��̽̽ - Undergraduate Research

Office of Undergraduate Research Grants First Faculty Mentoring Awards

Anonymous — Mon, 01 May 2017 14:01:04 +0000

The Office of Undergraduate Research has announced the first two winners of its new Mentoring Award: Robert Hondal, associate professor of biochemistry and chemistry, and Denise Youngblood, professor of history.

“Both faculty members have been outstanding scholars, teachers and mentors for many years,” said Ann Kroll Lerner, director of the Office of Undergraduate Research. “It’s a privilege to be able to give them this recognition.” Hondal came to ��̽̽ in 2002. Youngblood began at the university in 1988. She is retiring this year.

Faculty were nominated by student mentees who presented at the April 27 Student Research Conference, where the announcements were made.

Earlier in the semester, students filled out a questionnaire asking them to describe their mentoring relationship and rate their faculty advisor across a range of criteria, how well they created a sense of community with students, for instance, and how effectively they taught needed skills and allowed students to freely practice them. Students also submitted an essay on why they believed the faculty member should be recognized.

A team of faculty and staff in the Honors College scored the forms. Fifteen faculty in all were nominated.

Both Hondal and Youngblood received high praise from students in the essays they submitted. After teaching him in the “ways of the literature search,” “helping me understand the scientific method that I did not yet comprehend,” and passing on technical knowledge of the many scientific instruments his research requires, wrote Connor Payne, a senior Chemistry major in the Honors College who will begin a Ph.D. program at Harvard next fall, Hondal “allowed me to freely express and pursue my own ideas in the lab. He was an outstanding mentor, advisor and friend throughout my undergraduate career.”

“Professor Youngblood has taught me numerous skills throughout my college career,” wrote Kate Lipman, a senior Russian major, history minor and member of the Honors College. “These skills include writing concisely, writing effectively, citing sources correctly, identifying scholarly sources … and of course how to write a thesis … my love and passion for Russian and Soviet history has grown significantly thanks to her course and to the passion she puts into her teaching.” Lipman will work for an education non-profit in Arlington, Virginia after graduating and plans to apply to law school in the fall.

The Mentoring Award program was created to underscore the importance ��̽̽ places on undergraduate mentoring, said Kroll Lerner, and to bring to light the strong mentorship skills possessed by many ��̽̽ faculty.

Primary News Group

University Communications - ucommall

teachermentors800x400.jpg

Groups audience

��̽̽ Today

Author email

Jeffrey.Wakefield@uvm.edu

Featured Photo Caption

Mentoring Award winners Robert Hondal (left) and Denise Youngblood with student mentees who nominated them, Connor Payne (far left), Benjamin Shefner and Kate Lipman. (Photo: Hailey Kline)

Social Media

Keywords

Chemistry

Conference

Faculty

Professor

Research

Russian

Students

Grant Writing Tutors Available

Anonymous — Sun, 26 Feb 2017 21:57:09 +0000

The Writing Center and OUR have teamed up to offer grant writing assistance. Whether you are writing for ��̽̽ grants or funding through an outside source, these seven tutors have been trained to help take you from a concept to a complete proposal.

Find their names and availability by searching the Writing Center website under "Meet the Tutors", in Areas of Concentration, "Grants and Proposals". Several have drop in hours at the Hub as well: Tuesdays 11-1, 2-4; and Fridays 11-1.

Not writing a grant this year? Don't worry...

Primary News Group

Undergraduate Research

ScreenShot2017-02-26at4.45.23PM.png

Groups audience

Fellowships, Opportunities, & Undergraduate Research

Author email

akrollle@uvm.edu

Additional Photo 1 Caption

Not writing a grant this year?

Social Media

Keywords

Writing

Map to Mongolia

Anonymous — Thu, 23 Feb 2017 17:02:15 +0000

On the eighth day, Simon McIntosh ‘17 got off his horse and started walking. He was exploring a roadless mountain pass in the northernmost corner of Mongolia, near the border of Russia. To his east, Lake Hovsgol stretched for more than eighty miles. “Some people call it the Blue Pearl,” he says. “It’s stunning around there—where the steppe grasslands and taiga forests meet the Siberian mountains.” In that region, nomadic Tsaatan people herd reindeer, and endangered ibex and Argali sheep roam. A few trucks and motorcycles meander through the grasses and mud. To cross the mountains, and descend into the Darkhad Valley, there is no improved road, only rough tracks.

