Undergraduate Research Stories

For centuries in the western world, the study of science has been dominated by a specific demographic – those with economic and cultural advantages necessary to advance in academics and research careers. Likely white, likely male. In 2018, a National Institutes of Health study found that, over the previous seven years, only 1% of NIH grants for experienced investigators went to underrepresented minorities. The percentages for early stage and new investigator funding were only slightly higher.

California State University, Chico is working to transform the undergraduate experience and enhance student success with a new program to cultivate entrepreneurial mindsets and research opportunities right within the everyday classroom.

Two CSU Monterey Bay student researchers have been named 2020 Goldwater scholars. Nicholas Heyer and Samantha Miller, both undergraduates in the College of Science, were the only two recipients in the California State University (CSU) system this year.

Dr. Tyreasa Washington is the recipient of the 2020 Thomas Undergraduate Research Mentor Award for Tenured Faculty and Dr. Blair Wisco is the recipient of the 2020 Thomas Undergraduate Research Mentor Award for Early Career Faculty.

Three UConn undergraduates, three graduate students, and six alumni have earned National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships (NSF-GRFP).

In the fall of 2017, Tristian Wiles ’21 arrived on a college campus more populous than his hometown. That’s probably a more common experience for students attending a flagship state university than for those enrolled at a small liberal arts institution like Hendrix College. But Wiles came from the northeastern Arkansas community of Ash Flat, which has a population of about 1,100.

For the first time in its 14-year history, the Georgia State Undergraduate Research Conference has awarded three faculty members for their commitment to mentoring student research.

Vanderbilt University sophomores Ashwin Kumar and Abinaya Ramakrishnan and junior Amelia Taylor are among the 2020 recipients of the Goldwater Scholarship—awarded to undergraduate STEM students who show exceptional promise of becoming the nation’s next generation of research leaders.

For the second year in a row, four exceptional Emory College students have won the nation’s top scholarship for undergraduates studying math, natural sciences and engineering.

As one of the top research universities in the world, Michigan State University pushes the boundaries of discovery to solve pressing global challenges through research—from impacting malaria patient outcomes to studying causes of lupus. For two juniors in MSU’s Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics (BLD) Program—Rachael Nassimbwa and Shamya Harris—undergraduate research brought an opportunity to travel and present research projects to fellow undergraduates from around the country.