Director's Corner

The Education and Partnership Programs Office is in the last leg of gearing up for our Summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates.  We have approximately 20 students conducting research at the University of Washington, University of Arizona and Georgia Institute of Technology campuses.  Students will be working full time in the labs for 10 weeks.  At the end of the experience they will have created an oral presentation and a poster and written an extended abstract of their research findings.  Many will have participated in seminars related to the responsible conduct of research and future career pathways.  To help prepare the faculty and graduate students who will be working with the REU students, we have included a summary of a booklet titled "How to Mentor Undergraduate Researchers" (see Education Digest, below).  If you are at the University of Washington, University of Arizona or Georgia Institute of Technology, keep an eye out for our new undergraduate researchers and help welcome them to the Center!

A few other items of business - if you haven't completed the on-line modules on Responsible Conduct of Research, now is the time to log in and start working on them.  Our goal is to have everyone in the Center certified before the NSF site visit - just one month away!  You can find the internal website by clicking on "Member Login" on the Center home page (stc-mditr.org).  Also, I will be going on maternity leave in mid- to late-June.  You will still be able to contact the education office at EHRDO@chem.washington.edu, but you may also want to contact Dana Riley Black directly (drblack@u.washington.edu, 206-616-3449).

--Jasmine Bryant

Program Updates
Web Modules Development

The Web Modules Development Project recently completed an expert review of their first two module prototypes. Both modules are on optical fibers and incorporate the concepts of reflection and refraction. One module is designed for grades 6-8 and the other is for grades 9-12. You can view the modules and other information about their design from The POINT (Photonics, Optics, INformation Technology) home page at http://stc-mditr.org/thepoint/. The expert review involved review of the modules by nine nationally recognized experts in the fields of pedagogy, content and web design. The responses of the experts to a series of questions were compiled into an exhaustive report by our external evaluator Dr. Laura Collins. The reviewers were very impressed with the modules and their feedback was quite informative.

Overall, the reviewers felt the materials were well-conceived, with a logical sequence and clear presentation, that instruction was aligned with the educational standards and the technology was motivating and would engage students. The reviewers suggested that the modules could be improved by: scaffolding student learning by incorporating student explanations and feedback, integrating the teacher role, considering the realities of schools and revising the content to reach higher levels of thinking.

The Education and Web Modules teams are using the feedback from the review process to modify the module content and framework.

Education Digest
Mentoring Undergraduate Researchers

In a previous article we began a conversation about effective mentoring techniques in preparation for this summer’s upcoming REU program. In this issue we continue our examination of mentorship issues with a more focused look at the experience of undergraduate researchers. The material in this article is largely drawn from the brochure How to Mentor Undergraduate Researchers, published by the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR). The CUR is an organization dedicated to promoting and supporting undergraduate research and scholarship. Copies of the brochure have been ordered for every faculty member who will be supervising undergraduates this summer. If you need additional copies, please contact the Education and Partnership Programs office.

Perhaps the most useful part of this small brochure is the section on expectations. Many of the problems that typically arise in undergraduate research experiences can be traced to unrealistic expectations on the part of either the student or the supervisor.  Knowing what these might be ahead of time is a first step towards building a successful experience. The brief summaries below outline some of the most common problem areas. Consult the brochure for a more extensive discussion.

It takes time to mentor an undergraduate student. The interactions between mentor and protégé are critical to success. The mentor must ensure that he or she communicates frequently and clearly about the research and the expectations for outcomes. 

Students participating in REUs are undergraduate, not graduate, students. It is up to the mentors to set realistic goals for the project and then to work closely with the student until he or she can work more independently.

Students often expect to achieve something significant by the end of the ten- or fifteen-week period. Sometimes they do. More often the slow pace of their research surprises them. Mentors must encourage students to persist through these periods when the project seems stalled and to value the importance of quality, not necessarily quantity, alone.

If problems arise, students are often hesitant to raise the issue. The most effective mentors keep communication channels open and encourage student comments about how things are going. 

Another activity of the CUR is a biennial conference addressing issues relevant to undergraduate research experiences. Conference proceedings, including some full text manuscripts, are published on their web site. Of particular interest is material from the 2002 conference, which focused on research responsibility and integrity. If you visit the conference web site, Research Responsibility and Undergraduates, you will find links to articles on data manipulation by undergraduates, teaching ethics to undergraduates, and a host of other issues relating to the responsible conduct of research. For all those who still crave more after completing the RCR modules (you’ve all completed them by now, right?) the articles on this web page are a useful additional resource.

A Few Moments With...
Dr. Bernard Kippelen

Prof. Kippelen is a Professor in Optics and Photonics at Georgia Institute of Technology. He also serves as the leader of the Light Sources and Organic Electronics Thrust of the Center.

Who was your most influential teacher and why?

My high school science teacher because he made me realize that our world is very complex and that physics is the science of approximations. The more we learn about the fundamental laws in nature through refined and elaborated experiments, the more we realize that our understanding is limited and that learning is always a humbling experience. He also taught me that the tools that we use to develop approximate models are rigorous and that in most cases simple mathematical equations have excellent predictive and descriptive capabilities. The complexity of the world around us provides continuous opportunities for new discoveries and simultaneously creates spiritual and sensorial experiences that make our life so enjoyable. There is no need to model the smile of a child.

How would you explain your work with the Center to your grandmother?

My grandmother never understood that I was working on my doctorate but could not resolve her health problems. For her, a doctor had to be an MD and the concept of higher education in the physical sciences was not standard for somebody of her generation living in a blue-collar rural environment. Indeed, explaining what I do to my mother is a challenge. A few years ago I showed her an organic light-emitting diode that we had fabricated and that was powered by a battery. Its lifetime was very short but she saw the green light that was emitted. I told her that we were going to make displays with these new materials. Today, when she sees the display of a cellular phone she is impressed. For the future, I tell her that we are making plastic solar cells for power generation that can be rolled up and organic electronic circuits and sensors that will be so economical that they will be deployed everywhere.

What's your favorite thing to do when you're not working?

In the US, many people measure their activity by the time they spend at work. My philosophy is that quantity must be combined with quality, and therefore, I try to maximize my productivity. This can be done by finding a good balance between time at work and time with family and friends. I try to spend as much time as I can with my wife Virginia, my 8 year old daughter Clara, and six year old son Thomas during the week-ends. We like to garden and to cook good food, and to share it with our friends. To stay in shape I like to ride my bike.

Comments / Questions / Suggestions?