Wyoming EPSCoR is Accepting Applications for Fall 2014 Undergraduate Research Fellowships!

Each semester, Wyoming EPSCoR supports and funds outstanding undergraduate students in Biological Sciences, Geosciences, Hydrology, Computational Sciences, Physical Sciences, Social Sciences, Engineering and Mathematics.

To collect his data, Jeff rigs up a microphone to catch the sounds
of the river.
"I take a stereo microphone and put it perpendicular to the stream," Jeff says.
"Then, I suspend it with a pulley system, so that I get the same section
of water each time."

Students who are awarded a Wyoming EPSCoR Undergraduate Research Fellowship are eligible to earn up to $750 for the fall semester to conduct research and gain valuable experience. The same amount is available for the spring semester, and students can earn up to $3500 in the summer, when students are not in classes and can devote their time exclusively to their research project.

In the past, students have studied various topics in many fields, and have gained valuable skills during their time as Undergraduate Research Fellows.

“Undergraduate Research Fellowships are a fantastic opportunity for undergraduate students to get hands-on research experience in a subject of their choosing,” says Sarah Konrad, Associate Director of Wyoming EPSCoR. “Such experience can be transformative, and numerous former recipients have caught the research bug, continuing on to graduate school in science.”

Wil Chapple traced water through the ecosystem in the Snowy Range during his time as a Fellow. “I’ve gotten a glimpse into what graduate school would be like,” says Wil. “I’ve also learned what it takes to do good science. I’ve learned a lot of patience.”

Andrea Alvarez

Callie Berman studied water. “I investigated water transport mechanisms in the Snowy Mountain Range outside of Laramie to not only understand how these dynamics work, but to also gain an insight into how this resource is managed on a local and state-wide scale.”

Andrea Alvarez studied water quality analysis on the Wind River Reservation. Jeff Santos worked to find a correlation between the sound of streams and the amount of water they carry.

“Science is so much bigger than what can be found in textbooks, and some students who are bored reading about science come to life when they actually get to do science,” says Sarah.

Applications for Fall 2014 are due September 19^th at 5 p.m. For more information, please contact Lisa Abeyta. To apply for an Undergraduate Research Fellowship, click here.

By Robin Rasmussen

Photos courtesy of Jeff Santos and Andrea Alvarez

Wyoming EPSCoR Hosts Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium

Dr. Anne Sylvester welcomes students

Undergraduate research can open many doors for students as they prepare to continue in higher education, pursue a career or learn more about the field that interests them. To help students build additional research skills, Wyoming EPSCoR hosted their annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. The 2014 Symposium was held on July 21^st at the University of Wyoming.

Dr. Cameron Wright speaks to students about
technical writing

The goal of the Symposium was to give undergraduate students at the University of Wyoming and Wyoming community colleges the information and tools they need to succeed and excel in undergraduate research, including planning, designing, implementing and presenting their projects.

“It was an informative and inspiring gathering and sharing of faculty and students,” says Beth Cable, Coordinator of Education, Outreach and Diversity for Wyoming EPSCoR. “I appreciate the time that both took out of their busy summer schedules to participate in the event. Hopefully, the students gained further understanding of the impacts that doing research can have on their academic and professional careers and the professors saw some of the impressive research that University of Wyoming undergraduates are doing.”

Dr. Will Welch speaks to students about
designing and presenting effective posters

Topics included technical writing, designing and presenting posters, scientists as entrepreneurs and more. Speakers from various departments at the the University of Wyoming spoke to participants and gave students insight into what it means to be a researcher.

By Robin Rasmussen
Photos by Robin Rasmussen