The next generation of researchers and scholars will present their findings April 16 at the Michigan League.
The Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP), now in its 20th year, provides students hands-on experience with faculty in all academic fields and disciplines.More than 1,000 students and 500 faculty researchers collaborate in the discovery process, says UROP Director Sandra Gregerman.
“The demand for participation in UROP continues to grow each year,” she says.
Getting students involved with research acquaints them with the discipline and integrates them into the academic life, she says.
Student Faith White has helped Julie Lumeng, an assistant research scientist in the Center for Human Growth & Development, with research about how much children ages 4 to 14 know about the importance of healthy eating. The project looks at the impact on obesity.
“This UROP experience will stay with me for a lifetime,” says White, a third-year biology major.
The eight-month process begins in September, when students chose from more than 600 projects. Participating in UROP is equivalent to taking a three- or four-hour course or having a 10- to 12-hour per week job. UROP faculty members say they enjoy working with these students as soon as they arrive to campus.
Tim McKay, the Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Physics and Astronomy, mentors 10 students in his research that examines galaxy clusters. Each student examines different clusters, and tests whether they contain large amounts of “dark matter” — the invisible material that dominates the mass of the universe.
“Doing scientific research it not like studying science in a classroom,” he says. “It is very creative, requiring scientists to think of new questions and devise new ways to solve them. It takes time and practice … but the thrill of discovering something no one has known before, and being able to prove it, makes it all worthwhile.”
Lumeng says she feels proud seeing her former UROP students attend graduate school or seek employment. “I get more pleasure in seeing them succeed than having my own success,” she says.
UROP’s spring symposium, which is free and open to the public, begins at 3 p.m. with oral presentations and 4 p.m. with poster sessions.
