University of Delaware’s Undergraduate
summer research Program:
Turning Students into Scholars
By NICK ZAGORSKI
On the afternoon of August 13, the campus of the University of Delaware is experiencing a typical summer
day; a few students meander along the grassy mall known
as ‘The Green’ while some others set up a volleyball net to
take advantage of the weather. It’s a relaxed atmosphere,
where the biggest buzz is provided by the cicadas droning
away from the treetops.
Inside McKinly Lab, however, there is a buzz of a different sort. Over 120 undergraduates (along with faculty
and some other interested visitors) are milling around the
halls of this building, looking over and discussing posters
made by their peers. With studies that span disciplines
from biology to chemistry and engineering, these posters
represent the culmination of Delaware’s Summer Undergraduate Research Enrichment Program, wherein dedicated students take their first careful steps toward becoming independent-thinking scientists.
As Hal White, professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry as
well as Director of UD’s HHMI Undergraduate Science Education Program (of which the Enrichment Program is one
aspect), describes it, the program is not just about providing
research opportunities to undergraduates—“we’re not in the
business of padding resumes,” he says; rather, it tries to enable
the transition from studentship to scholarship.
“The skill set required by today’s graduate students is
quite demanding,” notes Louis Guillette, a professor of
Zoology and HHMI Professor at the University of Florida
who kicked off the poster section with an engaging plenary
lecture on environmental influences on alligator development. “But in focusing more on experimental design and
results and not scholarly thinking, mentors face the risk of
creating Ph.D. technicians as opposed to actual scientists.”
That’s why instilling the proper frame of mind has been
a major emphasis of Delaware’s summer research program.
Although the selected students (who apply to one of six
potential fellowship programs that sponsor the program) do
spend a lot of time in the lab, conducting their own project
over a 10-week period from early June to mid-August, they
also attend weekly seminars given by Delaware faculty and
guests that touch on issues pertinent to future researchers.
Such topics include science ethics, health disparities, managing a lab, and of course, how to get into the best graduate
programs.
And then there are the posters, which to White represent
more than just a slapdash collection of figures and results.
“Effective communication is still of paramount importance
in science,” says White, “and unfortunately, is still often
overlooked.”
That’s why the poster session is a significant—and
required—element of the program. White believes that if a
student can assemble the most pertinent findings of their
research into a coherent summary, and then explain that
summary to other individuals, then that helps them truly
understand their work. “It’s not just telling me what you
found,” White says. “You should know why the experiments
were done, what limitations your study has, and importantly, why the results are relevant.”
White likes to have the poster session mimic those at scientific conferences as closely as possible. He and other faculty
wander around and ask tough questions of the presenters and
encourage students to do the same (knowing how to ask the
right questions is as important as knowing how to answer
them). He also brings in external guests, such as HHMI staff
and members of local industry to help round out the crowd.
The session even includes a series of oral presentations that
are judged by a panel of experts from local industry.
Having such a grand atmosphere helps the students
because many of them will go on to present their work at
national meetings. In fact, around 10-15 of the posters at
each session are eventually submitted for the Undergraduate Poster Competition at the ASBMB annual meeting. And
over the next several months, these chosen undergraduates
present their posters at many regional events and receive
plenty of feedback to prepare for the competition. “We train
them quite a bit,” says White, “and we give them advice on
every detail; how to make the title eye-catching, the best use
of colors, what data are missing. Then we make them redo
the poster.”
