Research provides opportunity

Many undergraduates at Tech are involved in some way in the university's research efforts. Institute President Wayne Clough estimated that approximately 40 percent of the undergraduate student body will have participated in research experiences by graduation.

Although many students may not want to get involved in research, some may gain significant benefits from working a semester or two in a lab at the undergraduate level. Many undergraduates think of research as a necessary bullet on a future graduate school application. It is true that undergraduate research is often a prerequisite for graduate work, but undergraduate research can be a meaningful experience whether or not it is required on an application. We are lucky to be at a school which affords us so many opportunities -just look at how many schools consistently earn a top 10 spot in the U.S. News and World Report rankings.

"It is a given that a great research university is a place where faculty will create new knowledge, and this is true of Georgia Tech," Clough said in his State of the Institute address last year. During the last decade, Tech has progressed immensely in its research efforts: whether it is the relatively new Biomedical Engineering concentration, the addition of Computational Media to Computer Science or the continuing work of the Georgia Tech Research Institute, Tech's research efforts have increased by leaps and bounds.

The advantages to participating in undergraduate research are numerous and include the following.

1. An opportunity to learn cutting-edge applications of material covered in class. For instance, while sitting through a lecture about digital signal processing may be a tedious and difficult endeavor, getting to see and work with an actual design for the processing components of cell phones might be very interesting, in contrast.

2. A way to earn class credit. Working for a lab does not have to extend the time required for graduation. Many undergraduates work for credit hours, and these can usually be applied to elective credits in any major. The recently created Research Plan, which will soon be offered for several majors, will provide a timeline within which students can conduct research and still graduate in four years.

3. A way to earn money. Another benefit of undergraduate research is that many students receive a President's Undergraduate Research Award for a semester of research. Other grants and programs available include the Minority Undergraduate Scholars Engineering Research Program and the Undergraduate Research Internship Program . There are also separate programs available in addition to the ones listed for summer research.

4. A way to learn where one's interests lie (and where they don't). After working in the Neuroengineering Lab for a semester, I found that neuroscience is an exciting field in which there is still much to discover. However, I have come to realize that conducting research is a long and difficult process. It requires a great deal of patience; researchers are always waiting for grants and money to fund new projects and are always under stress. Through this experience I have learned that a job in which I could practice medicine would be better suited to me than one in biomedical research.

5. Getting to know distinguished faculty. In addition to learning the newest applications in a certain field, working in a research lab is a great way to make contacts which will undoubtedly be helpful at some point in any student's academic or professional career. Not only is it good to get acquainted with an expert in the field, but graduate students also have plenty to offer.

6. Adding that bullet on the resume. Undergraduate research is a great resume builder. Especially because Tech stands out for the amount and quality of the research that it produces, employers and graduate schools alike will recognize and give credit to students involved in some form of undergraduate research.

The easiest way to get started in a research position is to browse Tech's main website and search. Directly contacting individual faculty members and asking for availabilities works best. Most professors are very open to questions from undergraduate students and many are willing to place undergraduates in their labs; most Tech faculty look favorably upon undergraduate research.

The faculty and administration deserve praise for their efforts in facilitating undergraduate research; I encourage students to take advantage of Tech's reputation and research opportunities at the undergrad level.