“But that is changing,” McIntosh says. The Mongolian government has established new national parks in the area and built a paved road from the capital to Lake Hovsgol in 2013. There has been a sharp increase in the number of visitors to the region—bringing with them greater impacts on the land and opportunities for economic development. “In a grassy field, you’ll see tire tracks going in every direction,” McIntosh says. The government now aims to build a paved road from the lake over into the remote valley. “But the question is: where?” McIntosh says.

Route Finding

Helping to answer that question became McIntosh’s senior thesis—and took him to Mongolia for the summer of 2016. It was his second trip there to make maps in partnership with local park rangers and the Mongol Ecology Center. An environmental studies major in ��̽̽’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences—with a minor in geospatial technologies—McIntosh spent weeks trekking over five mountain passes with a Mongolian partner, and a pocketful of GPS equipment—“collecting data on the Garmin every fifty meters,” he says.

“It’s a beautiful and fragile place,” he says, “and I knew my research could make a difference.”

Most of his mapping outings were on horseback and lasted “three or four days,” McIntosh says. But, late in summer, he and his working partner, Orhan, set out for eight days. “Mongolian horse saddles are not as comfortable as European ones,” McIntosh recalls with a rueful laugh. He collected the data he needed, but his backside was so sore that “by the last day I was walking,” he says.

“A road has many implications,” McIntosh says. With support from the ��̽̽ Office of Undergraduate Research, a Simon Family Public Research Fellowship—and guidance from ��̽̽ professors Patricia Stokowski, Bob Manning, and Rick Paradis—McIntosh planned his independent research expedition. In the Darkhad Valley, he input observations on his smartphone about each of the five mountain passes, like soil type and slope. Then he applied a matrix tool—including input from conservationists, local officials, and nomadic herders—to make a recommendation about which route “could help the most people,” he says, “while also best protecting the land.”

His final report, which he shared with Mongolian leaders in the region, showed that two passes could be suitable. But that the southern Öl Pass might be the best choice for a road that “links rural communities, national parks, and indigenous routes for future tourism purposes,” McIntosh notes.

“Write a thesis or do an independent study. Find a project that is yours,” McIntosh suggests to incoming students. “You should look at college as something you do, rather than something that’s done to you.”

Primary News Group

University Communications - ucommall

Subhead

In a fragile landscape, Simon McIntosh ’17 finds the best places for new roads

mongolia-800x400_0.jpg

Top tier news category

Academic News

Additional Photo 1

Groups audience

��̽̽ Today

Author email

joshua.brown@uvm.edu

Featured Photo Caption

McIntosh (left) spent weeks trekking over five Mongolian mountain passes as part of his senior thesis project, mapping the best routes for the region's first paved road. (Photos: Courtesy of Simon McIntosh)

Additional Photo 1 Caption

Five of McIntosh’s six mountain pass scenarios, drawn in red. Gray lines mark existing roads. (Map: Simon McIntosh 2016)

Social Media

Keywords

Agriculture

Family

Public

Research

Science

Teaching and learning through outdoor education

Anonymous — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 14:20:46 +0000

“When people ask how my summer was, I stammer and inevitably turn my eyes skyward as I search for words to describe an experience that has enriched my life in more ways than I can count, let alone express in a single word.”

Working as an Assistant Instructor for an Ecological Leadership Program, junior Sonya had a remarkable academic and cultural experience as she traveled to Kyrgyzstan this past summer: the true magnitude of this experience expressed in her direct quote above. The focus of the program is ecological knowledge, outdoor skills, responsible environmental behavior, and leadership. While supplementing the ecology program with her own leadership and skill-set, Sonya also engaged in individual research on the gender dynamics she observed within the group.

Sonya maintained a vast array of responsibilities as the assistant instructor. Whether she was fundraising for the program, coordinating lesson plans and curriculum, or managing food plans and gear for the students, Sonya was constantly expanding her administrative skills. She also was able to utilize her creative abilities when she designed t-shirts for the program. While Sonya initially thought she wasn’t qualified for the position, she soon realized that she was extremely well-fitted for the position, and her supervisor valued her organizational skills and ability to fundraise and get grants. As the assistant instructor to the program, Sonya played an important role in managing the program. However, she noted that a large part of her learning happened beyond this logistical aspect of her job.

