News

• Upcoming Presentations of Student Research and Creative Activity

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While the largest-ever Frontiers in Undergraduate Research Poster Exhibition may now be over, there are several additional opportunities to see UConn students’ work in the coming days and weeks.
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BFA Art Exhibition

April 17-27, 2014
ArtSpace, Windham Gallery, 480 Main Street, Willimantic, CT 06226

See this exhibition of work by students graduating from the BFA program in the Art and Art History Department, School of Fine Arts.

UConn School of Nursing ATHENA Research Conference

April 25, 2014
School of Nursing Widmer Wing

The program for this annual conference includes a poster presentation session from 1-2:30pm featuring the work of Honors students.

Language Fest 2014

April 26, 2014
9am – 4pm, Oak Hall

The UConn Language Fest is a University-wide research conference, now in its fourth year, which showcases the many facets of research on language in the UConn community. Poster sessions are scheduled for 10-11am, 1-2pm, and 3-4pm, and feature the work of undergraduate researchers from a number of UConn departments and programs.

Undergraduate Research Colloquium in Biology

May 2, 2014
8:30am-6:00pm, TLS 111

Graduating senior biology students (BIOL, PNB, EEB, MCB, BPHYS) will present short talks on their research at this 32nd annual biology research colloquium. All presentations are limited to ten minutes. Advisors, undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, postdocs, staff, parents, and friends are welcome and encouraged to attend.

UConn School of Engineering – Senior Design Demonstration Day

May 2, 2014
1-4pm, Gampel Pavilion

Senior Design Day, an exhibition of capstone projects from across the School of Engineering, affords parents, alumni, friends and project sponsors the opportunity to view project outcomes, interact with students and faculty, and learn more about the School. This year, 475 students will display and demonstrate 154 projects, and the whole university community is invited.

• Join us for the screening of two student documentaries!

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Please join us for a screening of two original documentaries directed by UConn IDEA Grant Recipients Peter Logue and David Pereira. A discussion with the filmmakers will follow the screenings.

Documentaries:
The Search for the White Rose – a film by Peter Logue – View the film trailer

Free Time – a film by David Pereira and RJ Anderson

Date: Friday, April 11th
Time: 7:00PM
Location: Laurel 101

Click here for more information on the documentaries.

 

• Hone Your Presentation Skills: Upcoming Events

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You’re involved in undergraduate research or creative activity – terrific! Now, how do you go about sharing your findings and experience with others? Two upcoming events will help you do just that.

Drop the Jargon and Get to the Point! How to Effectively Communicate Your Research to a Wide Range of Audiences
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
6-7:30pm
Laurel Hall 102

Effectively communicating science to a wide range of audiences is becoming an increasingly needed skill for scientists of all disciplines.

Dr. Ellen Prager is a marine scientist who has moved away from traditional career paths and now focuses much of her time on communicating earth and ocean science to broad audiences through writing popular science and children’s books, public speaking, working with the media, and consulting.

Using both her successes and failures as examples, she will share what she’s learned about effectively communicating science and how you can be better prepared and successful. She will also let you in on some of the secrets to engaging your audience and getting your points across.

This event is sponsored by the Graduate School, and you can RSVP at this link. Undergraduates are welcome.

Poster Presentation Information Session: Get Ready for Frontiers
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
12:15-1:15pm
Rowe 320

Will you be sharing your project at Frontiers this year? Have you been accepted to present your work at a professional conference? Are you unsure about where to start when it comes to putting your project into poster form and talking about it with an audience? If your answer to any of those questions is “yes,” this information session is for you. Undergraduate students will share posters they have designed and presented, and we will discuss such topics as templates, fonts, images, and how to prepare yourself as a presenter.

• 2014 UConn-TIP Bioscience & STEM Summer Research Intern Program

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TIPStudentThe UConn-TIP Bioscience & STEM Summer Research Intern Program provides mentored summer research internships in University of Connecticut Technology Incubation Program (TIP) companies. TIP companies are pursuing R&D in biotechnology, engineering, chemistry, computer sciences, and more. Internships can involve research in the laboratory as well as in business-related research.

The program will place interns in TIP companies at Storrs, Farmington, and Avery Point TIP locations in summer 2014. The 10 week-long internships will begin May 27 and end Aug 1. Interns will receive a stipend of $3,200.

The program is accepting applications from UConn undergraduate students and recent UConn graduates (within 6 months of graduation) who are Connecticut residents. International students are not eligible to apply. The program is open to all majors including STEM as well as Business fields. The application deadline is February 24. Early application is recommended.

Interns will be selected based on academic qualifications, research experience, and interest. Interns will attend a weekly seminar series, and will present the results of their summer project at a TIP Research Symposium, and at UConn’s Frontiers in Undergraduate Research.

