SURI events this week: Independence Day edition 6/30-7/6

It's hard to believe it's already July and the start of week three of SURI. We've got a full slate of activities this week:

Tuesday evening, 6pm in 60 Page Hall we will have a student panel to talk about the nuts and bolts of applying to graduate and professional schools with particular focus on how to use your research experiences.

We will continue our brown bag lunches this Wednesday at noon either on the Oval or in 60 Page Hall depending on the weather. The numbers of students have been increasing, and we hope you join us.

In celebration for Independence Day, please join us for a viewing Red, White, and Boom (Columbus' fireworks show, and one of the biggest in the Midwest) on Thursday evening starting at 8pm. We will meet at the top of OSU Hospital Garage located at 1585 Westpark Street. Please remember to bring blankets, lawn chairs, outdoor games, and a radio/boombox to hear the fireworks show soundtrack. If you are planning to attend, please let us know at uro@osu.edu just so that we can get a better idea of numbers. Feel free to bring friends to this event.

Lastly, tonight is the famous Columbus Clipper's Dime-a-dog night. The game starts at 7:05pm.

We hope that you have a fun and safe holiday weekend!

Coming next week: Ice skating, and how to use multimedia to present your research.

The first two weeks

For many of you whom this is the first exposure to research--congratulations on making it through the first two weeks!

By now you've probably been introduced to everyone in your lab group, and you're finally getting acclimated to your new space--whether it's a lab bench, computer station, or studio. Hopefully, you are excited to be getting your hands dirty (both figuratively and literally) in your research.

But this excitement is undoubedtly paired with at least a little anxiety. Stress that could come from being overwhelmed with dense research papers full of jargon or complicated tasks involving expensive equipment and reagents. Or you could be faced with writing code for a statistical program for the first time or just trying to remember who's who in your research lab or office. Or it could have been hearing tornado sirens for the first time in the middle of night on Wednesday.

Research is tough, but don't worry--you are not expected to be perfect. It's not the end of the world if you break that flask or find that the trails of literature related to your topic seem to drying up.

The best advice we have to offer is to continue asking questions and seeking advice from your faculty advisers, graduate students, and other undergraduates about your work. Do not be afraid to make genuine mistakes. We're also here if you need a listening ear (email jaung.1@osu.edu). Yesterday, Dr. Snow posted a guide to mentor-mentee relationships that hopefully will help you think about your interactions with your faculty advisers. We will continue to post similar entries here through the summer, and we hope that you will join in the discussion.

For those of you who have already been involved in research, perhaps you can post a few of your own pointers or stories here?

How to interact with your research mentor

A message from Dr. Snow:

Student researchers and their mentors often have different expectations about what their collaboration should be like. We encourage you to discuss the following points with your mentor. Some of these expectations are easily met, while others are not. It’s good to have a clear idea of which of outcomes are most appropriate for your situation.

What is a research mentor?

Broadly defined, a mentor is “someone who takes a special interest in helping another person develop into a successful professional.” (http://www.nap.edu/html/mentor/)

What both the mentor and the student should expect from each other:

1. Respect and collegiality.
2. Commitment and enthusiasm for the research project.
   

What students often expect from their mentor:

1. Guidance on how to plan and carry out the research. Some students also expect to be given a detailed, pre-planned project.
2. Timely feedback and frequent meetings.
3. Constructive criticism.
4. Assistance with presenting a poster at a research forum and writing a thesis or report.
5. Co-authorship with the mentor on a peer-reviewed publication.
6. Career advice and strong letters of recommendation for scholarships, grants, awards, jobs, graduate school, and other programs (submitted prior to deadlines).
   

What mentors often expect from students:

1. Participation in planning and revising the research plan (original ideas welcome).
2. Regular updates on progress; good time management skills.
3. Understanding of the general research topic (be curious, read background materials).
4. Ability to recognize and solve problems.
5. Ability to ask for help when needed.
6. Ability to accept criticism and learn from it.
7. Presentation of the project’s goals, progress, and conclusions at a poster forum and/or in a written report or thesis (worth doing even if the research did not go as planned).
8. Co-authorship on a peer-reviewed publication typically requires that you make a major intellectual contribution to the project, with original findings that are of interest to others in the discipline.
9. For letters of recommendation, the mentor needs advance notice and information about your academic record, your general career goals, and the specific program requesting letters, provided well in advance of the program’s deadline.

Adapted from the 2008 National Conference of the Council on Undergraduate Research and the National Academy of Sciences (http://www.nap.edu/html/mentor/).

SURI events this week: 6/23-29

Thanks to everyone who came to the Wexner Drive-in film last week (big thanks to Lindy and James for helping plan)! Hope you guys enjoyed it, and look for the second installment of the series in July.

Tomorrow is a weekly Brown Bag Lunch at 12pm out on the Oval. Hopefully, the weather will be as beautiful as last week, but if it is wet, we will meet in 60 Page Hall instead.

