Nellie Binder ’15 (CLAS) recently completed an individualized major in International Relations and will start law school in Fall 2015 to pursue her interests in immigration, asylum, and refugee law. In this essay and memoir, she shares her undergraduate research on Holocaust memorialization in the U.S. and in Poland.
The research for my 2014 SURF project, titled “Implications in the Past and Present: Holocaust Memorialization through Photographs, Camps, and Museums,” took place mainly in Poland and Washington D.C. While in the capitol, I spent multiple days in the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, which gave me the chance to examine each exhibition with particular care, keeping in mind how the museum functions within the realm of Holocaust memorialization. I was able to contrast this research with my experience at the actual sites of destruction: the concentration camps themselves. After going to Auschwitz, where I saw groups of Israeli protesters as well as masses of IDF soldiers in uniform, I also began considering the connection between Holocaust memorialization and the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. How do differing opinions about the Holocaust translate into dialogue regarding the conflict? This observation was critical as it enabled me to connect my research on the past with one of the most highly debated international conflicts in the present.
“Faces before death.” Taken in Auschwitz, 2014. Photo by Nellie Binder.
By visiting various concentration camps throughout Poland, in particular Auschwitz, I was also able to develop a very personal perspective on the formation of Holocaust memory in varying political spheres. This personal response to my time in Auschwitz prompted the short creative memoir piece below. Continue reading →
Please join us in congratulating the UConn undergraduates named below for their significant research and creative accomplishments this spring. Students: if you have an accomplishment to share, please do so using this online form.
AWARDS
Tyler Cappello ’16 (CLAS) received a Founders Affiliate Undergraduate Student Summer Fellowship Award from the American Heart Association. He will be working in the Wang Lab this summer, under the supervision of Professor Li Wang, on a project entitled “Circadian clock control of lipoprotein metabolism.” Congratulations, Tyler!
Congratulations to the two UConn undergraduate awardees in the 2015 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program: Steven Burger ’15 (CLAS) and Yingzhi Wu ’15 (ENG). Steven, a 2013 SURF Award recipient and 2014-15 Life Sciences Honors Thesis Award recipient, will attend the PhD Program in Biological and Biomedical Sciences at Harvard University. Yingzhi, a 2014-15 OUR Supply Award recipient, will pursue a PhD in Mechanical Engineering here at UConn.
We also congratulate three undergraduates who earned honorable mentions in the NSF GRFP competition: Robert Stickels ’15 (CLAS), a 2012 SURF Award recipient and 2014-15 LSHTA recipient, beginning the PhD Program in Biological and Biomedical Sciences at Harvard; Elizabeth Tripp ’15 (CLAS), a 2014 SURF Award recipient, beginning the Mathematics PhD program at Dartmouth; and Daniel Violette ’14 (ENG, CLAS), a 2014 University Scholar. Students interested in applying for the NSF GRFP should contact Dr. Rowena Grainger, STEM Fellowship Advisor in the Office of National Scholarships and Fellowships, for information and expert guidance.
PUBLICATIONS
Elizabeth Flatley ’13 (PHR) was the first author on a publication resulting from her Honors thesis project:
Flatley, E.A., Wilde, A.M., & Nailor, M.D. (2015). Saccharomyces boulardii for the Prevention of Hospital Onset Clostridium difficile Infection. Journal of Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease, 24(1), 21-24.
