Posted on March 22, 2006
Senior biology major Ally Samselski spends a good deal of her time each week in the Burruss Hall laboratory conducting trial-and-error research. Her goal is to isolate the protein that causes meningitis in infants. She has not yet been successful. However, she said the research opportunity has been a learning experience in itself.
“I would say that the best experience has been in some of the upper-level classes formulating our own experiments, not following the typical cookie-cutter layout,” Samselski said. “They have made us think for ourselves while providing us with the tools to do so.”
Samselski is only one of hundreds that participates in undergraduate research at JMU, which is a vital part of many majors, including chemistry and political science.
In the chemistry department, senior Karolina Roszak has been working on organic synthesis since she first began her undergraduate research in the spring of her sophomore year.
Typically, students can take one credit hour per semester of undergraduate research, which could be included in a student’s curriculum. Professors accept roughly four to five students, based on their work ethic and interest, to participate. JMU also offers a program each summer in which students are paid to research.
The lab facilities available to undergraduates are well equipped with everything needed to aid the students. Both Samselski and Roszak said the instruments they use are of high quality, combined with the newest research techniques.
Last August, U.S. News and World Report’s 2007 America’s Best Colleges Guide ranked JMU as one of the 35 best colleges in the nation for undergraduate research. A collection of college presidents, academic officers and deans from more than 1,300 schools were invited to nominate 10 colleges they believed offered exceptional undergraduate research programs.
JMU also offers many opportunities for students to present their research at conferences, including the National Conference on Undergraduate Research and Virginia Academy of Science and Colonial Academic Alliance.
“Participating in undergraduate research opened up a lot of doors,” Roszak said. She has attended four undergraduate research conferences where she was approached by graduate school representatives.
Getting her research circulated was a useful tool in her quest for life after college. Roszak will be attending Drexel University to get her master’s degree immediately after graduation this spring.
A portion of undergraduates even have the opportunity to get their research published. Senior Michelle Curtis’ research on organic chemistry is in the process of being transformed into a thesis by her professor.
In the political science department, professor Charles H. Blake recently published two articles co-written by undergraduates documenting the relationship between democracy and corruption around the globe.
The political science department offers undergraduate research in upper-level classes, as well as outside of the classroom and plenty of opportunities to present your findings at conferences.
“Undergraduate research is a key part of a college education for everyone. It speeds up the process by which they [undergraduates] are trying to use their skills to understand what the world is about,” said Blake.
The funding for all of the undergraduate research conducted is provided by a combination of JMU, private foundations, professional associations and government organizations.
Undergraduate research helps to prepare students for graduate school and/or their future careers, which JMU undoubtedly achieves.
Curtis said undergraduate research is one of the greatest things the university as a growing institution has to offer, compared to other universities like the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech.
“If I was pursuing chemistry in my future education, I would feel above and beyond prepared because the chemistry department emphasizes student research and gives you the opportunities,” Curtis said.
