Summer Undergraduate Research Participants Are Here

The U of A is pleased to welcome a record number of Summer Undergraduate Research participants, 165 participants in all, this year! The summer research participants will be here on the campus for about two months.

These undergraduate research participants are mostly supported by grants from federal agencies such as the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health and the United States Department of Agriculture. This year the undergraduate research participants will be engaged in cutting-edge research of faculty at the U of A.

The Office of Undergraduate Research in the Division of Research and Innovation, in coordination with the principal investigators of 12 Summer Research Programs, has arranged for housing and meal plans for the summer research participants during their stay at the U of A.

Members of the program offered special thanks to Kim Gillow, director of grant and gift administration for Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, and Carrie Kovach, assistant vice chancellor for finance and administration, for their constant support and tireless effort to ensure that all the summer research participants are paid in a timely manner.

Also, special thanks are also due to the staff members associated with participating summer research programs, for their "behind-the-scenes" hard work to ensure the smooth and pleasant experience of their summer research participants. Sincere thanks to Aisha Kenner, interim Title IX coordinator, and Patricia Gamboa, assistant dean, and the U of A Graduate School for agreeing to present at the Dinner & Dialogue sessions conducted for the summer research participants. The program also expressed gratitude to professor Paul Adams of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry; Cynthia Sides, assistant vice chancellor in the Division of Research and Innovation; Robert Beitle Jr., senior associate vice chancellor for research and innovation; and Sarah DuRant, associate professor of the Department of Biological Sciences, for lending their precious time to present at the Dinner & Dialogue sessions this year.

Lastly, the program is indebted to Tammy M. Lutz-Rechtin, chemical engineering safety coordinator, for agreeing to present the Safety Training Workshop for the summer research participants every year. The Office of Undergraduate Research applauds Lutz-Rechtin for her commitment to ensure that the summer research participants work in safe laboratory environment!

Faculty and staff members wish all the summer research participants the best on their research projects. We also thank our esteemed faculty who have volunteered their precious time to train and expose these bright and highly motivated undergraduate students to high impact, front-line research. We hope that several of these summer research participants will consider to be part of our prestigious graduate school in the future.