EXHIBITIONS
Spring 2015 included a series of incredible art exhibitions by the following artists:
Julianne Norton ’15 (CLAS) – UConn IDEA Grant recipient Red Heifer
Feifei Luo ’15 (SFA) – UConn IDEA Grant recipient Makyo
Kaitrin Acuna ’15 (SFA) – UConn IDEA Grant recipient Pollataggle
PRESENTATIONS
Earthquake Engineering Research Institute Annual Meeting – March 31-April 3, 2015 – Boston, MA
Dylan Allen ’15 (ENGR) – OUR Travel Award recipient
Hamza Aslam ’15 (ENGR)
Alexandra Hain ’15 (ENGR) – OUR Travel Award recipient University of Connecticut Seismic Building Design
Lia Goncalves ’16 (CLAS) – OUR Travel Award recipient An Anthropological Study on Motivating Societies to Preemptively Implement Seismic Protective Systems
Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association Annual Conference – April 1-4, 2015 – New Orleans, LA
Tara Pealer ’15 (CLAS) – OUR Travel Award recipient, sponsored by the University of Connecticut Humanities Institute The Love Triangle: How Twilight, The Hunger Games and Divergent Defy and Affirm the Power of Romance and Sex When Defining Female Characters
Eastern Nursing Research Society Annual Scientific Sessions – April 15-17, 2015 – Washington, DC
Corrinne Kuzoian ’15 (NURS) – OUR Travel Award recipient Certified Nurse Midwives’ Attitudes, Knowledge, and Prescribing Practices of Evidence-based Recommendations for Omega-3 Intake in the Obstetric Population
National Conference on Undergraduate Research – April 16-18, 2015 – Cheney, WA
Rashmi Pashankar ’16 (CLAS) – OUR Travel Award recipient Modifying BSA to Attach to Silica
Northeast Writing Centers Association Conference – April 18-19, 2015 – Hackettstown, NJ
Alexandria Bottelsen ’16 (ED, CLAS) – OUR Travel Award recipient, sponsored by the University of Connecticut Humanities Institute
Luke LaRosa Dec ’15 (CLAS) – OUR Travel Award recipient, sponsored by the University of Connecticut Humanities Institute After the Branding: Student Created Perceptions of the University Writing Center
Sarah Carew ’18 (CLAS) – OUR Travel Award recipient, sponsored by the University of Connecticut Humanities Institute
Brandon Marquis ’17 (CLAS) – OUR Travel Award recipient, sponsored by the University of Connecticut Humanities Institute
Chantel Martin ’15 (CLAS) – OUR Travel Award recipient, sponsored by the University of Connecticut Humanities Institute
Jessica Zaccagnini ‘16 (CLAS) – OUR Travel Award recipient, sponsored by the University of Connecticut Humanities Institute The Androgynous Center: Tutoring Across the Masculine/Feminine Spectrum
Jennifer Selensky ’15 (CLAS) presents her research at the Scientific Sessions of the Society for Behavioral Medicine.
36th Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions of the Society for Behavioral Medicine – April 22-25, 2015 – San Antonio, TX
Jennifer Selensky ’15 (CLAS) – UConn IDEA Grant recipient Self-Esteem, Motivation, and Healthy Lifestyles in College Students
Pediatric Academic Societies Annual Meeting – April 25-28, 2015 – San Diego, CA
Yue Lin ’15 (CLAS) – OUR Travel Award recipient Assessing Childhood Obesity Risk Through Parental Diet and Location of Residence
Christopher Mashiak ’15 (CLAS) – OUR Travel Award recipient Predictability of an ED-Screening Tool for Future Exposure to Violence
Bryan Swenson ’15 (CLAS) – OUR Travel Award recipient Initial Effects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on Pediatric Emergency Departments
169th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America – May 18-22, 2015 – Pittsburgh, PA
Emily Thompson ’15 (CLAS) 5aSC10: Effects of reading ability on lexically-informed perceptual learning
Emily Thompson ’15 (CLAS) presents her research at the ASA Conference in May 2015.
27th Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture – May 27-29, 2015 – Cooperstown, NY
Daniel Gutch ’16 (BUS) – OUR Travel Award recipient
Sam Marshall ’16 (BUS) – OUR Travel Award recipient MLB’s Next Expansion: A Case Problem for Three University Students
Society for Disability Studies Annual Conference – June 10-13, 2015 – Atlanta, GA
Victoria Sylvestre ’17 (NUR) – OUR Travel Award recipient, sponsored by the University of Connecticut Humanities Institute Type 1 Diabetes: The Liminal Space Between Ability and Disability
The Office of Undergraduate Research is pleased to announce the selection of 35 undergraduate students to receive SURF Awards in support of their summer undergraduate research projects. The faculty review committee was impressed by the very high caliber of the 107 applications submitted this year.
Congratulations to the SURF awardees! Your academic achievements, curiosity, initiative, and motivation were evident in your applications. You have a challenging summer of deep engagement with the process of research ahead of you. We look forward to hearing about all you learn!
We thank the faculty members who supported SURF applicants in a range of roles: mentors, letter writers, and faculty review committee members! SURF represents a collaborative effort between students and faculty. This program would simply not be possible without the support and participation of the UConn faculty!