As she became immersed within a new culture, Sonya quickly realized the opportunity she had to expand her situational and self awareness, as well as her cultural competency. Sonya conducted research on gender dynamics within the program. Throughout her time working with the program, she was consistently interviewing students and discussing gender within the context of Kyrgyzstan culture, pushing her to reevaluate her preexisting worldview and perceptions of gender and culture. These conversations included one that particularly stood out to Sonya. She spoke with girls in the group for over an hour about what it means to be a female in Kyrgyzstan as well as a female pursuing outdoor actives such as the eco-leadership program they were currently attending. Sonya appreciated this eye-opening experience and its ability to challenge her understandings of social justice beyond the classroom setting.

Now back at ��̽̽ and continuing her junior year as a resource ecology major, Sonya is already looking to the future. Following graduation, she plans to spend at least a year doing unpaid work anywhere that is needed. Specifically noting her hopes to work with the Black Lives Matter movement or Standing Rock, Sonya cites her research in Kyrgyzstan as her inspiration for continuing her activism in social justice.

Primary News Group

Undergraduate Research

Subhead

Sonya (Natural Resources 2018)

Featured Quote

"When people ask how my summer was, I stammer and inevitably turn my eyes skyward as I search for words to describe an experience that has enriched my life in more ways than I can count, let alone express in a single word"

IMG_5426.JPG

Additional Photo 1

Groups audience

Fellowships, Opportunities, & Undergraduate Research

Author email

Meghan.Letizia@uvm.edu

Featured Photo Caption

Sonya (center) and her Ala Archa Ecological Leadership Project team

Additional Photo 1 Caption

Another day in the classroom

Social Media

Keywords

Other

Paving the Way for Women in Science

Anonymous — Fri, 23 Sep 2016 17:51:08 +0000

As a young girl, Haley Wahl loved stargazing. She could do it for hours. When her parents got her a telescope, stargazing took on a higher level of interest, and soon studying the sky became her passion. By high school she had participated in a program that allowed her to visit the University of New Hampshire and work with an astrophysics professor on a research project.

Similarly, Summer Averill’s interest in chemistry blossomed at her high school, Bellows Free Academy (BFA), in Saint Albans, VT when she started taking AP chemistry. Inspired by her classes with teacher Paul Gamm, she knew she had a strong background to transition into chemistry at ��̽̽.

Thanks to their individual zeal for research, Haley and Summer are recipients of the “Women in Science” undergraduate research fellowship award made possible by alumna Eleanor Sikora ’70. The fellowship funds a woman undergraduate, rising senior, in both chemistry and physics to assist on faculty research.

Ms. Sikora created the fellowship because she knew firsthand the challenges women face in the sciences. “When I was growing up, women were not encouraged to pursue science, and often were not encouraged in the workplace either. Today, while we have made progress since that time, there are still significant imbalances. Education is the #1 priority to address today’s problems, and the impact of science and technology on the jobs of today and tomorrow cannot be understated. I wanted to do something to help young women advance in science, and to go after today’s jobs and solutions.”

Coming to ��̽̽ from Providence, RI, Haley couldn’t wait to continue her exploration of the stars, and soon she was mentored by ��̽̽ teacher-scholar astrophysics Professor Joanna Rankin. Over the course of her studies, Haley has been able to visit the Arecibo Telescope in Puerto Rico and to work with the telescope on-site (as well as do remote observations using the telescope), to conduct research with Joanna on a project concerning the physics of pulsars, to attend various conferences, and to study abroad in the Netherlands at the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON). She is the lead author of a publication from the project she did in Puerto Rico which was recently published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS).

“Receiving the Sikora award was such a tremendous honor and I’m so thankful that I was chosen for it. Having the opportunity to work on my projects this summer at ��̽̽ with Professor Rankin allowed me to devote my time purely to research. Collaborating with others on my projects and talking to many people outside my institution about them has allowed me to make connections I will need for pursing graduate school and beyond,” said Haley.

