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Undergraduate Research at

15 of Virginia's Private Colleges

 

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH IN THE SCIENCES

 

 

 

The VFIC's Summer Undergraduate Program allows undergraduate students the opportunity to conduct supervised research with faculty mentors.  Hands-on research is conducted in science-related areas with students receiving training in researching methods, analyzing data and creating written and oral presentations of their findings.  In 2006, the VFIC provided $37,500 to support Summer Undergraduate Research programs at its member colleges.

 

This unique educational program provides students with an in-depth learning experience and the opportunity to co-author published articles relating to their research.  In some cases, students will join their faculty mentor to make presentations at regional and national scientific seminars.  As a result of this program, students gain advantages for the graduate school admissions process and set the stage for meaningful careers in the sciences.

 

Some of the projects receiving funding this year included the study of Optical Spectroscopy of Defects in Yttrium Orthovandate (YVo4) Crystals; Population Characteristics and Home Range of Wood Turtles (clemmys insculpta) in the Cedar Creek Watershed, Frederick and Shenandoah Counties, Virginia; and Diversity and Resilience of Appalachian Forests in Response to Nonindigenous Earthworm Species.

 

2005-6 Contributors to Undergraduate Research:

  • Albemarle Corporation

  • Areva NP

  • BWX Technologies, Inc.

  • Collis Warner Foundation, Inc.

  • HSMM

  • Interstate Resources, Inc.

  • Luck Stone Corporation

  • NewMarket Corporation

  • Siemens Power Generation

  • Tredegar Corporation

  • Wyeth Consumer Healthcare

 

A Sample of Past Research Projects:

  • Isotopic Analysis of Holocene Acropora cervicornis, Lago Enriquillo, Dominican Republic

  • Excitation Intensity Dependence of Anti-Stokes Emission in Undoped YVO4 

  • The Systematics and Life History of Pulmonate Gastropods in the Virginia Piedmont Area (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Pulmonata)

  • Measuring the Water Potential of Turtle Eggs Throughout Incubation

  • The Investigation of Anomalous Behavior In Sunspot Relative Intensity Profiles 

  • Selective Hypochlorite Oxidation of Diols 

  • Suitablility of Using Type 1 Fimbrial Gene Differences in Escherichia coli as a Bacterial Source Tracking Method 

  • Spatial learning differences among ages in male Asian Musk Shrews (suncus murina) using the Morris water maze 

  • An investigation of Shigella flexneri iron and manganese acquisition mutants in response to different environmental conditions 

  • A Case Study of Overwintering Requirements of Monarch Butterflies in Mexico

 

If you or your company would like to contribute to this worthwhile student summer scientific research program, please contact Mary-Beth Johnson VFIC Vice President.