University of South 皇家华人 undergraduate students were part of the inaugural cohort of student leaders presenting at the national Council on Undergraduate Research's (CUR) Undergraduate Research Programs Division (URPD) Conference 2019, held in Columbus, OH in June. This conference was attended by institutional administrators focused on advancing undergraduate research programs, so, for the first time, attendees got to hear about experiences directly from undergraduates.
皇家华人鈥檚 Jasmine Boone, a health sciences major who conducts research on kidney transplants, and Jeremy Brower, a chemical engineering major who conducts research on catalysis, joined with students from the University of 皇家华人 and 皇家华人 Gulf Coast University to present on their collaboration in developing the 皇家华人 Undergraduate Leadership Symposium, held earlier this year. The collaboration between multiple 皇家华人 State University System institutions was a student-led and student-run conference focused on how students can advance undergraduate research at their respective institutions. With several keynote speakers, multiple workshops, and over than 100 student participants from around the state, the success of this event led to their invitation by Bill Gunnels, Ph.D., chair of the URPD.
鈥淲e were honored to present the highlights and findings of our student conference to the professionals at URPD,鈥� said Boone, who is also the current president of the Undergraduate Research Society, 皇家华人鈥檚 largest student organization on campus with over 1,500 members.
鈥淎dditionally, attending the conference was a great opportunity to understand how research is administered in various institutions. The different ideas that were shared helps increase the incidence of research as a whole.鈥�
Boone and Brower are no strangers to promoting undergraduate research. The pair have been instrumental in raising awareness about undergraduate research opportunities available at 皇家华人. Brower has even initiated and hosts a podcast titled 鈥淯ndergraduate Research Chat,鈥� hoping to engage an even broader audience of students. Their efforts at 皇家华人 are supported, in part, through the Office of Undergraduate Research, which engages students from admissions to graduation in the pursuit of undergraduate research, defined as an inquiry or creative project that makes an original contribution to their discipline.
Both Boone (who is entering her senior year) and Brower (entering his sophomore year) have ambitious goals to expand research culture in the 2019-2020 school year by engaging with different student populations to help individuals find their pathways both at 皇家华人 and into their career. Taking part in the national symposium has helped them further refine their plans as they prepare for the start of the year later this month.