Research Bingo Winner Michele Bresler Talks About the CUR Symposium

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Written by Michele Bresler

Participating in the 2013 UNC Celebration of Undergraduate Research Symposium was a great experience that not only allowed me to formally share my research with others but allowed me to see what the numerous other research projects on campus were about.

My research poster titled “Manipulation of Crypt Culture Conditions for Mouse Intestinal Stem Cell Fission” presented my work from Dr. Susan Henning’s Gastrointestinal Stem Cell Lab. Since the intestinal epithelium is one of the most rapidly turning over tissues in the body, it is extremely vulnerable to chemotherapy treatments which often cause damage to the epithelium. In the Henning lab I studied the repair process of the intestine after damage from the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin and worked to create a culture system with conditions where intestinal crypts (location of intestinal stem cells) could survive but only minimally proliferate. This way, we would be able to better understand the factors which induce the proliferation during regeneration after damage.

After presenting my poster, I had the opportunity to walk around the symposium and talk to other participates about their research projects. I loved that there was such a wide range of disciplines including other natural sciences, social sciences, and the humanities. The students at UNC are involved in some amazing projects and it was inspiring to see all of the vastly different projects that my peers participate in.

I was extremely excited to find out that I had won the research bingo prize as I know that the symposium had attracted a lot of people to see the presentations and that there were many entries. I had originally planned on reading others’ posters so being able to win research bingo for doing so was a great surprise!

By chelsey bentley | Posted on: May 14, 2013 at 7:00 am | Posted in Blog, Celebration of undergraduate research, Research, undergraduate research | Comments (0)

Check out our Storify Feed from the 2013 Celebration of Undergraduate Research!

A few weeks ago, we held our annual Celebration of Undergraduate Research. We had many attendants, and students were able to share their experiences with research through their posters and platform presentations. To encourage interaction, attendants were encouraged to post on Facebook and Twitter about the symposium. We even created a hashtag for Twitter, #UNCCUR13. Check out what people had to said about the Celebration! Who knows- you might see your post!

 

http://storify.com/unc_ugrad_rsch/2013-celebration-of-undergraduate-research.html

By chelsey bentley | Posted on: May 7, 2013 at 7:00 am | Posted in Blog | Comments (1)

OUR Announces the Winners of our Celebration of Undergraduate Research Contests!

Junior biology major, Michele Bresler, won the second annual Celebration of Undergraduate Research Bingo drawing! She will receive a prize pack valued at $209 including tickets from PlayMakers Repertory Company, and a $100 cash prize. Senior Psychology major Kandace Thomas won the first annual Research Madness Bracket contest.  Peers voted her research to victory through a March Madness style bracket contest. Kandace will receive a prize pack valued at $74. This pack includes a gift bag filled with goodies. Both students received tickets from the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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During the Celebration of Undergraduate Research Symposium attendees voted for the best poster. The 2013 Poster Winners are: Sherifat Ademola, Psychology ‘14; Connor Puett, Applied Sciences ‘13; and one group research poster by Becky Jepson, Romance Languages ’15; Alexandra Gladu, Journalism ’15; Katie Gutt, Romance Languages ’15; Adriana Simmons, Global Studies ’15; and Pallavi Sastry, Economics ’13. Winning posters will be displayed on campus throughout the 2013-2014 academic year.

The Celebration of Undergraduate Research Symposium, an annual event held in April, is co-sponsored by the Office for Undergraduate Research and the Roosevelt Institute and showcases and encourages meaningful research in all disciplines by undergraduates at the UNC-Chapel Hill.

By chelsey bentley | Posted on: April 30, 2013 at 7:00 am | Posted in Blog | Comments (1)

Our Research Madness Bracket Contest: Congratulations to Kandace Thomas

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The time has finally arrived. While Louisville may have taken the national title in the bracket – and basketball- contest, who won the Office for Undergraduate Research’s Research Bracket Contest? This March, OUR decided to give students who were presenting at the symposium a chance to share their experience early. Five students submitted blog posts about their research and took to their social media sites, friends, family, and classmates to get votes during the three rounds. In the end, Kandace Thomas received over 300 votes on her project about well-being among non-Panhellenic sorority women and Panhellenic sorority women.

photo-10 Her study allowed her to incorporate her psychology major, Women’s Studies minor and her interest in Panhellenic sororities. We are delighted that Kandace shared her story with us, and pleased to announce her a winner! Kandace will receive a packed Research Bracket themed prize, including a family pack to Morehead Planetarium, goodies from UNC Student Stores and more!

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Congrats Kandace!

 

 

 

 

 

By chelsey bentley | Posted on: April 23, 2013 at 12:00 pm | Posted in Blog | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

The Celebration of Undergraduate Research’s Social Media Challenge!