OUR also extends thanks to SURF supporters in the UConn community. We are grateful to the Provost’s Office and to the Deans of the Schools and Colleges of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources; Education; Engineering; Fine Arts; Nursing; and Pharmacy, who all contributed funding to the SURF competition this year. Alumni, parents, and friends of UConn also helped fund SURF awards. This collaborative funding effort ensures that SURF supports a diverse array of undergraduate research endeavors. We are grateful to all of our program partners for making intensive summer research opportunities available to students seeking to enrich their undergraduate experience in this way.
Once again, congratulations to those students offered 2015 SURF awards, and good luck with your summer projects!
In recognition of the pivotal role that mentors play in supporting undergraduate research and creative activity, the Office of Undergraduate Research introduced the Mentorship Excellence Awards this year. These awards recognize one faculty member and one graduate student who exemplify the ways in which outstanding mentors challenge and support their students, enabling them to take intellectual risks and achieve milestones they might not have initially envisioned being able to reach.
The 2015 Mentorship Excellence Awards were presented to George Bollas and Christopher Kelly during the Frontiers in Undergraduate Research Poster Exhibition on Friday, April 10, 2015.
George Bollas, Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Professor Bollas’ award was presented by Ari Fischer ’15 (ENG), one of several undergraduate researchers in the Bollas lab. The following text is excerpted from Ari’s presentation remarks.
Ari Fischer, Oscar Nordness, Mentorship Excellence Award winner George Bollas, and Clarke Palmer.I have been fortunate to work under the guidance of Dr. Bollas since my freshman year. Since that time, I have admired and learned from Dr. Bollas’ exceptional engineering ability and work ethic. Dr. Bollas has the ability to make what seems to be impossible happen. He has motivated and empowered us undergraduates to surpass our coursework and seize remarkable opportunities.
Over the past three years, Dr. Bollas has sponsored undergraduate researchers to present at the American Institute of Chemical Engineering Research Conference in both the undergraduate poster session and oral presentations, where his students received numerous awards. In preparation for these conferences, Dr. Bollas revised dozens of drafts of posters and provided feedback on practice presentations.
In addition, Dr. Bollas has challenged us to strive in our academic and career aspirations. From my experience, Dr. Bollas showed the same attention and commitment to my research as his graduate students’, helping to formulate my work into a paper for publication. At first, I could not have dreamed of publishing my work as a first author in a peer reviewed journal, yet with Dr. Bollas’ patience, determination, and guidance, I was able to do so.
Dr. Bollas’ impact has not been limited to the few lucky to work in his lab, but extends to all of his students. He is constantly pushing the limits of our education and challenging us to take the lead in our work. In this way, he compels us to exceed the conventional undergraduate education.
Christopher Kelly, Ph.D. Student, Chemistry, Leadbeater Research Group
Christopher Kelly was nominated by Rebecca Wiles, one of the undergraduate researchers he has mentored in the Leadbeater Research Group. The following text is excerpted from the remarks shared by OUR Peer Research Ambassador Giorgina Paiella during the award presentation.
John Ovian, Mentorship Excellence Award winner Christopher Kelly, and Rebecca Wiles.Chris is a graduate student mentor who has guided undergraduates’ “journeys from new researchers to confident and competent research chemists,” to borrow the phrasing of his nominator, Rebecca Wiles. His mentorship of undergraduate researchers is notable for its comprehensiveness as well as its inclusivity, with Chris often mentoring several students in a given semester.
Chris has guided undergraduate researchers through the development of novel synthetic chemistry methods, findings that are subsequently published in peer-reviewed journals. In addition to offering support at the lab bench and in the process of academic writing, Chris has helped his mentees develop presentation skills in advance of the American Chemical Society’s Annual Meeting. Rebecca reports that it was Chris’ constant advising, teaching, and confidence in her that contributed to her success in presenting her research at the conference. This holistic attention to students’ development as both researchers and scholars is the hallmark of outstanding mentorship.
Chris serves as a role model of a successful scientist, demonstrating to students how to cultivate and maintain relationships with mentors, balance multiple projects simultaneously, and handle the inevitable ups and downs of research.
As Rebecca reflects, “More important than the knowledge we gained about the chemistry was the lesson that Chris taught me about how to view failed experiments – that research is fluid, and experimentation will often lead you down unexpected pathways to find new, and often more interesting, results.”
By encouraging students to reframe the failures inherent to the research process as valuable opportunities to explore new directions and approaches, Chris helps his mentees become more resilient and confident researchers eager to continue their research in graduate school and beyond.
