The Story
Research: Finally Getting Paid to Learn
 | When I arrived at the College, it seemed that every student was involved in lofty research aspirations. So-and-so was personally interviewing members of an East African tribe to investigate gender disparity; such-and-such was performing state-of-the-art reactions with bismuth or francium or some other element whose name I hadn’t heard since 10th grade chemistry. |
And I was very intimidated.
But after a few deep breaths, and a few calm visits to the Charles Center in the basement of Tucker Hall (under the guidance of its all-knowing head honcho Lisa Grimes), I realized that this sort of research was completely within the reach of any student.
It seems that there are two main avenues to research at the College: individual projects (done mostly during summer) and faculty-led projects (done year-round).
The Charles Center provides an astounding number of grants each year for summer research projects. While the Charles Center gives out grants with the help of alumni donations, the Center also helps to match students up with external grant programs.
For members of the James Monroe Scholar Program, a sort of research-based honors program for “approximately the top 7 percent of the student body,” there are $1,000 grants for summer research after freshman year and $3,000 grants for summer research after any year.
Students are informed upon acceptance to the College if they are Monroe Scholars, but can also apply for the program during their sophomore year.
Past projects have ranged from the hard sciences (Chemical Inhibtors of Protozoan Diseases and Their Structure) to the social sciences (The Genesis of Economic Thought) to the humanities (Musical Dramaturgy in Italian Opera).
The Charles Center also provides grants of $3,000 to any students for domestic or international summer research. The qualifications are extremely minimal (you can’t be a graduating senior) and the application is very easy (two letters of recommendation, a three-page proposal), but the payoff is worth it.
There are general grants for all students, as well as more specific grants for students in areas like journalism, Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender-Queer studies and botany.
The Charles Center also helps students applying for national research grants, like the NSEP (National Security Education Program) Boren Scholarships - to focus on oft-ignored regions and languages. Or, if you've just got to have the First Lady's rubber stamp of approval, the Charles Center will help you get the Laura Bush Traveling Fellowship.
It’s definitely a source of hope - for me, at least - to see so many students from the College as recipients of major national awards like the Fulbright Scholarship , the Truman Scholarship and the Marshall Scholarship . All of these student researchers are a testament to the College’s focus on undergraduate research.
But if you’re not quite independent enough to trek the Andes Mountains looking at variation in mountainous igneous rocks, then performing research directly under professors is a great way to dip your pinky toe into the frigid swimming pool of research before hurting yourself with a capricious belly flop.
Because the College has so few graduate programs, the role of undergraduates in research is rather astounding and unlike that at many of its peer institutions. Professors don’t just give students gofer work like making piles of copies or getting coffee. Regardless of the field, professors really cherish the roles of their assistants. Often, as in the recent case of Professor Dan Cristol’s research on mercury and aquatic animals , students can even have the chance to get this research published in national academic publications.
Students of the hard sciences will probably find it easiest to get a position in one of their professors’ labs, doing cutting-edge research with a group of like-minded peers.
A recent grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institution has allowed the College’s science departments to create a special program for freshman research, matching up students with faculty very early in their freshman year.
Through the HHMI program, Lindsay Thomson (’11) began biology research under Professor Matthew Wawersik in the spring of her freshman year, trying to determine how germ cells determine the sex of filial generations and researching ovarian tumors in fruit flies.
“The best thing about research,” Thomson said, “is just the satisfaction of mastering complex ideas and knowing that the research that I am doing has never been done before and that the answer isn't in some textbook or website.”
Students in the humanities and social sciences may find it more difficult to acquire a position as a research assistant, as these professors will generally not require as many assistants as a science professor in a lab. That may also mean working alone, rather than with a group in the lab.
Julia Zamecnik (’11) answered the call of her government professor, Debra Shulman, and is now helping her with various smaller projects, like creating a website and using her knowledge of mathematics to link probability formulae with the occurrence of political events.
“I’m not around a lot of people,” Zamecnik said,” but I’m getting pretty close with Professor Shulman.” She even got invited to a Government Department barbecue.
Many interested students will simply introduce themselves and ask their professors if they need help. Responses truly depend on the professor in question, but even getting your name out there can be a big help. Even if that professor does not have a position open, he or she may inform you of other opportunities or might even refer you to another professor in the department.
Students interested in faculty-led research over the summer can either arrange it directly with their professors or apply for one of the many annual Chappell Fellowships, which provide students with $3,000 and on-campus housing.
Faculty advisors’ topics range from biology and chemistry to mathematics and English, and the topics are generally very interesting and very specific, like Political Economy of Water Use in China or Politics and Prophecies of African American Liberation in Segregationist South Africa.
So instead of spending the summer at a minimum-wage job or schlepping around your hometown, many students at the College - like Thomson and Zamecnik - are learning about germ cell sex determination or mathematic reasoning for political events.
And I don’t even know what that means.
Jake Robert Nelson is DSJ Opinions Editor and a regular opinions contributor. His opinions do not necessarily represent those of the entire staff.
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