What I Expect of Undergraduate Research Students

Science can be a lot of fun, but it’s also a lot of work.  Consequently, students who are most successful are those that are enthusiastic and self-motivated.  As a general rule, students working with me should:

• be willing to discuss ideas and ask questions.

• be willing to help formulate research ideas that are relevant to their own interests (don’t worry, I’m here to help with this).

• be willing to participate in all aspects of a research project, including (but not limited to) experimental design, data collection, data analysis, writing proposals and reports, and disseminating the results to the scientific community.

• conduct research in an honest and ethical fashion.

I strongly encourage all of my UR students to do each of the following:

• Sign up for 1 credit-hour of BIOL396 (section 10) for each semester in which they work with me.  That way they receive course credit for all of the work they do.

• Apply for research funding through the ATP program or other sources.  Applying for grant money is an important part of the process of scientific research, and successful grant applications look very good to employers and graduate schools.

• Present the results of their research projects at a local, regional, or national conference (and minimally at the Biology Department’s Friday Informal Seminar Hour).  Again, this is a critical part of the research process.  If the results are not made public, a study makes no contribution to the scientific community.

• Have fun!  The idea is to find a question about which you’re curious, and enjoy searching for the answer.  That joy of discovery is what got me into science, and I hope it will do the same for you.

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