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Have you heard of National Undergraduate Research Week? The week of April 15th-19th , UNC joins the nation in recognizing the impact and importance of undergraduate research! In honor of this week, The Office for Undergraduate Research is hosting a social media adventure! This is a three day “challenge” leading up to the Celebration of Undergraduate Research. Each day, we will have a “challenge” with a new social media outlet including Facebook, Twitter and blogging. In addition to this, every day we will have Carolina trivia posted on our Facebook page and our Twitter page. To participate in this challenge, just complete the daily objectives:

Day 1 (April 12th): Facebook

Day 2 (April 15th): Twitter

  • Tweet about undergraduate research with #UNCCUR13
  • Answer our Carolina Trivia
  • Live-tweet the Celebration of Undergraduate Research
  • Visit the Celebration of Undergraduate Research, from 1-3:45 pm in the Frank Porter Graham Student

Day 3 (April 16th): Blogging

  • Don’t forget to answer our Carolina Trivia!
  • Submit photos with a caption for a chance to be featured on OUR’s blog. Email submissions to our@unc.edu

 

By chelsey bentley | Posted on: April 9, 2013 at 5:00 pm | Posted in Blog | Comments (0)

A Look at Undergraduate Research: Carlos Manuel de Castro IV’s Experience

My undergraduate research experience was very rewarding. However, the most difficult part of my research experience was the frustration that was felt when experiments didn’t work as expected. Yet, it is a well-known fact that in basic research, more often than not your experiments will fail and you must be persistent in order to obtain useful data.  The most rewarding part of my research experience was seeing all the work I did come together in a poster.  Even though I would have liked to have continued and eventually finished this project, it was very satisfying to be able to produce and present a poster with the work I had completed.  I’m currently a first year medical student at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago.  The research I did as an undergraduate was incredibly helpful in that it gave me insight on the basic principles of how research is conducted and taught me valuable skills that I will be using this upcoming summer and hopefully throughout my entire career.  I highly recommend it to any aspiring medical students or to anyone who is generally interested in science.

By chelsey bentley | Posted on: March 5, 2013 at 7:00 am | Posted in Blog | Comments (0)

The Office For Undergraduate Research Announces Research Madness!

March Madness…Research Style!

It’s almost that time…that time where we sit, faces plastered to our television screens, praying that Notre Dame creates an upset, Kentucky wins, and of course that The School Down the Road that Must Not Be Named loses horribly and UNC takes it all. Why you ask? Well besides being Tarheels, because we filled out our brackets that way. Yep, bracket season – that season when a little piece of paper is almost as important as the entire NCAA tournament itself.

But brackets don’t have to be just about basketball. The Office for Undergraduate Research is pleased to announce our March Madness competition, “Research Madness.”

We will be featuring 16 UNC students who have decided to share their research, and  YOU can be a part of the contest! If you are planning to present at the Celebration of Undergraduate Research symposium this spring, you can take part in the contest! To enter Research Madness, submit a blog post about your research experience in 250 words or less to Chelsey (cabentle@live.unc.edu) by Friday, March 1, 2013. Please include your name, major(s) and academic year in the post.

Even if you decide not to share your research, YOU can still have a voice in who wins the title! Starting on March 5th, you can vote on who makes it to the next round each week and who will be crowned winner on April 9th! Just go to our voting website, read the blog posts and cast your vote! Each week we will announce who made it to the next round of voting and you can cast your vote for your favorite all over again! The winner will receive a packed prize package!  We will post the links to our voting website and blogs on March 5th, as well as linking you to the voting website on our main website.

UNC on top…as usual 

 

 

TIMELINE:
Blogs up: March 5th
First round of voting (16 people) : March 5-18
Second Round (8) March 19th – 25
Third Round: (4) March 26- April 1
Fourth Round: April 2-8
Winner announced April 9th

Happy researching (& voting)!

The Office For Undergraduate Research

By chelsey bentley | Posted on: February 26, 2013 at 7:00 am | Posted in Blog | Comments (0)

Carolina Research Scholar Program – What is it?

Carolina Research Scholar Program


What is CRSP? Besides sounding like delicious candy bar, CRSP stands for the Carolina Research Scholar Program. The goal of CRSP is to foster and expand undergraduate research and to build a community based on research and learning.

So how do you get involved in CRSP? Any undergraduate can earn the CRSP designation in a few simple steps. To get the CRSP designation on your transcript all you have to do is:

1. Complete one multi-disciplinary course. This requirement can be met in one of three ways. You only need to complete one of the following:

  •  Complete IDST 195. This is the introductory Modes of Inquiry class, a one-credit pass/fail course.
  •  Complete one research-intensive course of at least 3 credit hours.
  •  Complete one research-exposure course of at least 3 credit hours. The research-exposure course cannot be taken pass/fail, and you must receive a grade of C or better.                  

2. Completion of at least two research intensive courses totaling at least 6 credit hours.

3. Presentation of research. This requirement can be fulfilled in one of two ways:

  •  Present your research at a UNC-CH campus research symposium that is open to the public. Many students present at OUR’s Celebration of Undergraduate Research held in April.
  • Present your research at a professional conference.