Congratulations to the 2015 award recipients! The Office of Undergraduate Research thanks the undergraduate students who nominated their faculty and graduate student mentors as well as the Peer Research Ambassadors who served on this year’s selection committee.
Please join us in congratulating the UConn undergraduates named below for the significant research and creative accomplishments they have earned to date this spring. Students: if you have an accomplishment to share, please do so using this online form.
AWARDS
Emily Thompson ’15 (CLAS) is the recipient of a 2014-15 ASHA Students Preparing for Academic-Research Careers (SPARC) Award from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). This is a mentored award to support students who are pursuing careers in academia that integrate research and clinical practice. Emily’s Honors thesis research component will examine the effects of reading ability on perceptual learning in adults, and her teaching component will be to assist her advisor, Dr. Rachel Theodore, in preparing fMRI and EEG tutorials for a new interdisciplinary Honors core course on communication disorders. This SPARC mentorship experience will provide Emily with an opportunity to foster her teaching and research skills under the direction of Dr. Theodore. Emily is currently conducting her Honors thesis research in the UConn SLaP Lab, which examines perceptual learning in adults with dyslexia.
Margaret Rowland ’15 (CLAS) was selected by Active Minds as an Emerging Scholars Fellow. This fellowship program supports behavioral health research by undergraduate researchers. Margaret’s project examines how mental health professionals tackle ethical dilemmas in patient care, with a particular focus on decisions related to pharmacotherapy. This project lies at the intersection of her interests in neuroscience (pharmacology research) and bioethics.
UConn IDEA Grant recipient Ari Fischer ’15 (ENG) is the first author on a manuscript related to his grant project:
Fischer, A., Du, S., Valla, J.A., & Bollas, G.M. (2015). The effect of temperature, heating rate, and ZSM-5 catalyst on the product selectivity of the fast pyrolysis of Spent Coffee Grounds. RSC Advances, DOI: 10.1039/C5RA00212E.
Undergraduate students Sai Nagella, Andrea Lugo, and Scott Pierce are co-authors on the following publication from the Angeles-Boza research group in Chemistry:
Daben, M., Libardo, J., Nagella, S., Lugo, A., Pierce, S., & Angeles-Boza, A.M. (2015). Copper-binding tripeptide motif increases potency of the antimicrobial peptide Anoplin via Reactive Oxygen Species generation. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 456(1), 446-451.
Garrett Fontaine ’16 (CAHNR) is a co-author on the following journal article:
Pryor, R.R., Casa, D.J., Vandermark, L.W., Attanasio, S.M., Fontaine, G.J., & Wafer, A.M. (2015). Athletic training services in public secondary schools: A benchmark study. Journal of Athletic Training, 50(2).
IDEA Grant recipient and Holster Scholar Sarah Mosure ’17 (CLAS) is a co-author on the following publication:
Deady, L.D, Shen, W., Mosure, S.A., Spradling, A.C. & Sun, J. (2015). Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 Is Required for Ovulation and Corpus Luteum Formation in Drosophila. PLOS Genetics, 11(2):e1004989. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1004989
EXHIBITIONS
After a series of weather delays, February 2015 kicked off a series of incredible art exhibitions in the VAIS Gallery by the following artists:
Ashley Frato ’15 (SFA) – UConn IDEA Grant recipient it’s a dream: Memories of the Cuban Revolution
Marissa Stanton ’15 (SFA) – UConn IDEA Grant recipient Serragli (Menagerie)
PRESENTATIONS
Eastern Athletic Trainers’ Association Meeting & Clinical Symposium – January 9-12, 2015 – Philadelphia, PA
Nicole Taranto ’15 (CAHNR) – OUR Travel Award recipient Influence of Sport Specialization on Landing Technique in Youth Soccer Athletes
Kiersten Kronschnabel ’15 (CLAS) presents her research at the St. Jude/PIDS conference in Memphis, TN.Joint Mathematics Meetings – January 10-13, 2015 – San Antonio, TX
Shaun Benvie ’15 (CLAS) – OUR Travel Award recipient Partial Metric Spaces: Representation and Classification
International Stroke Conference – February 11-13, 2015 – Nashville, TN
Kristopher Masilamani ’16 (CLAS) – OUR Travel Award recipient Strokes in HHT
St. Jude/PIDS Pediatric Infectious Diseases Research Conference – February 20-21, 2015 – Memphis, TN