For Summer, receiving the Sikora award allowed her to get hands-on research opportunities in the organic chemistry lab of ��̽̽ Assistant Professor Adam Whalley. The focus of Adam’s research group is synthesizing new small molecules for molecular electronics. According to Adam, “Summer has been working closely with one of my fifth-year graduate students, Robert Miller, and together they have developed a new and efficient method for the synthesis and functionalization of a highly strained molecule known as tetrabenzo[8]circulene. Their research results will be published within the next few months and this advancement will now allow us to begin testing this molecule as the active component in devices such as transistors and solar cells.

When asked about advice for future female students interested in the sciences, both offered keen suggestions. Summer said, “Working in an all-male research group showed that there may be a deficiency in female scientists, which is one more reason to major in chemistry. It is a difficult subject, but career possibilities are endless and chemistry is an essential part of all the sciences.” And Haley added, “The first piece of advice I would offer is to never give up. If you love the subject, just keep pursing it and working toward your goals and following your dreams no matter what. Physics is absolutely not an easy major, and it gets incredibly tough and very exhausting, but you just have to keep in mind the big picture and keep working hard no matter what obstacles get in your way.”

Primary News Group

Physics

Featured Quote

Having the opportunity to work on my projects this summer at ��̽̽ with Professor Rankin allowed me to devote my time purely to research. Collaborating with others on my projects and talking to many people outside my institution about them has allowed me to make connections I will need for pursing graduate school and beyond. - Haley Wahl, Class of 2017

WomeninScience.400x200_0_1.jpg

Groups audience

University Communications

Author email

Craig.Wells@uvm.edu

Featured Photo Caption

From left to right, seniors Haley Wahl and Summer Averill

Social Media

Keywords

Education

Physics

Professor

Science

Dropping In

Anonymous — Tue, 08 Mar 2016 14:20:18 +0000

From internships to job opportunities to undergraduate research to study abroad, ��̽̽’s Career+Experience Hub makes it easy for students to prepare for life after graduation.

Primary News Group

University Communications - ucommall

Top tier news category

��̽̽ News

Additional Video

Groups audience

��̽̽ Today

Author email

Jeffrey.Wakefield@uvm.edu

Social Media

Keywords

Career

Undergraduate Research Profiles

Ann Kroll Lerner (she/her) — Wed, 03 Feb 2016 15:58:32 +0000

Groups audience

Fellowships, Opportunities, & Undergraduate Research

News Category to Display on Page

Undergraduate Research

Fellowships, Opportunities, & Undergraduate Research

Ann Kroll Lerner (she/her) — Mon, 25 Jan 2016 18:24:03 +0000

Group

This is a closed group. Only a group administrator can add you.

Group visibility

Public - accessible to all site users

Group url prefix

four

Newstool groups whose items should always be displayed under this Department website

Undergraduate Research

Social Media accounts

twitter

If at first you don't succeed...

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 17:07:11 +0000

As her sophomore year came to a close, Aina felt her honors thesis research looming. As a Biology major, her options seemed limitless. She focused on medical research, as that was her intended path. Aina contacted one of her professors, however, when this did not work out, she looked around at the other resources she had. She talked to friends working in labs around campus, met with OUR to discuss her interests, and compiled a list of potential researchers that matched her interests and contacted them.

After a number of emails and referrals, Aina found her place with Dr. Vikas Anathy of the Pathology Department working in his area of interest: oxidative stress in lung fibrosis. Aina’s focus became allergy-induced asthma, what happens after a foreign particle enters the lungs. By looking at the published literature on the subject, she determined that she would focus her thesis on the protein response that leads to scarring in the lungs. Aina’s research primarily focused on how to reduce the negative effects on lung tissue, such as scarring, after contact with an allergen. While she could not disclose the full details of her research prior to its publication, she shared a sense of the value that research provided her.

Aina considers herself to be a visual and tactile learner, lectures alone did not effectively provide a full understanding of the material. Through hands-on research, she was able to apply things from the classroom to the lab and vice versa. Research made the classroom more relevant to the real world. She also became more confident in her abilities by building this extracurricular foundation. The advice she shares with her peers regarding research is, "The full-on experience of being a science major is going out there and doing it.”

Primary News Group

Undergraduate Research

Subhead

Aina (Biology 2016)

Featured Quote

"The full-on experience of being a science major is going out there and doing it."

