Students will spend summer on prestigious research projects

For some college students, summer is a time to put the books away for a few months.

That's not the case for a group of CSU Monterey Bay students in the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center (UROC), who will spend their summer conducting experiments, gathering data and summarizing their scientific findings in research papers.

They have been accepted into National Science Foundation-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) programs. Most programs are very competitive and accept only 10 percent of applicants, according to Dr. Bill Head, director of UROC and a faculty member in the Division of Science and Environmental Policy.

"The opportunity to experience a new campus, new research and new faculty is unparalleled, and well worth the effort UROC students, their mentors and staff put into the applications," said Dr. Head (pictured at left).

The students who have REU positions lined up are:

• Jena Cleveland, who has been accepted to UC San Francisco's prestigious biophysics program

• Liz Lopez, who will head to Oregon State University to work in benthic marine ecology

• Michael Diaz, who will spend the summer at Texas A&M conducting research in forensic entomology

• Eric Ross, who will conduct ornithology research at Kansas State University

• Debbie Torres, who will spend the summer at Syracuse University conducting research in medicinal chemistry and organic synthesis.

In addition, UROC has secured summer opportunities for students to work with researchers at UC Santa Cruz, UC Davis, Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, Sonoma State University, Bodega Marine Lab, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and CSUMB.

"Our task now is to get the students geared up to hit the ground running when they arrive at their research placement," Dr. Head said. "They'll be reading literature, reviewing proposals and building relationships with their respective labs."

UROC started in 2008, funded by grants and gifts. The center works to support faculty-student collaboration across all academic disciplines through training, research and professional development. Students come away from the UROC experience with a deeper appreciation of the research process, a thorough understanding of their curriculum content and a clearer pathway to graduate school and post-college job opportunities. Students are given the opportunity to apply classroom knowledge in the field, with the guidance of a faculty mentor. They contribute to large research projects and develop research questions of their own, which they then connect to the broader community through professional conferences and research publications.

The UROC office is located on the second floor of the Tanimura & Antle Family Memorial Library.