Hello and welcome!
During this session, we're going to focus on students conducting research at NC State.
Specifically, we'll look at why research at NC State is so significant and unique, how
students think and do within in research, and the ways in which students are supportive
throughout their experience.
The office of Undergraduate Research exists primarily to promote and support students
engaging in research.
But the term, 'research' is not limited to what happens in a laboratory.
Researching includes: creative exploration in the arts, literacy analysis, archaeological
digs, customer surveying, and so much more.
Researches is really about exploration.
It is about discovery, inquiry, and creativity.
At NC State, we truly believe research is simply advancing knowledge within any discipline.
Our students get to participate in a variety of ways, which we will review later in this
presentation.
On this slide are several examples of the research our office helped fun over the past
year.
The first picture on the far left is from a 2019 graduate of the Wilson College of Textiles.
This student conducted market research where she surveyed people with disabilities to better
understand how standard apparel was and was not working for them.
She then she use this knowledge to develop a line of clothing that was specifically tailor
to people with physically disabilities using a wide range of mobility assistance.
In the middle you'll see a picture of a lemur from the Duke Lemur Center.
We have a large number of students who do their research at the center, under the mentor
ship of Doctor Lisa Paciulli.
And the top right photo is a project conducted by a student in Mechanical Engineering.
He developed software that could detect specific organisms.
He then attach the software to a drone he designed which could fly over agricultural
fields, detect specific insects, and then spray those insects with pesticide rather
than covering the entire field.
This picture is from a test in a software he developed.
Other examples show research conducted in lab settings, at the ocean, and then in our
libraries.�
There are a lot of benefits that come in participating in Undergraduate Research.
One of the most significant benefits is the development of nonlinear thinking skills.
This include things like: communication skills, creative and critical thinking, and problem
solving.
Skills that you will learn in a classroom but be able to practice and test in a hands-on
experience like research.
Undergraduate Research also helps connects students with our faculty and other experts
in the field, which are critical to learning the research process.
Additionally, they can result in things like outstanding letters of recommendation, which
focus on how a student actually applies their knowledge, not just what they know, and connections
to industry jobs.
For those interested in scholarship and fellowships, because who doesn't want some free money,
Undergraduate Research sets application apart.
This same is true for applying to graduate and professional schools.
In fact, over 90% of this past fall's incoming class at UNC School of medicine participated
in Undergraduate Research.
Lastly, Undergraduate Research is known as the high impact practice.
Overall, students who participate tend higher GPAs, pass more classes, graduate on time,
and generally more engage on campus.
Now that you know a little more about what Undergraduate Research is, and why students
should participate, let's talk about what that looks like at NC State.
Generally speaking, there are three ways university research is funded around the country: through
federal grants, foundations, or industry funding.
The state of North Carolina leads the nation in it share of industry funded research according
to the study completed in 2018.
This isn't too surprising considering the amount of industry in our state dedicated
to things like: pharmaceutical, technology, and engineering.
When that list of universities is narrowed to research one institutions, which is defined
by the Carnegie Foundation as having very high levels of research.
NC State ranks 4th in industry funded research.
Now look, we acknowledge that Duke is first on that list.
They have a medical school, and med schools always drive up the amount of research funding
at an institution.
This is the same for Ohio state which is third on the list.
MIT is, well, MIT.
So the fact NC State sits at number 4 is really significant.
So what does this mean for NC State, and particularly for our undergraduate students.
First, this means that NC State is fulfilling it's mission of developing world changing
solutions.
It's our motto: Think and Do.
Increase industry funding supports research that is based on problem solving.
It is study funding.
Remember that government shutdown last year?
Well, industry funding research wasn't impacted.
Which meant, much of the research at NC State kept going, while peer institutions slowed.
For our students, industry funding means increase access to payed research opportunities, exposure
to industry and subsequent jobs, opportunities to create startups, and general the ability
to shape the future of our world.
Students get involved in research in number of ways.
First, nearly every major has research intensive courses built into the requirements for graduation.
So in some point, students will engage in learning the research process.
There are many research courses beyond the requirements and students can earn academic
credit for conducting research outside the classrooms as well.
Most students engage in research as research assistance.
Our research faculty, as well as industry experts outside NC State, often need assistance
with their research project and take on undergraduates as assistance.
