University of Redlands
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Email this pageA Summer of Science
Contact: Katie Ismael
Katie_Ismael@redlands.edu
(909) 748-8387 (Phone)
July 1, 2008 -
Redlands student Nathaniel Rodriguez only has his freshman year behind him, but the physics major is already spending his summer in the lab, doing research alongside a professor.
Nathaniel is one of about 25 students participating in the university's Science Center Summer Research Program, which is designed to give students experience conducting research and sharing their findings.
"I'm hoping to go to graduate school and am really interested in learning to do research," the Phoenix resident said. "But it's hard to have an understanding of research without jumping in there and doing it."
Nathaniel and other students in the program spend the summer working about 40 hours a week on their research. Students typically work with professors to develop a research project. Often, the projects build off of the professor's current research.
During a seminar series at noon on Wednesdays, these students are required to present their research to a gathering of science professors and other student researchers.
Nathaniel is studying data from the Galileo Spacecraft and trying to see if there are signs that Europa, the sixth moon of Jupiter, appears to have a source of energy. Presence of an energy source would point to the possibility of life on Europa.
Another student, Chris Adams, is working to build and refine a scanning tunneling microscope. The high-power microscope has a needle that scans surfaces detecting currents, which are then used to map out the topography of atoms on surfaces. Chris has examined graphite and other materials with the microscope.
Chris said he has already learned an important lesson about the pace of scientific research this summer.
"There is a lot of waiting around," the Redlands resident said. "It's a slow process–one that you can't really rush. You have to know a lot before you can even get to the hands-on part."
"They don't just come into the lab and have a very narrow focus," said Eric Hill, an associate professor in physics.
"They have to explain what they are doing to people that aren't familiar with the project. They have to communicate clearly and transcend the jargon. It's a valuable experience."
Science professors Julie Rathbun and Dan Wacks, along with Hill, said they like the program because it gives them a chance to get to know students better, and to guide them as they learn the ins and outs of research. After students complete the summer program on-campus, they are often encouraged to participate in a national research program the next summer. Some students also present their research alongside their professors at national and international conferences.
Hill said the program allows students to do research in a low-pressure environment, where they often receive extra support from professors.
"This is a much more nurturing environment than what they might experience somewhere else, where there is a graduate student that is in charge of them," he said.
"They have us there alongside them, mentoring them, commiserating with them and supporting them."
Other research projects include:
- An analysis of heavy metals in the baby teeth of children with autism
- Genetic differentiation of the mayfly in the San Bernardino Mountain range
- The development of the inner ear of the frog
- Tumor occurrence in a mouse model of Down Syndrome, and
- Using computational chemistry to examine the biological activity of molecules