Fallon Deatherage
News Editor
The Undergraduate Research Symposium gave undergraduate researchers from all of ISU’s colleges the opportunity to showcase the work they are doing.
Held in the Wood River room on April 12, viewers were able to visit with each of the researchers to learn more about the research they are doing.
“Undergraduate research isn’t much different from graduate research,” said Dr. Neels Van der Schyf, Vice President of Research and the dean of the graduate school. “They are able to use many of the same tools and facilities, but they work under the mentorship of advisors who not only invest their time, but encourage students to use their own ideas.”
That has been the case for Molly Draben, a political science student who presented her work on narrative policy framework related to changes with the Portneuf River. Draben was able to work closely with Dr. James Stoutenborough.
“My piece was just a small part of the project,” Draben said. “But for me it was really neat to work with the numbers and people’s responses.”
For many students, fitting research into their schedules has been difficult.
“Undergraduates have as much creativity in their research as graduate researchers,” Van der Schyf said. “Because there is more designated time in the classroom, their only limitation is the time they are able to invest to their research.”
Biology senior, Lance Port, has been working outside of class with Dr. James Groome. He has been researching a mutation at causes paralysis in the voltage gated sodium channel responsible for sending signals from the brain causing muscles to contract. Port used frog eggs to express the human protein for the research he started at the beginning of the fall semester.
“At times it was difficult,” Port said. “Sometimes it’s hard to get good data or operate the equipment, but it’s been fun too.”
The research has enriched Port’s education and has given him the opportunity to apply his classroom learning in the lab.
“For universities that construe undergrad research as important, the level of education is higher than any universities that do not support undergrad research,” Dr. Van der Schyf said. “We have undergraduates added to publications, and I would like to see that happen for every undergraduate researcher when possible.”
In the future, it is possible that there may be more funds dedicated to undergraduate research. The Higher Education Research Council of which Dr. Van der Schyf is a member, has begun to set aside more money for undergraduate research at Idaho schools in the last few years. Before this, universities had to provide their own funds for the research. The Higher Education Research Council is pushing for the Idaho legislation to set aside even more funds in the future.
The Undergraduate Research Symposium continues to grow every year.
“Hopefully next year this will be much larger,” Dr. Van der Schyf said. “Because the linkage with mentors and students is important. I wouldn’t be here without my excellent mentors and I am forever grateful.”