Kiersten Kronschnabel ’15 (CLAS) – UConn IDEA Grant recipient POWER: Providing Optimal Strategies for Patient Retention While Transitioning from Pediatric to Adult Care
American Choral Directors Association National Conference – February 25-28, 2015 – Salt Lake City, UT
Nathan Fletcher ’15 (SFA) – OUR Travel Award recipient O Gracious Light
American Medical Student Association Annual Convention – February 27-28, 2015 – Washington, DC
Saher Kazi ’16 (CLAS) presents at the American Medical Student Association Annual Convention in Washington, DC.Saher Kazi ’15 (CLAS) – UConn IDEA Grant recipient Prevalence and Risk Factors for Depression, Anxiety, and Alcohol Abuse Among Connecticut Migrant Farm Workers
Awarded the 2015 People’s Choice Award
56th Annual Drosophila Research Conference – March 4-8, 2015 – Chicago, IL
Sarah Mosure ’17 (CLAS) – UConn IDEA Grant recipient The Role of Drosophila Adipocyte Secretions in Female Fertility
Eastern Psychological Association Annual Meeting – March 5-7, 2015 – Philadelphia, PA
Lauren Masayda ’17 (CAHNR) – OUR Travel Award recipient Human Conditioned Place Preferences using a Secondary Reinforcer
Kimberly Valerio ’15 (CLAS) – OUR Travel Award recipient Language Development and EEG Mu Rhythm in Early Childhood
AIChE Northeast Regional Student Conference – March 7-8, 2015 – Cambridge, MA
Ornella Tempo ’16 (ENG) In Vitro Evaluation of Calcium Peroxide Release from Composite Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) Microsphere Scaffolds
United States Institute for Theatre Technology 55th Annual Conference & Stage Expo – March 18-21, 2015 – Cincinnati, OH
Lindsay Duval ’15 (SFA) – OUR Travel Award recipient The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee Scenic Design
Academic and Health Policy Conference on Correctional Health – March 19-20, 2015 – Boston, MA
Alyssa Zabin ’16 (CLAS) – OUR Travel Award recipient Social Challenges for Correctional Nurses Delivering Healthcare
Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting – March 19-21, 2015 – Philadelphia, PA
Kelly Romano ’15 (CLAS) – OUR Travel Award recipient Cultural Identity, and Perceived Peer and Parent Outgroup Norms in Relation to Engagement in Crossgroup Friendships
The Power of Home: Guardianship Effects for Adolescents in School-based Substance Use Recovery
Patterns in Impulsivity and Emotion Regulation: A Comparison of Substance Use Recovery Students
From Spring 2014: Power and Energy Conference at Illinois (PECI) – February 28-March 1, 2014 – Champaign, IL
Manal Tahhan ’15 (ENG) A Uniform Temperature Test Rig for Thermoelectric Generator Characterization and Testing (paper presentation)
Aaron Rosman ’16 (CAHNR) is a member of the second cohort of UConn IDEA Grant recipients. Aaron’s research focuses on clarifying the species boundaries between different kinds of waterwort, or Elatine, considered invasive species in many countries. Through DNA sequencing, Aaron and his advisors determined that Elatine ambigua Wight (Asian waterwort) and Elatine triandra Schkuhr (threestamen waterwort) are indeed distinct species. Further, they documented the first confirmed case of E. ambigua in the United States outside of California.
Lauren O’Malley wrote the following profile of Aaron, which was originally published on the College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources’ Naturally@UConn blog:
Aaron Rosman’s green thumb and familiarity with UConn made applying to CAHNR an easy decision. While studying natural resources with a concentration in forestry, Aaron spends his free time conducting research and volunteering on a student farm. Here is what he said in an interview.
What attracted you to UConn? Storrs is my hometown and both of my parents have worked at UConn, so UConn has always been a big part of my life. When I was applying to colleges, I considered some other schools, but nothing appealed to me like UConn. In addition, I knew that UConn began as an agricultural school and was strong in that field. Since I wanted to study natural resources, this definitely helped solidify my decision.
Why did you choose your particular major? I have always loved plants, especially trees. Since I was six years old, I have been playing in the woods. I cannot think of anything better than being able to continue to do this for the rest of my life. That is why I decided to major in natural resources with a concentration in forestry.
