Tech's first research journal begins submission process

After more than two years, the original vision of a few students and faculty is close to becoming a reality. When a student suggested that Tech should adopt a student research journal, the question instantly caught the attention of several faculty members, including current undergraduate research director, Karen Harwell. Other research universities including MIT and Stanford have research journals, but Tech has yet to publish one.

Set to launch its first issue in Summer 2008, The Tower is a new research publication on campus. The goal of the Tower, says Mark Youngblood, Editor-in-Chief, is "to inform readers about various research projects being conducted on campus by undergraduates. Our mission is to promote research on campus and educate students about the important work being conducted by their peers." The Tower will provide an opportunity for students to publish their work as well as gain interdisciplinary visibility.

The Tower is currently accepting submissions for the first issue. Submissions can include articles on individual and team research projects, reviews of recent research literature and opinion pieces related to other research. However, the specific content solicited will be selected at the discretion of the journal's student editorial board and its faculty advisory board. Submissions should be no longer than 2,500 words, and the deadline for initial submissions is Jan. 9.

In addition to submissions, The Tower is also accepting applications for manuscript reviewers. How will students benefit from working on The Tower? "Students will experience what it takes to review research and publish a journal which will help students build skills that will impress employers and graduate schools after graduation," Youngblood said.

The overall staff will include four editorial board members, seven assistant editors, and approximately ten student reviewers and ten faculty reviewers.

Although the word is just beginning to spread around campus, students' reactions have been generally positive. "I am excited about The Tower because it will give myself and other students pursuing research on campus the opportunity to have their research published as well as learn about what other students are doing," said Danny Miller, a second year Computational Media major. Miller is currently doing research under David Bader in the College of Computing. Other students have agreed that they are intrigued about reading about the research conducted on Tech's campus.

The future of The Tower is promising, especially now that the Board of Student Publications and Student Activities Committee has voted and approved a charter for the publication. Karen Harwell, one of the 15 people that have been working hard on getting the publication off the ground from the beginning is very enthused regarding the promise of The Tower.

"I am excited that Tech students are interested in forming a student-run peer-review publication featuring research from our own undergraduate students. The journal provides opportunities for the publication of student research, a means to gain experience in peer review of research from a multi-disciplinary standpoint, and experience in the production of a journal," Harwell said.

In the long run, Youngblood hopes to see the journal continue to evolve.

"I would like the journal to be a well established source of information about research being conducted on campus by undergraduates. We will have a printed version and a distribution that includes students, faculty, administration, and alumni," Youngblood said.

If you would like to learn more about The Tower, the submission process, or becoming a reviewer, visit the website: http://www.gttower.org. You may also contact Karen Harwell (advisor@gttower.org) or Mark Youngblood (editor@gttower.org).