DSC_0104_0.JPG

Additional Photo 1

Groups audience

<em>Fellowships, Opportunities, & Undergraduate Research</em>

Author email

Meghan.Letizia@uvm.edu

Featured Photo Caption

photo: HKline Photography

Additional Photo 1 Caption

Aina would like to thank all of those who have helped her on her research journey, especially those at the Microscopy Center and the Anathy Lab

Social Media

Keywords

Biology

Pathology

Research

Proactive Student Participates in Uniquely Interdisciplinary Research

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 16:50:45 +0000

Not everyone is able to combine nutrition with biochemistry and a desire to have a clinical research experience, but that is exactly what this student did... eventually. Hira (Biochemistry ’15) was confident from her first year on campus that getting involved in research would fit with her pre-med path. And while she had to research a number of faculty first, she eventually found her preferred combination working on the effects of milk fat on the human body with Dr. Jana Kraft (Animal and Veterinary Sciences with a joint appointment in Medicine).

Hira started her research by crafting experimental diets in collaboration with a Bionutritionist at the Clinical Research Center in Fletcher Allen (now ��̽̽ Medical Center) during the fall of her sophomore year. The similar nutrient profiles of the experimental diets compared to each other allowed for the isolation of milk fat to better understand its effects on the human body. The small Reidel Award for this project helped pay for the analysis of the diets and led to the next step of recruiting participants to be subjected to the all dairy fat diets during subsequent summers, one of which she funded by winning the Honors College Summer Research Award.

The research itself consisted of providing 12 test subjects with the diet plans, which changed at planned intervals of two and three weeks per diet. She collected stool samples and measured the bacterial content affected by changes in diet, and noted how milk fat played a role in these results. Her summer working with human subjects directly prepared her for work with patients in the future. When asked what the most exciting or valuable part of her research was, Hira had a hard time finding just one. She shared her appreciation for the independence she was given in the research group as “only an undergraduate student”. Hira was excited to be part of such a pioneering study. And what did it lead to? Her results await publication, but her own path has led to the Geisel School of Medicine at Darmouth College. We could not be more pleased unless we had eaten the yoghurt ourselves!

Primary News Group

Undergraduate Research

Subhead

Hira (Biochemistry 2015)

DSC_0081_0.JPG

Groups audience

<em>Fellowships, Opportunities, & Undergraduate Research</em>

Author email

ugresearch@uvm.edu

Additional Photo 2 Caption

Hira presenting at the SRC in 2015

Social Media

Keywords

Biochemistry

Medicine

Research

Science

����̽̽ - Undergraduate Research

Office of Undergraduate Research Grants First Faculty Mentoring Awards

Primary News Group

teachermentors800x400.jpg

Groups audience

Author email

Featured Photo Caption

Social Media

Keywords

Grant Writing Tutors Available

Primary News Group

ScreenShot2017-02-26at4.45.23PM.png

Groups audience

Author email

Additional Photo 1 Caption

Social Media

Keywords

Map to Mongolia

Route Finding

Primary News Group

Subhead

mongolia-800x400_0.jpg

Top tier news category

Additional Photo 1

Groups audience

Related Links

Author email

Featured Photo Caption

Additional Photo 1 Caption

Social Media

Keywords

Teaching and learning through outdoor education

Primary News Group

Subhead

Featured Quote

IMG_5426.JPG

Additional Photo 1

Groups audience

Author email

Featured Photo Caption

Additional Photo 1 Caption

Social Media

Keywords

Paving the Way for Women in Science

Primary News Group

Featured Quote

WomeninScience.400x200_0_1.jpg

Groups audience

Author email

Featured Photo Caption

Social Media

Keywords

Dropping In

Primary News Group

Featured Video

Top tier news category

Additional Video

Groups audience

Author email

Social Media

Keywords

Undergraduate Research Profiles

Groups audience

News Category to Display on Page

Fellowships, Opportunities, & Undergraduate Research

Group

Group visibility

Group url prefix

Newstool groups whose items should always be displayed under this Department website

Social Media accounts

If at first you don't succeed...

Primary News Group

Subhead

Featured Quote

DSC_0104_0.JPG

Additional Photo 1

Groups audience

Author email

Featured Photo Caption

Additional Photo 1 Caption

��̽̽ - Undergraduate Research