Students from the U and Utah State University gathered in the state Capitol on Thursday to encourage lawmakers to continue funding undergraduate research.
Standing by posters that explained their research8212;ranging from soot oxidation to dance education8212;the 51 students stopped passing members of the Utah Legislature to tell them about their work.
Jill Baeder, assistant director of the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program at the U, said legislators don’t ignore their constituents.
She said students have gone to the Capitol during the first week of the legislative session for the past nine years to get the attention of the lawmakers before any debates start that will keep them in committee and prevent them from coming to see the displays.
Stephen Naylor, a freshman in mechanical engineering, has been researching biomimetic adaptive lenses since Fall Semester. Ian Harvey, a professor in the mechanical engineering department, heads the research and collaborates with a university in Germany. Naylor receives funding through UROP to compensate him for the hours he spends in the lab, which average to about seven per week. He said he’s glad for the opportunity he’s had to be a part of the research, which could someday help replace damaged lenses in human eyes.
“Everything’s gotta start somewhere,” he said.
Baeder said although many research projects receive grants, the money
usually funds only graduate students and professors, leaving nothing for undergraduates. UROP gives funding to undergraduate students from all disciplines, including the humanities and fine arts, which she said are often underrepresented.
“Part of the university’s mission is research,” Baeder said. “Every undergraduate should have the opportunity to do research.”
UROP’s base budget comes from state money, although the program also relies on donors. Baeder said with the threat of budget cuts looming, UROP is trying to develop other sources of funding. The cuts will also affect the program by making it more competitive. It currently funds 215 students, but she said the number could go down next year.
“There are a number of students who are volunteers in labs,” Baeder said. “They need part-time jobs. If we can keep them up on campus working in their discipline, it keeps them from waiting tables downtown.”
Shontol Torres, a senior in health promotion and education, has been working with Carla Suarez, a junior in health promotion and education, to mentor elementary school students and introduce them to the idea of college. Torres said the legislators who came to view the displays seemed impressed by the projects.
“Everyone we’ve talked to has really liked what we’re doing,” she said.
House Minority Leader David Litvack, D-Salt Lake City, said the research students were showing was “phenomenal” and relevant to public policy and many other issues the legislators are deciding, such as how to improve education.
“Public policy makers seek good data and good research to help us make wise decisions,” he said.
r.hanson@
chronicle.utah.edu
Erik DaenitzThe U?s Vice President of Research at the U Thomas Parks speaks with U student Ben Brewster about his research of the cleanliness of burning jet fuel. Brewster was one of several students from both the U and Utah State that showcased their work Thursday at the Capitol.