Answering the Call For Research
Arnel Bulaoro
Recently there have been conversations on campus concerning Notre Dame’s efforts to "become a premier research university." The office of Multicultural Student Programs and Services (MSPS) has been one of many departments on campus to commit fully in assisting the university with meeting this goal. It does so to support the needs of students who are actively looking for research opportunities. This year approximately one-third of the Building Bridges Mentoring Program’s graduating cohort will exit Notre Dame with research experience and MSPS anticipates that those numbers will continue to rise in the future.
This article will explore two areas of conversation: 1) the significance of undergraduate research, and 2) MSPS’s active support for student clientele interested in research. In each instance students will share their insights about their research experience.
Notre Dame challenges its student body to engage in critical dialogue about issues ranging from social injustice to ethical decision-making. In the same token students are challenged to engage in dialogue within their own disciplines. Research is one avenue that students can take to contribute to that discussion. Research invites students to explore particular issues in their fields of study, and from their findings they enter a collegial dialogue.
This was Cristina Crespo’s (Anthropology/ Pre-Professional ’09) experience when she studied the birthing practices of a Tibetan community in Spiti. Her study concluded that the practices resulted in gender equality and cosmic interdependence. She presented her findings at the American Anthropology Association annual meeting’s undergraduate poster session.
Students like Cristina are able to walk away from such experiences with a newly developed skill—critical analysis. One of the most important aspects to research is the ability to articulate a conclusion which best explains what the collected data is saying. That is where critical thinking comes into play. In a lab, data analysis usually involves a team which must learn to work together as it looks to offer the most logical conclusion.
Tej Mudingonda’s (Science Pre-Professional ’10) experience was just that.
"I felt that my undergraduate biology research experience has provided me important skills from learning new surgical techniques, collaborating with other researchers, and compiling data to contribute to the bigger picture of the experiment."
Teamwork, collaboration, and new discoveries are often the hallmark of a successful research experience.
Recently the office of Multicultural Student Programs and Services spent a lot of time reorganizing the office’s infrastructure to facilitate the ease by which undergraduates are able to find research opportunities. During the fall of 2007 the office collaborated with several professors and departments to meet the growing need of students seeking on-campus research experience. Additionally, MSPS created a research website on its homepage to assist the students who want to explore summer research opportunities outside the Notre Dame campus. All of the off campus opportunities listed on its website are fully funded and range from $3,000-$5,000.
In a better effort to educate students about research, MSPS begins the conversation with first year students so that they may plan accordingly. As Tej states:
"For anyone interested in undergraduate research, I would highly recommend to start early because such an opportunity enables you to apply the intricate details learned in the classroom to a refined focus of study."
Four first year Building Bridges students took those words to heart and in their first semester Notre Dame faculty trained them in research methodology. First year Genevieve Flores’s experience of locating a research opportunity was easy enough. She recounts that after a visit to MSPS,
"I found a professor whose research interested me. Then I went to see him during his office hours and asked if I could assist him in his work. I never knew that it was so easy to become involved in undergraduate research."
First year Anamaria Baluyut describes a similar experience:
"At the beginning of the fall semester, I received an email from the director of undergraduate studies in physics informing students about an opportunity to do research with visiting professor Henryk Mach in the area of nuclear physics…I didn't know much about nuclear physics, I thought it would be a good way to learn more about it and to see what the research involved, and I signed up for the research seminar. I've been analyzing the data set for 63Mn and have constructed the beta decay scheme of 63Mn to 63Fe. I have to finalize the results still, but Prof. Mach and I will start working on the paper as soon as that is finished."
Not every student will have an experience such as the ones described above, but students will find many faculty members receptive to help undergraduates find research work. The task of arranging research opportunities with faculty can be quite daunting for students coming in right out of high school. First year Melissa Harintho agrees, "I think the process is intimidating to a lot of other freshmen," but adds some words of wisdom that "the best way for underclassmen to get involved is to get to know their professors or faculty."
