Students Promote the Importance of Undergraduate Research

Utah’s research universities participated in Undergraduate Research Day in West Annex Building of the State Capitol in Salt Lake City as part of the 2005 Legislative session Thursday, Jan. 20, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

 

Students from around the state who attend Utah State University and the University of Utah  displayed their undergraduate research projects for Utah’s legislators and discussed the importance of research in their educations. The students also presented Aggie Cheese to legislators and had their picture taken with the governor. Incoming Utah State President Stan Albrecht also talked with the student researchers and visited the displays.

 

“The opportunity to do undergraduate research at Utah State has been such a valuable experience,” said Kristen Stokes a junior majoring in dietetics. “I feel so prepared for graduate school and it really adds to my marketability doing actual research, and working one-on-one with professors has given me such a head start.”

 

Landon Karren, a senior majoring in chemistry, emphasized the importance of working in a research lab. “My best learning has occurred not in the classroom, but in the lab,” Karren said. “It really gels when I see it in the lab. It’s hard taking raw data and converting it into a poster, but I really enjoy talking to people.”

 

“Utah State believes that research is invaluable for a student’s intellectual growth and development,” said Joyce Kinkead, vice provost for undergraduate studies and research at Utah State. “Undergraduate research provides a unique hands-on experience that enhances learning and improves the value of students’ degrees.”

 

“As a top research university, we commit ourselves to increasing our standard of research excellence for our students, faculty, community and world,” said Brent Miller, vice president for research at Utah State. “Research projects are a boon to learning and discovery and also provide benefits to the state by creating solutions to practical problems.”

 

The findings of undergraduate research can be used to guide action on community and state issues or make significant contributions to the state’s economy and intellectual capital.

 

“Research programs provide an unparalleled educational opportunity for Utah’s deserving students,” said Kermit L. Hall, outgoing president of Utah State. “They create technologies, jobs and skilled professionals for the statewide economy.”

 

Utah State and U of U students are learning by doing and,  in the words of Kinkead, “truly making a difference.”