USRAs give students chance to research over summer
[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/USRAposter08.jpg” caption=”Students who receive USRAs are provided with at least $5,000 to perform research over the summer. They will present their findings at a poster session in November. File photo.”]
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The fabrication of flying microbots. The role of yoga in muscle development. Diversity and space at Canadian universities. These are just a few of the topics that 140 young scholars at McMaster are investigating over the summer, thanks to the Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA) program.
Some of McMaster's brightest undergraduates, from more than 40 programs in all six faculties, have received USRA's which provide students working with a faculty advisor with at least $5,000. The funds allow them to prepare for work at the graduate level as well as provide them with a paycheque over the summer.
“The USRA program is highly competitive, and being chosen as a USRA fellow is a tremendous accomplishment in and of itself,” said Peter George, University President, at a recent event celebrating the award recipients. “The students here today are the leaders of tomorrow, and we are thrilled to be able to play a part in supporting those leaders.”
Paige Byers, a second-year materials science student with a minor in biochemistry, has an NSERC USRA award, working with Gianluigi Botton in the Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research's Canadian Centre for Electron Microscopy. She says that having the opportunity to engage in research so early in her undergraduate career has given her a new perspective on her education.
“The USRA program has been a real boon for me,” she said. “I really like research, and I have been lucky to be working with a great advisor and among amazing grad students and centre staff.”
Khalid Yahia, who just completed a double major in mathematics and economics, credits the unique opportunity to become more engaged in research through the USRA program with helping him determine his future plans: he is enthusiastic about continuing at McMaster in the fall to begin work on his MA in economics. Yahia has been awarded a social sciences USRA, studying the history of economics with Robert Dimand, director of the graduate economics program at Brock University and an adjunct professor of economics at McMaster.
Although the program inspires many students to study at the graduate level, some take advantage of the experience to develop skills they will carry with them to careers in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors.
“These young scholars come from fields as diverse as music, marketing, history, sociology, psychology, neuroscience, physics, chemical biology and biomedical engineering,” said Allison Sekuler, associate vice-president and dean of Graduate Studies. “They are a testament to the tremendous depth and breadth of research expertise in every corner of the University.”
Students will present the results of their summer research projects in the fall at the USRA poster session, November 10, 2010 in the MUSC Marketplace from 2 to 4 p.m.
The USRA's are sponsored by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the faculties of Social Sciences, Humanities and Business, the Arts & Science program and the Office of the Vice-President, Research and International Affairs.
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