A DIY guide to developing a successful undergraduate research program How do you do that with undergraduates? Steven Lev Urban Environmental Biogeochemistry.

A DIY guide to developing a successfulundergraduate research program

How do you do that with undergraduates?

Steven LevUrban Environmental Biogeochemistry Laboratory

Towson University, Towson, MD

Total Enrollment 19,758Undergraduate Enrollment 14,180 full-time

    2,039 part-time Graduate Enrollment: 3,539

Faculty: full-time 728  part-time   647

Student-Faculty Ratio: 18:1

Sponsored Research: FY05   $13,153,885 FY06   $17,302,539FY07   $19,045,301

TOWSON UNIVERSITY AT A GLANCE

Towson is a metropolitan university located in a suburb 8 miles north of Baltimore, MD

What is undergraduate research?

Grinding samples is not undergraduate research!

Students can be active participants in allaspects of your research…

What is undergraduate research?

Field: Monitoring of field sites, Sampling plan and Sample collection

Laboratory: Method development, QA/QC planning, Sample preparation

Analysis: Training to operate instrumentation, Evaluation of data quality, Statistics,

Use of interpretive diagrams

Dissemination: Preparation of posters and talks, Scientific writing

How do you do that with undergraduates?

Institutional Support

Faculty Commitment

Role of the Faculty

Mentoring

Planning

Recruiting

Understand the strengths and weakness of your students

Structure your research agenda so that projects can be compartmentalized

Establish realistic goals for each student project

Set a reasonable time table for project completion/dissemination

Planning

Role of the Faculty

Incorporate research into the core undergraduate curriculum

Look beyond your discipline

Offer to give departmental seminars or guest lectures in related courses

Rising Sophomores and Juniors offer long term potential

Recruiting

Role of the Faculty

Provide primary literature and encourage literature review

Establish clear research milestones for each student

Provide regular feedback

Spend time with your students in the field and in the laboratory

Don’t assume mastery of basic skills

Mentoring

Role of the Faculty

Examples from the UEBL: Metal Transport and Storage

y = 4.5148*x3.3261

R2 = 0.7412

Depth (feet)0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8

Dis

cha

rge

(c

fs)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35Discharge Model

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Pond 2 Pond 5 Pond 6

Mas

s of

Met

al (k

g)

Total

Background

Anthropogenic

Examples from the UEBL: Metal Transport and Storage

LMR: Little Morgan Run MDE: Middle Run BEA: Beaver Run

Kaushal et al. 2005. PNAS 102:13517-13520

Examples from the UEBL: Impact of Roadway Salt

Examples from the UEBL: Impact of Roadway Salt

Examples from the UEBL: Impact of Roadway Salt

•Pond 5 receives runoff from a 4 lane residential roadway

•Pond 6 receives runoff from a residential parking lot

•~100 m floodplain between ponds and 2nd order tributary of Red Run

•Sampling

•Shallow groundwater

•Surface water in ponds and 1st and 2nd order tribs

5 6

DnUp

Shallow Groundwater Transects

Examples from the UEBL: Impact of Roadway Salt

Ratio of surface water conductivity to 2nd order trib conductivity upstream of site indicates substantial salinization

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

7.0

down gradient Trib 1 Trib 2 Trib 3

2/23/06

1/23/07

3/13/07

4/3/07

6/4/07

8/10/07