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2002 Spring ConfChem: Undergraduate Research

03/25/02 to 04/24/02
Organizer(s): 
Professor George Long Department of Chemistry Indiana University of PA Indiana, PA 15705 Pam Mabrouk Department of Chemistry Northeastern University Boston, MA 02115

This conference will explore the undergraduate research experience both from the perspective of the research advisor and the undergraduate research student. The conference will open with a virtual poster session showcasing the research accomplishments of undergraduate researchers from across the country. This session will be followed by a series of invited papers focussed on the process and educational impact of the undergraduate research experience.

 

Papers

Paper 1. Academic Excellence: A Study of the Role of Research in the Natural Sciences at Undergraduate Institutions
Michael P. Doyle
Research Corporation, Tucson, AZ 85711

Paper 2. Value and Impact of Undergraduate Research in Chemistry: Lessons Gained from 45 Years of Experience at the University of Kansas

K. Barbara Schowen
Department of Chemistry, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045

Paper 3. THE NATIONAL CONFERENCES ON UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH

Dr. Ronald L. Dotterer
Chair, Board of Governors, National Conferences on Undergraduate Research®

Paper 4. The Council on Undergraduate Research: Supporting Research in the Undergraduate Environment

Kerry K. Karukstis
Department of Chemistry, Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, CA 91711

Paper 5. A plan to improve undergraduate research (UR) and student diversity in the botany department at a large, research institution

Jeffrey Coker and Jon M. Stucky
Dept. of Botany, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7612

Conference Articles

Abstracts of Papers:

Michael P. Doyle
Research Corporation
Tucson, AZ 85711
mdoyle@rescorp.org

Abstract:

This Study was undertaken to provide a basic understanding of the environment for research in the natural sciences at predominantly undergraduate colleges and universities. These institutions have served as a national resource for a significant proportion of students who undertake professional careers in the sciences, and a primary reason cited for their output has been the research experiences of undergraduate students with faculty mentors. However, prior to the Study there was a growing perception that resources and productivity were declining. Concern over these perceived trends by five private foundations with interests in the natural sciences prompted the intensive data collection and analyses that are contained in the SourceBook. (More info at: http://www.rescorp.org/AE_intro.html)

K. Barbara Schowen
Professor of Chemistry and
Director of the University Honors Program
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS 66045

Abstract:

The Department of Chemistry at the University of Kansas has a 45-year history of providing research opportunity to undergraduates via formal and informal programs. Since 1957 well over 600 students have engaged in research under the direction of its faculty. Participants have included its own undergraduates, many of them working on senior honors theses, as well as students from other colleges and universities. These students have been supported by the University's Undergraduate Research Award program, the National Science Foundation's URP and REU programs, industrial and departmental grants, the department and university, and individual faculty research funds. The combined involvement of all of these students has contributed significantly to the academic life of the department and the university. The climate favoring undergraduate research has had a major impact on undergraduate and graduate education, research productivity, and the overall university-wide research environment in the chemical sciences. Data obtained from surveys of students and advanced scientists, directors of research and research programs, and from personal histories and anecdotes will be presented. They point overwhelmingly to the value of research experience during the college/university years. Research participation has a record of producing young scientists with a clearer commitment to, and better preparation for, graduate education, along with a stronger understanding of career options in the chemical sciences. Research experience also adds an essential dimension to undergraduate science education, by providing a deeper understanding of and more positive attitude toward chemistry, by promoting personal and professional growth, and, finally, by contributing to the nation's research enterprise, the profession of chemistry, and the nation and society at large by leading to the production of more qualified and prepared chemical scientists for the coming generations.

Dr. Ronald L. Dotterer
Chair, Board of Governors, National Conferences on Undergraduate Research®
RLDOTTERER@salisbury.edu

Abstract:

The National Conferences on Undergraduate Research (NCUR®) is the largest professional organization devoted to fostering undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative accomplishments in all academic disciplines. Now in its fifteenth year, NCUR® began as a project of the National Science Foundation, the National Collegiate Honors Council, and a group of individuals at the University of North Carolina-Asheville who yearned for a mechanism for undergraduates to measure their intellectual research efforts against peers from across the country. Funding from the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, the National Science Foundation, the Council for Undergraduate Research and the Petroleum Research Fund were critical to NCUR® in its first decade. A second, equally important, precept for NCUR® from its infancy has been its conscious attempt to promote diversity among those who practice undergraduate research, seen most visibly in concrete efforts to increase the number of minority and under-represented groups of students doing such research and making presentations of their work at NCUR® or at national meetings of the professions. NCUR is a 501(c3) non-profit corporation chartered in North Carolina and governed by a twenty-four member board of governors that meets twice annually at the national conference and at a fall board meeting at the site of the upcoming conference.

Kerry K. Karukstis
Department of Chemistry, Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, CA 91711

Abstract:

The Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR), founded in 1978, is a national organization of colleges, universities, and individuals that share a focus on providing undergraduate research opportunities for faculty and students at primarily undergraduate institutions. CUR members believe that education is best served by faculty_student collaborative research and that faculty improve their teaching and contribute to society by remaining active in research. CUR provides avenues for faculty development and helps administrators to improve and assess the research environments of their institutions. CUR membership is organized in a divisional structure that includes biology, chemistry, geoscience, mathematics and computer science, physics and astronomy, psychology, social sciences, and an at-large division that serves administrators and other disciplines. The Chemistry Division is the oldest division of CUR. The programs, publications, meetings, and services of CUR will be presented, highlighting those aspects of most interest to chemists.