The Official Research Scholar Pin

Along with the transcript designation, Carolina Research Scholars get the opportunity to attend skill-building workshops, to serve as peer advisors, as well as an invitation to a fall reception to meet other scholars. You also get a pretty nifty pin to put on your backpack, blazer or set out on display!

Getting the CRSP designation is as simple as taking a few courses and presenting what you’ve learned; something most students do anyways in their classes through the form of final papers and presentations.

Have you already fulfilled these requirements or will fulfill them this semester? Make sure to apply for designation by Feb. 20th! If you can’t make that deadline, no worries! There are also deadlines for the fall and summer listed below.

For summer: July 20

For fall:November 20

The link to the application is below.

Link to application: http://www.unc.edu/depts/our/forms/crsp/crsp_trans_app.php

Happy researching!

By chelsey bentley | Posted on: February 19, 2013 at 3:11 pm | Posted in Blog | Comments (0)

Keeping Up…and Researching The Kardashians

Written by Mollie McNeil 

Conducting undergraduate research was an enlightening experience. While enrolled in English 102I my freshman year, I spent an entire semester researching the topic of my choice (the Kardashians) and my research culminated in a presentation of my findings to the PIT journal. This experience improved my writing, research and presentation skills.

For my research topic, I chose the Kardashians because they are so interesting, yet few know why. Thus, my original research focused on the appeal of the Kardashians to American audiences.  Writing my research proposal was surprisingly one of the most difficult writing assignments that I have completed thus far in my time at UNC. This assignment was challenging because my research was not yet complete and every time I began writing my proposal, the entire nature of my research changed. The original conference proposal I drafted was nothing like the proposal I submitted and I think this is a testament to the flexibility of undergraduate research. Your research can really become whatever you want it to be.

I spent last spring semester watching “Keeping up with the Kardashians” and reading literature on reality television. While this sounds like a great time, there is only so much research to be done on the Kardashians. However, analysis of television and its effects in the American psyche are abundant. While it is exciting to research subjects that aren’t the topic of a lot of scholarly discussion, it is also intimidating. However, the availability of sources here at UNC really helped to keep my research manageable. The actual research portion of my project was both the most intensive and the most interesting.

After my research was complete, I wrote a report on my findings. This was definitely the most frustrating portion of my experience. I was constantly tweaking, adding more information and re organizing my arguments. The draft that I finally decided on is actually titled “Journal Article Draft 12”. I believe that this experience was beneficial because it really drove home the importance of revision and taking constructive criticism. I still feel that this paper has a lot of improvements to make. It was at this stage of my research experience that the GRC meetings and extra instruction from my professor Ms. Guy were the most beneficial.  I would say the writing portion of my research experience expanded my analytical thinking skills beyond simple explanations, which will undoubtedly help me in the future.

The presentation of my research at the PIT journal was also very rewarding and I think that the presentation brought home what undergraduate research is all about. While I realize that my research is undergraduate work and not quite “scholarly”, I still feel that the ideas presented could contribute to scholarly discussion. If nothing else, my research demonstrates the impact media has on American life. My experience with undergraduate research was great because it was exciting and genuinely the most instructive thing I have done thus far at UNC.

 

 

 

By chelsey bentley | Posted on: February 12, 2013 at 4:00 pm | Posted in Blog | Comments (1)

The Learning Curve- Graduate Mentor Sarah Arnold’s Story

Written by Sarah Arnold

Looking back on the first day I met with my class of 8 HHMI-FT students, I was so nervous. I had prepared a PowerPoint presentation in advance to help me guide them through their first lesson on information architecture, which knowledge of this is the foundation of any good web design. My first task was to have the students pair up, introduce themselves to their partners, and then share the information about their partners to the rest of the group. One of the questions they were supposed to find out about their classmate was what their learning module would be, which would later become part of another activity I had planned for them. Little did I know (and hadn’t considered) was that they would not have their learning modules planned out. A total rookie mistake! I mean it was only week one, which to veteran teachers may have been obvious, but for me, this was my very first long-term teaching position and our very first meeting — I still had a lot to learn.

As the summer wore on, and my faux pas settled into the past, I began to realize that my 8 students were just as nervous as I had been that first day. Most of them had never considered creating a website, let alone creating it from scratch. I became their guide during our group sessions and through one-on-one meetings each week. Each student became an individual with their own struggles and accomplishments. It amazed me to see this development happening as they listened and learned from what I covered with them each week. In the end, I have never felt as proud as I felt with these 8 newly hatched web creators. I look back at their learning module websites occasionally and enjoy the simple fact that with my assistance and their hard work they accomplished their goals and not only increased their knowledge, but helped me increase mine as well.


By chelsey bentley | Posted on: February 5, 2013 at 7:00 am | Posted in Blog | Tagged | Comments (0)