The associated tasks are broad and depend on the type of research being conducted, but
in general, students get started learning the basics for the project, and then build
independence overtime.
Rarely is specific knowledge needed prior to becoming a research assistance and students
can spend as little as one semester over the project, but many choose to continue with
the same mentor or the same project semester after semester.
Some students do research independently, which means that have develop their own project
under the mentorship of a faculty member or an expert in the field.
Students are welcomed to conduct research outside of NC State as well.
There are many options for this in downtown Raleigh, such as our museums and politics,
or a local business, just to name a few.
We also have students who work on our projects in Research Triangle Park, which is just 20
minutes from campus and easily accessible via bus.
While we would like to be experts of everything, we recognize that just isn't possible.
There are students who also conduct the research on other campuses like UNC Chapel Hill or
Duke.
Research Experiences for Undergraduates, or REUs for short, are specifics summer research
programs.
There great opportunities and tend to be very competitive.
There about 10-weeks long and typically include a strong stipend.
At NC State, the average is $5000.
They include housing, some form of meal plan, parking, and any associative travel that might
come with that REU.
At NC State, we have around 20 to 23 or so of these each summer.
Which is a lot of REUs.
For comparison sake, many of our peer institutions in the area have just around 5 or so.
We also encourage students to seek REUs� at other institutions around the country.
Last, but not least, if conducting research internationally is of interest, there are
plenty of opportunities to do that through NC State.
We have research courses with study abroad components, and entire study abroad programs
dedicated to research.
Many students also connect with their mentor's colleagues in other countries where they travel
to assist with their research.
Stanford (Don't know spelling) office are happy to help students navigate the system
to find research opportunities.
In addition to our staff, we have an amazing set of student ambassadors, who are currently
engaging in research.
These students represent a wide variety of disciplines and hold weekly drop-in hours
in our office.
They're excellent resource for finding research opportunities and provide really good tips
in getting involved.
Once students have identify a mentor and project, we encourage them to apply for funding.
During fall and spring semester, students can receive up to $500 to cover associative
cost with conducting research.
This would be things like: supplies, or materials, or even travel to conduct that research.
In the summer, they can receive up to $2000.
To apply for these funds, students must submit short project proposals, the semester prior
to that project.
This is really a great opportunity to write grant writing.
In addition to project funds, we support student travel to disciplinary conferences, where
students are presenting their research.
They can apply for up to $500 each year.
We also take students to a number of interdisciplinary conferences for no cost or reduce fee.
These conferences include are: state-wide symposium, the National Conference of Undergraduate
Research, and the ACC Meeting of the Mind, which is a great research conference within
our athletic conference.
For those who qualify for federal work study through FAFSA, we have research assistance
position for student to earn their award money, while gaining the amazing skills that come
with Undergraduate Research.
Each year, the office of Undergraduate Research host a number of events for students to learn
how to get involve and share their research.
These events include: Sidewalk Symposium, picture on the left, where students drew their
research on ground using sidewalk chalk.
We also host two university-wide research symposiums, where students present both project
in oral or poster format.
Speed researching is a fantastic event for new students to engage with current researcher
at NC State and learn how to get involve.
Now we like to share a video with you about how far Undergraduate Research can take someone.
But first, a little background.
Jeremy Wall is a graduate of Wilson College of Textiles.
In 2014, during his senior year, Jeremy applied for funding from our department to support
his senior design clothing line.
Jeremy defined a problem he wanted to solve with his line, so we funded him with $1000.
He used these funds to purchase fabrics, and later that year, presented his line at the
National Conference of Undergraduate Research.
After graduating, Jeremy moved to California, where he created a startup company called,
Lumenus.
The video you are about to see is from his Kickstarter campaign launch
in 2015.
So where is Jeremy now?
Well his Kickstarter did great, and began producing his line for distribution to stores
like REI.
For some folks, like me, who find the prices for workout apparel at Target a little more
appealing, Jeremy has also started producing LED lights strips that can be attached to
the clothing you already own.�
Thank you for joining us to learn a little more about Undergraduate Research at NC State.
Students on campus can find us at Broughton Hall currently.
This summer we will be moving to DH Hill Library.
If you have any questions, please contact us at: undergraduate-research@ncsu.edu.