By Jared Brickman, University College intern
PULLMAN, Wash. – Nine programs at Washington State University will host more than 60 undergraduates from around the country to participate in summer research.
They met with their faculty mentors and teammates for the first time at a breakfast orientation May 30. The students, who hail from several universities, will do research full-time for 10 weeks.
Programs will culminate in a free poster presentation of results on Aug. 2. Students will design posters that summarize their findings to discuss with faculty, staff, other students and guests.
“One of the goals of these programs is to prepare students to disseminate their research to the public with confidence and to learn about the research of their peers,” said Shelley Pressley, director of the undergraduate research program at WSU. “The event always helps wrap up a summer of excellent work.”
Last year, students explored everything from flexible solar energy cells to the storage of potato tubers to reduce darkening.
This summer’s research will focus on smart environments, renewable resources, climate change, plant genomics, advanced materials, materials under extreme conditions, plant metabolism, and multi-scale engineering.
“We really have a great opportunity with this very diverse group of programs for the summer,” said Pressley. “This mix of talent really showcases the breadth of science and engineering research going on at the university.”
Of the nine programs, five are supported by the National Science Foundation as research experience for undergraduate (REU) programs. The rest are funded by WSU departments or the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Providing hands-on experience, REU and similar programs provide hands-on experience for students in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) disciplines. Real-world techniques and best practices for research and methodologies are taught through seminars and work with faculty mentors.
“These are the kinds of things scientists are doing all the time,” Pressley said. “That experience is invaluable for undergraduates and helps inspire them to continue in the field.”