Programs, opportunities attract students

By Lindsey Alpert

Daily Staff Reporter

Many prospective students flock to the University for the football. Some come for the Naked Mile and Hash Bash. But some, with aspirations of medical school or research positions, come for the research opportunities.

The University boasts the top ranking in the nation for research spending and fifth in the nation for quality of research, according to the Institute for Scientific Information.

"The primary people who do research on campus are the faculty," Vice President for Research Fawwaz Ulaby said. "But every graduate student on campus is a researcher and there are many undergraduate students who participate in UROP and other such programs across campus."

The University created the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program in 1988 as a way to involve women and minorities in research. It has evolved into a 650-project, 900-person program for freshmen and sophomores to work one-on-one with a faculty member. Students participate in a wide range of academic fields including humanities, biomedicine and engineering. Last year, UROP developed a pilot program for juniors and seniors, UROP director Sandra Gregerman said. Eighty members are participating this year.

LSA junior Deepa Kamath, a UROP humanities peer adviser, said the program isn't for everyone. "If a student doesn't want to put anything into it, they're not going to get anything out of it," Kamath said.

Kamath helped transcribe a diary of a University medical student during her freshman year and interviewed women before and after receiving anesthesia. She said a research stint the next year solidified her decision to study biopsychology.

Students not involved in UROP still have the opportunity to work with some of the top researchers in the country. Many researchers post notices for lab assistants or select students to help in their projects. "I wouldn't think of doing research here at the University without involving students," psychology emeritus Prof. Martin Gold said.

Gold said he chooses students based on their interest. "The students are already screened because they attend the University of Michigan, and if they're in good standing, I select on interest."

The students help reduce the workload that would otherwise be done by paid assistants from outside of the University while learning the ins and outs of research. Many students are also included as co-authors in works published by the professor.

"Students often are at least acknowledged for their help," Gold said. "Quite a bit of graduate and undergraduate students have been published."

Researchers need to have their work published to continue receiving funds and be considered top researchers. "It's very common to have successful, powerful scientists who are recruited heavily by other universities," said Stanley Watson, co-director of the Mental Health Research Institute. "Universities will go out and try to find someone with particular skills."

- Daily Staff Reporter Robert Gold contributed to this report.