Which one of your UConn activities, internships or jobs was the most memorable? Why? My most memorable experience at UConn has been my research. It is an amazing opportunity to be able to conduct research as an undergraduate student, and it is not something that I would have imagined myself doing before coming to UConn. I have always been a “big picture” kind of person, and so it has been awesome to experience the other side of things, studying something as small as plant DNA. I am currently researching two species of aquatic plants called elatine. For part of my research, I conduct DNA-analyses to determine whether to consider these plants the same species or two separate ones. So far, I have found my research very interesting, and I really enjoy it. Continue reading →
Chris Kegler ’15 (CAHNR, CLAS) received a donor-funded Summer Undergraduate Research Fund (SURF) Award for summer 2014 to study the process of self-identifying as HIV-positive. Chris traveled to Atlanta, GA to facilitate focus group discussions about the identification process and is now completing his data analysis.
Lauren O’Malley wrote the following profile of Chris, which was originally published on the College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources’ Naturally@UConn blog:
While at UConn, Chris Kegler immerses himself in research and health promotion. After he graduates this spring with a dual degree in allied health sciences and psychology, Chris wants to delve into the complex and multi-faceted field of HIV/AIDS research. Here is what he said in an interview.
What attracted you to UConn? I grew up in Storrs, and so I have always been familiar with UConn. I knew many students and professors who all had great experiences here. After I received a scholarship, this solidified my decision, and I knew that UConn was the right place for me.
Why did you choose your particular major? I entered UConn as an undecided major who was leaning towards nursing. However, during my freshman year, I started working in a psychology laboratory that dealt with behavioral HIV/AIDS research. I completely fell in love with the work that I was doing, and I decided to choose psychology as my major. Later, I also realized my passion for public health, and I decided to add allied health sciences with a concentration in public health and health promotion as my second major. Now, I am getting a dual degree in allied health and psychology. I am interested in behavioral medicine and interventions for people living with chronic illnesses, and I love that my dual degree allows me to explore this from multiple perspectives.
Which one of your UConn activities, internships or jobs was the most memorable? Why? My most memorable part of UConn is my research. My main research experience has been with the Southeastern HIV/AIDS Research Evaluation (SHARE) Project, through UConn’s Center for Health, Intervention and Prevention (CHIP). Last year, I received a Summer Undergraduate Research Fund (SURF) Award so that I could continue working for the SHARE Project over the summer.
My research looks at the process people go through when they identify as HIV-positive. I study how people diagnosed with a chronic illness, such as HIV, finally come to terms with their condition. This process of self-identification is extremely complex and can take years, and so I investigate what helps or hinders this process and the psychological health outcomes it can have.
This past summer, I went to Atlanta, Georgia, the base of the SHARE Project. While there, I ran three focus groups of eighteen people and facilitated discussions on identifying as HIV-positive. I transcribed the data that I collected, and I hope to have a manuscript ready for publication soon. Continue reading →
Andy Bilich ’14 (CAHNR) recently graduated with bachelor’s degrees in Natural Resources and Resource Economics and minors in Political Science and Environmental Economics and Policy. In this essay, he describes his experiences as an undergraduate researcher at the University of Connecticut.
I am originally from San Ramon, California, but I came to the University of Connecticut in the fall of 2010 and will graduate with a BS in Natural Resources and a BS in Resource Economics in May 2014. In my four years at the University of Connecticut I have had the incredible privilege to be an undergraduate researcher. This experience not only prepared me well for the job and graduate school markets, but also gave me the opportunity to travel, present at conferences, and meet and work with professionals in my field.
I got started in the fall of 2011 when I reached out to a Dr. Mark Boyer, the professor of my global environmental politics class, with some questions that had come up in my summer work. I spent the summer as an energy policy analyst intern at Energy Commercialization LLC working on presentations on renewable energy deployment in the Middle East and India and the creation of the California carbon trading market. My professor met with me and we talked about the research and after our discussion, he offered me a research assistantship on his new project. This ongoing research project is looking at local governance for climate adaptation policies. Along with a PhD student, I have been gathering and analyzing climate change adaptation policy and initiatives data for 169 Connecticut townships, which Dr. Boyer is using to write a book about local governance and the issue of climate change. The data will also be published into a database that will allow users to search for specific types of policies and initiatives undertaken by towns with specific demographic, geographic, and economic characteristics. Hopefully this database can help to positively influence future environmental and climate change governance.
