career in medical research, others are, or have been, students at Brown, Cornell, Barnard, Hobart & William Smith and other four-year programs, and with substantial financial assistance. The electronic news list for The Chronicle of Higher Education, on Monday, March 3, 2003 described a study of what makes a good early intervention program to encourage high-risk young people and cited the RFK/Williams model as a good example of what is required for success.
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