Support for the program is provided by TIP host companies and participating UConn partners including the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the School of Engineering, the School of Business, the McNair Scholars Program with the Center for Academic Programs , the UCHC Health Careers Opportunity Program, the Office of Undergraduate Research, and the Center for Career Development.

For more information and to apply please see the UConn-TIP Bioscience & STEM Summer Research Intern Program page.

 

• Congratulations, Fall 2013 UConn IDEA Grant Recipients!

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idea_logo_standard_color_bottomWEBThe UConn IDEA Grant program provides funding of up to $4,000 for self-designed projects including entrepreneurial ventures, community service initiatives, traditional research projects, or other creative endeavors. Proposals for the UConn IDEA Grants represented a variety of disciplines, ranging from history to mechanical engineering.

Congratulations to the nine undergraduates who have been awarded UConn IDEA Grants in the second award cycle of this new program coordinated by the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR)! Click here to download the list of grant recipients and their projects.

Rosse Gates ’16 (ENGR) – Autonomous Navigation Systems and Algorithms

  • Rosse will work to develop an autonomous quadcopter that can track its position in relation to the environment and survey disaster areas in GPS-devoid environments.

Dillon Jones ’15 (ENGR) – Gentleman’s Gantry Machine

  • Dillon will work to build a “Gentleman’s Gantry Machine,” a general purpose, computer controlled positioning system of his own design that will enable multiple forms of manufacturing on one device.

Saher Kazi ’16 (CLAS) – Investigation and Analysis of the Barriers to Mental Health Care in India

  • Saher plans to investigate the factors influencing access to mental healthcare in India in a study involving mental health clinics in the town of Nashik in Maharashtra, India.

Kiersten Kronschnabel ’16 (CLAS) – POWER: Providing Optimal Strategies for Patient Retention While Transitioning from Pediatric to Adult Care 

  • Kiersten’s project is a community service initiative to address the dearth of resources for facilitating the pediatric-adult care transition for HIV-positive adolescents.

Katelyn McFadden ’15 (CANR) – Effects of Poor Maternal Nutrition on Liver Development in Lambs

  • Katelyn’s project builds on a collaborative study in the Department of Animal Science evaluating the effects of poor maternal nutrition on the growth of offspring in sheep. Katelyn will analyze liver samples in lambs to understand the mechanisms at work affecting offspring growth and development.

Amoolya Narayanan ’16 (CLAS) – Investigating the Use of Natural Antimicrobials to Control Urinary Tract Infections in a Mouse Model

  • Amoolya will investigate the potential of trans-cinnamaldehyde, a natural antimicrobial molecule contained in cinnamon, as an antimicrobial coating on urinary catheters to control urinary tract infections.

Zachary Raslan ’15 (CLAS) – Historic GIS Mapping of Hartford, CT

  • Zachary is partnering with a larger research project, Virtual Hartford, to acquire and digitize the earliest maps of Hartford, CT. He will apply GIS software to create maps that detail the evolution of the city and show changes to the physical landscape after significant historic events.

Aaron Rosman ’16 (CANR) – Elatine Ambigua and Elatine Triandra

  • Aaron will conduct research on invasive plant species Elatine Ambigua and Elatine Triandra to clarify the species boundaries and provide insights on their source and vector of introduction in the U.S.

Rachel Winsor ’15 (ENGR) – Project XX

  • Rachel plans to partner with UConn groups and departments to help bridge the gender gap to success by developing and implementing a series of empowerment workshops for the UConn community.

 

Thank you to the faculty members who have agreed to supervise the UConn IDEA Grant students in their projects. Thank you as well to the faculty members and program directors who served on the UConn IDEA Grant Proposal Review Committee!

• Announcing the 2014 Roper Awards for Research Experience (RARE)

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The Roper Award for Research Experience (RARE) supports undergraduate research apprenticeships that make use of the archives of the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research. We are pleased to announce the two student/faculty RARE teams who have received awards for Spring 2014 and thank the Roper Center for its generous support of these student awards.

Project Title: Public Perception and Judicial Legitimacy
Student Apprentice and Major: Molly Rockett, Political Science
Faculty Mentor and Department: Virginia Hettinger, Political Science

Ms. Rockett and Professor Hettinger will be using the DRI National Poll on the Civil Justice System to explore public perceptions of the judicial decision-making process and poll respondents’ assessments of firsthand experiences (as litigants, jurors, or witnesses) with the legal system.