During this project, I applied for and was awarded a Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts Research Experience Award (SHARE). This award provided me with funding to continue the research that I was conducting with Professor Boyer, but more importantly it gave me the ability to attend the Frontiers in Undergraduate Research Poster Exhibition as a student researcher. For this event I prepared a poster summarizing some of the preliminary results and trends of the interviews of town policy officials that I helped conduct. This was an awesome opportunity because it allowed me to practice presentation skills and gain a better understanding of the data I was working on and some of the questions that people had about it. This was valuable and practical experience that I built on for future presentations.
In the spring of my senior year I received a Travel Award from the Office of Undergraduate Research which helped me to travel to Toronto for the 55th Annual International Studies Association Conference on Geopolitics and Globalization. As part of this amazing trip I presented some of our research findings on policy drivers for climate adaptation policy in Connecticut towns. I also met professors and researchers from around the world and attended panel discussions on water security, energy deployment and security, environmental justice, climate change, and geoengineering.
It is clear to me that my experience in undergraduate research was the most important and formative thing I did while at the University of Connecticut. As a graduating senior, there is no better piece of advice I can give to current and future UConn students than to get involved with research. The research experience that I have had has given me all of the skills and confidence I need to succeed in the next chapter of my life. This fall I will be building upon this foundation as I pursue a Master’s of Environmental Management in Energy and Climate Resources at the Bren School of Environmental Management at the University of California Santa Barbara.
Carl D’Oleo-Lundgren ’14 (CLAS), an individualized major in international relations, aspires to earn a master’s degree and join the Foreign Service. As part of his undergraduate studies, Carl collaborated on a SHARE Award project with Dr. Prakash Kashwan, a faculty member in the Department of Political Science. The SHARE Award supports research apprenticeships for students majoring in the social sciences, humanities, and arts to enable these students to explore their research interests and build inquiry skills. A summary of this particular SHARE project follows.
Could a Union Save this Planet?
Coding and Analyzing “Sustainable Development”: Perspectives of IUCN Members
The project sought to understand the perspectives of the members of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with these specific research questions:
How does international relations theory compare with practice?
How do expectations compare with results?
How promising are results of IUCN projects?
To answer these questions, they:
Analyzed IUCN records
Examined IUCN meeting minutes in depth
Coded trends for systematic analysis
In addition, they examined the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), seeking to understand the role of growing civil society participation in international climate change negotiations. In particular, they were interested in the role of networking NGOs.
To characterize these roles, they:
Researched and indexed the history, goals, values, and methods of “Climate Justice Now!” and the Climate Change Network
Interviewed officials from each NGO over Skype to ascertain civil society perspectives on:
The civil society-UNFCCC relationship
Civil society perspectives on their work
The future of international climate change action
Ultimately, they concluded that the future of international climate change action is unclear. In the wake of messy negotiations in Copenhagen, the UNFCCC will continue to restrict civil society participation in the short to medium term.
Learn more about Carl’s undergraduate career, including a range of research experiences, in this UConn Today profile.
Opportunity Description
Patient outcomes research in clinical medicine utilizing large nationwide databases to investigate clinical questions related to liver disease and liver transplant. This is an opportunity for prospective students interested in being involved in biomedical research with the goal of learning and manipulating large medical databases. With the guidance of the mentor and statistical assistance, the prospective candidate will have the opportunity to participate in a research project in medicine. With the mentor, the student will develop a clinical question which can answered with the appropriate database, and gain experience proposing a hypothesis, working with statistical team, interpreting the results, and formulating conclusions from the results. There will be weekly meeting with the mentor and opportunity to have exposure to a clinical environment for those students interested to pursue careers in medicine. Work is primarily done independently with guidance, thus no specific number of hours per week commitment. One of the objectives of the project would be to allow the student to present his or her findings in a poster or oral presentation format at national meetings and eventual publication. This is currently a nonfunded volunteer position. The time commitment is variable depending on student’s proficency handling large databases.
Student Qualifications
Comfortable using excel database, be able to work independently, ability to perform online pubmed research to gather background literature on the topic, understand basic statistics
How to Apply
Please contact mentor directly;
Provide resume and letter of interest
Mentor: Raffi Karagozian, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine
Department: Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Email: rkaragozian@sfhcp.org
Timing: Ongoing
Campus: UConn Health
The Office of Undergraduate Research is pleased to announce the selection of 35 undergraduate students to receive 
Chris Kegler ’15 (CAHNR, CLAS) received a donor-funded 
Carl D’Oleo-Lundgren ’14 (CLAS), an individualized major in international relations, aspires to earn a master’s degree and join the Foreign Service. As part of his undergraduate studies, Carl collaborated on a