Newswise — Every day, across the nation, undergraduate students are engaged in research that is reshaping their education. This Capitol Hill briefing will feature two national experts and their students discussing the transformative educational role of undergraduate research with a corresponding discussion of the federal programs that support this work.
Robert Full, Ph.D., Professor of Biology, University of California-Berkeley and Paul Edmiston, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Chemistry, The College of Wooster, along with two of their student researchers will be presenting their contributions to the STEM fields as a result of their faculty-student collaboration. “Undergraduate Research and American Innovation,” 12:00 p.m., Tuesday, October 26th, Cannon Building Room 121.
Regardless of type of institution, undergraduate research has the potential to radically change the understanding of any number of important existing scientific or engineering concepts and add new knowledge to the field. The involvement of undergraduates in research has led universities and their faculties to devise new approaches to curriculum that cut across disciplines and to develop new ways of addressing intellectual property in order to bring discoveries to market. Student/faculty collaborative research at predominately undergraduate institutions, as well as at research institutions is contributing to economic development and job creation. These efforts play a key role in the success of federally funded research and development.
Council on Undergraduate Research: The Council on Undergraduate Research (www.cur.org) supports faculty development for high-quality undergraduate student-faculty collaborative research and scholarship. Nearly 600 institutions and over 5500 individuals belong to CUR. CUR believes that the best way to capture student interest and create enthusiasm for a discipline is through research in close collaboration with faculty members.
Dr. Paul L. Edmiston is the Peterson Chair in Chemistry at the College of Wooster (Ohio) and Chief Scientist and Founder of ABSMaterials, Inc. He has invented and has developed numerous versions of swellable glass materials capable of capturing targeted species of organic solvents, explosives, pesticides and related agents. Previously, Dr. Edmiston has developed sensors used for TNT detection by elements. He is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at the College of Wooster currently a Research Fellow at the Georgia Tech Research Institute. Dr. Edmiston has received over $1.2 million in externally funded grants including a National Science Foundation CAREER Award in 2001 and funding from Department of Energy.
Dr. Robert Joseph Full, directs the Poly-P.E.D.A.L. Laboratory which studies the Performance, Energetics and Dynamics of Animal Locomotion (P.E.D.A.L.) in many-footed creatures (Poly). Recently, Professor Full's research has focused on the role of the mechanical system in self-stabilization; undergraduate students are an integral part of his research program. Full's research also has provided biological inspiration for the design of multi-legged robots and computer animations. His research interests extend from analyzing the pitching motion of a Hall of Fame pitcher to assisting computer animators make children's movies (Pixar/Disney Bug’s Life). In 1990 Full received a National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigators Award. In 1994 he presented his research at the Annual Meeting of the National Academy of Sciences. Full's research has been featured in the popular press such as newspapers, various science magazines and on several television shows (CNN, NBC Today Show, ABC World News Tonight, and Discovery Channel). Robert Full received his undergraduate degree in 1979 from SUNY Buffalo where he also received his master’s and doctoral degrees. In 1996 he was given a Distinguished Teaching Award. In 1997 Professor Full became a Chancellor's Professor and the director of a new biological visualization center. In 1998 Professor Full received a Goldman Professorship for teaching.
Tonia Hsieh joined Dr. Robert Full's research laboratory at the University of California Berkeley as a freshman undergraduate. She started studying the movements of climbing geckos and soon became interested in understanding the mechanism of gecko adhesion. In collaboration with Dr. Kellar Autumn (then an assistant professor at Lewis & Clark University) and a team from Stanford University, she proceeded to quantify the adhesive force of a single gecko toepad hair. Results from this research led to a high-profile publication in Nature, and has galvanized a new field of research into gecko-inspired bio-adhesives. After graduation, Tonia completed a Ph.D. at Harvard University before accepting an assistant professorship position at the University of Florida. She is now an assistant professor in the Department of Biology at Temple University, studying the biomechanics of locomotion on unstable surfaces.
Deanna Pickett graduated with a degree in chemistry at the College of Wooster in 2010. She is currently employed as Project Manager at ABSMaterials leading new technology projects involving groundwater remediation. She converted her undergraduate research project into new technology to clean groundwater at Superfund sites.
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