Project Title: The Right to Bear Arms: The Role of Federalism in Gun Control Policy
Student Apprentice and Major: Brian Tiedt, Political Science & Economics
Faculty Mentor and Department: Paul Herrnson, Political Science

Mr. Tiedt and Professor Herrnson will use the metadata available on iPOLL and a variety of data sets to consider the evolution of public opinion on gun control, subgroup variation in opinion, and public perceptions of the role of the federal government in regulating firearms.

 
Press Release from the Roper Center

• Congratulations, 2014 SHARE Award Recipients!

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SHARE awards support undergraduate research apprenticeships in the social sciences, humanities, and arts. Following the most competitive application cycle to date, we are pleased to announce the 20 awardees for the Spring 2014 semester. Congratulations!

Project Title: Deferred Examination
Student Apprentice and Major: Patrick Adams, Economics
Faculty Mentor and Department: Talia Bar, Economics

Project Title: Evaluation of Gifted Education Using State Accountability Systems
Student Apprentice and Major: Daniel Arndt, Education
Faculty Mentor and Department: Jonathan Plucker, Educational Leadership

Project Title: Implementing and Evaluating K-3 Literacy Support in CT Schools
Student Apprentice and Major: Rachael Cerutti, Elementary Education
Faculty Mentor and Department: Michael Coyne, Educational Psychology

Project Title: Exploring Prunus Domestication in the Southern Caucasus
Student Apprentice and Major: Joyce Fountain, Anthropology
Faculty Mentor and Department: Alexia Smith, Anthropology

Project Title: Assessing Legal Protections Against Rape in the 50 U.S. States
Student Apprentice and Major: Celia Guillard, International Relations
Faculty Mentor and Department: David Richards, Political Science

Project Title: The New Husky Study: Stress, Coping and Health Behavior Change in First-Year Students
Student Apprentice and Major: Megan Iacocca, Psychology
Faculty Mentor and Department: Crystal Park, Psychology

Project Title: Damini: Illuminating the Flaws in India’s Legal System and Rape Laws
Student Apprentice and Major: Tina Lapsia, Political Science
Faculty Mentor and Department: Betty Hanson, Political Science

Project Title: Congressional Responsiveness During the ‘New Gilded Age’
Student Apprentice and Major: Phillip Menard, Political Science
Faculty Mentor and Department: Thomas Hayes, Political Science

Project Title: Gifted Students Achievement Patterns Beyond High School
Student Apprentice and Major: Jennifer Moore, Secondary Education
Faculty Mentor and Department: Del Siegle, Educational Psychology

Project Title: Discourse in Linguistically Diverse Mathematics Classrooms
Student Apprentice and Major: Bailey Muchin, Special Education
Faculty Mentor and Department: Mary Truxaw, Curriculum and Instruction

Project Title: Neural Mechanisms for Behavioral Differences on Visual Integration in Schizophrenia
Student Apprentice and Major: Fariya Naz, Psychology
Faculty Mentor and Department: Chi-Ming Chen, Psychology

Project Title: Observations on the Genderization of Security: A University (UConn/Avery Point) Community Perspective
Student Apprentice and Major: Kaitlin Pealer, Anthropology
Faculty Mentor and Department: Richard Cole, Political Science

Project Title: Beyond Nation States
Student Apprentice and Major: Marissa Piccolo, Political Science
Faculty Mentor and Department: Prakash Kashwan, Political Science

Project Title: Understanding of Social Relationships in Children with a History of Autism Who Have Achieved Optimal Outcomes
Student Apprentice and Major: Kaitlyn Porter, Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences
Faculty Mentor and Department: Deborah Fein, Psychology

Project Title: Counting Strategies in Deaf Homesigners in Nicaragua: Can Fingers Help?
Student Apprentice and Major: Devika Prasad, Psychology
Faculty Project Title: Marie Coppola, Psychology

Project Title: Neonatal Nurses’ Perceptions of Mother-Infant Skin-to-Skin Contact in NICUs: A National Survey
Student Apprentice and Major: Kelsey Richardson, Nursing
Faculty Project Title: Xiaomei Cong, Nursing

Project Title: Examining Questioning in Reading Classrooms
Student Apprentice and Major: Melissa Scarbrough, Secondary Education/French
Faculty Project Title: Catherine Little, Educational Psychology

Project Title: Preparation of Engraved Editions of Late Piano Works by American Modernist Composer Dane Rudhyar
Student Apprentice and Major: Jonathan Schmieding, Music -Composition and Performance
Faculty Project Title: Ronald Squibbs, Music

Project Title: Gap Detection and Frequency Discrimination Abilities in Individuals High in Autism Spectrum Disorder Symptomatology
Student Apprentice and Major: Emily Thompson, Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences
Faculty Project Title: Inge-Marie Eigsti, Psychology

Project Title: Social Challenges for Correctional Nurses Delivering Healthcare
Student Apprentice and Major: Alyssa Zabin, Psychology
Faculty Project Title: Denise Panosky, Nursing

• Upcoming Application Deadlines for Summer Research Experiences

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Early December marks the time when you should be thinking about….Summer!  Many research programs have their application deadlines in January and February. If you wait until Spring Break to start looking, you will miss some of the most exciting opportunities.

Many summer programs use the acronym “REU” or Research Opportunity for Undergraduates.   REUs typically offer a summer stipend of $4000 to $5000, as well as housing for the summer! Other Summer positions can have a variety of different names–Fellowships, Internships, and Co-ops.  Don’t worry about what it’s called–just get the experience!

Department of Homeland Security – STEM Summer Internship Program
Deadline: January 6, 2014; http://www.orau.gov/dhseducation/internships/

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security sponsors a 10-week summer internship program for students majoring in homeland security related science, technology, engineering and mathematics (HS-STEM) disciplines. The program provides students with quality research experiences at federal research facilities located across the country and allows students the opportunity to establish connections with DHS professionals. Undergraduate students receive a $5,000 stipend plus travel expenses for a 10-week research experience.

Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships (SULI)
Deadline: 5:00pm, January 10, 2014; http://science.energy.gov/wdts/suli/

The Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) program encourages undergraduate students to pursue science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers by providing research experiences at the Department of Energy (DOE) laboratories. Selected students participate as interns at one of 15 participating DOE laboratories.

Summer ORISE Fellowship Opportunities at the CDC
Deadline: January 17, 2014; http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/dls/orise.html

Appointments through the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) Fellowship Program. This is a paid research opportunity for biology and chemistry majors.

Amgen Scholars Program 
Deadline: February 3, 2014; http://www.amgenscholars.com/

The Amgen Scholars Program provides undergraduates with faculty-mentored summer research opportunities in science and engineering fields at 10 host universities in the United States.

Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies – Summer REU Program
Deadline: February 5, 2014; http://www.caryinstitute.org/students/reu-program

Cary Institute’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program provides the opportunity for 8-12 students each summer to conduct quality research in ecology. Selected students receive a $6000 stipend, a $600 food allowance and housing in an Institute dormitory.

Biomedical Engineering Summer Internship Program (BESIP)
Deadline: February 9, 2014; http://www.nibib.nih.gov/training-careers/undergraduate-graduate/biomedical-engineering-summer-internship-program-besip

The NIBIB sponsored Biomedical Engineering Summer Internship (BESIP) is for undergraduate biomedical engineering students who have completed their junior year of college. The internship will allow students to participate in cutting edge biomedical research projects under the mentorship of world-class scientists in NIH laboratories in Bethesda, MD. Stipend of approximately $6600 for 10 weeks. Applications open on Dec. 1, 2013.

Additional information on off-campus research opportunities is available here.

• Announcing New Research Internship Program at UConn Health Center

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The Office of Undergraduate Research is pleased to announce a new research internship program for UConn undergraduates – the Translational Research Internship Program. This summer research internship is designed to provide undergraduate students with greater insight into the physician-scientist career path (combined M.D./Ph.D). Students will conduct research under the direction of a faculty member at UCHC while gaining a better understanding of the clinical side of medicine by shadowing a physician/surgeon. The program will allow students to see firsthand the interplay of biomedical research and clinical medicine: how clinical medicine influences and inspires basic research and how basic research translates into therapies used in the clinic.

For information on eligibility, funding, and the online application, visit the Translational Research Internship webpage.

• Presentation Opportunities: 2 Undergraduate Research Conferences With Upcoming Deadlines

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UConn undergraduate researchers are encouraged to apply to present their work at upcoming conferences focused on undergraduate research across the disciplines. These conferences offer rich opportunities to meet and network with researchers from other campuses, to learn about cutting-edge research, and to hone your presentation skills.

National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) 2014
April 3-5, 2014 at the University of Kentucky

NCUR welcomes presenters from all universities and all academic fields of inquiry. This conference includes oral presentation sessions, poster sessions, performing arts sessions, and visual arts sessions. Plenary speakers at the 2014 conference include T. Pearse Lyons, Kris W. Kimel, Nikky Finney, and Ernest Bailey. The deadline to submit abstracts is 11:59 pm ET on December 6, 2013.

National Collegiate Research Conference (NCRC) 2014
January 22-25, 2014 at Harvard University

This year, the 3rd annual NCRC will feature keynote addresses from Stephen Wolfram, Laurie Santos, and Robert Gallo. Student participants will also have the opportunity to earn prizes up to $500 from a prize pool of $5,000 by presenting a poster or being a plenary presenter. The application deadline has been extended to this Sunday, November 10th.