Thursday evening will be an Ultimate Frisbee game on the Oval, beginning at 8pm. Feel free to bring a friend or more!

Looking forward to the weekend? There are quite a few campus and downtown events including:

• OSU Dance Summer Festival:
  The highly ranked Department of Dance is hosting the first Columbus Summer Dance Festival on campus concluding on Saturday with a festival performance, with works by Ulysses Dove, Barbara Mahler, Teena Custer and others at 8 p.m. in Sullivant Hall Theatre. Tickets are available at the door. Contact: 292-7977
• ComFest in Goodale Park Friday-Sunday. Admission: Free
• Tartuffe Outdoor Play in Schiller Park runs Thursday-Sunday. Admission: Free

Finally, keep a lookout for details about a panel next week on "Undergraduate Research and Applying to Graduate/Professional Schools."

Things to do in and Getting around Columbus

At the first Brown Bag lunch today, we enjoyed the sun on the Oval and discussed topics as diverse as the Research on Research program, crossing the Canadian border, and cool things to do in Columbus. To that end, this entry is dedicated to various events and places in the city. It is by no means exhaustive, and feel free to post other points of interest here!

Getting Around

• First off, how does one get to these great places? The predominant mode of transporation is via car, but certain places are easy to reach using the COTA bus system. If you have a BuckID, COTA is free, otherwise it is $1.50 per ride. The #2 line runs consistently up and down High St. with limited service in the evening and the weekends. Here's a nifty tool that shows you bus routes and the real time location of buses on that route. The bus is all we have until a proposed streetcar system is passed and built.
• There are also a few cab services: Yellow cab (614) 444-4444 and Acme (614) 299-9990

Festivals

• This Friday is the Festival Latino downtown. Admission is only $1, and there are tons of food vendors and shows.
• Next Weekend, June 27-29 is ComFest in Goodale Park. Admission is free, but parking is extremely difficult to find. There are dozens of musical acts, and this is a unique event, to say the least.

Sports and Animals

• The Olentangy Bikepath is part of the Ohio greenway system and runs along the river from Worthington all the way downtown passing through campus. It is a great trail for jogging and cycling, but it does sometimes flood after heavy rain (but that makes it all the more fun, right?).
• The Columbus Clippers is a AAA minor league baseball team that plays at Cooper Stadium on the west side. Regular admission is $6, and there are food/drink promotions throughout the week.
• The Columbus Crew is a major league soccer team just northeast of campus. They're currently 2nd in the Eastern Division of the MLS, and games go through October. Tickets are between $14-$24.
• The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is known worldwide for its animal collection, most notably its mountain gorillas. It is located north of Columbus, and admission is $10 to the zoo, and it can also be reached by COTA. Admission to the new water park adjacent to the zoo is $29.99 and includes admission to the zoo.
  

Neighborhoods, the Arts, etc.

• The Columbus Public Library system is one of the best in the country, and its collection includes nearly all popular music albums and films. Membership is free, and the nearest branch to campus is Northside located at High St. and W. 8th Ave.
• The Wexner Center for the Arts here on campus has many events throughout the summer including the "Drive-in" film series that we'll be attending tomorrow night. Admission is free and so are walk-in tours on their calendar.
• CAPA Summer Film Series is shown in downtown at the Ohio Theatre through the summer. This Saturday and Sunday features Back to the Future! Each ticket is $3.50, but a strip of 10 tickets can be purchased for $20.
• German Village is a historic neighborhood south of downtown. It is home to many shops and restaurants. Of particular note are Schmidt's Restaurant and Sausage Haus, The Book Loft of German Village, and Global Gallery Fair Trade Coffee Shop. There are also free outdoor plays on the weekends in Schiller Park.
• The Short North is one of Columbus' arts districts located directly south of campus. There are many art galleries located along High St. and you can also find the North Market and Jeni's Ice Cream.
  
  

More?
This was just a brief overview of things available in Columbus. If you're interested in learning more, you can visit Experience Columbus or take a look at the Columbus Underground blog. Enjoy!

SURI events this week: June 16-22

Thanks to everyone that came out to our Kickoff Picnic last evening. There were over 75 students in attendance, and we hope that you had a great time meeting other students, playing outside in the beautiful weather, and being inspired about the summer of research ahead of you.

Based on your feedback so far, we will keep adding social and professional events to our calendar (such as a trip to COSI or info sessions about applying to graduate schools), so please keep checking the SURI calendar and for emails about these events. Feel free to contact Michael at jaung.1@osu.edu if you have any suggestions for future events.

Tomorrow, we will be hosting our first Brown Bag Lunch at 12pm. Instead of in Page Hall, we’ll be meeting out on the Oval along the Long Walk (the brick walkway in the middle). Look for the red URO flag. Bring a lunch, and we will provide snacks and refreshments. If it rains, come to Page Hall, Room 60 (on the ground floor).

This Thursday evening, we invite you to join us at the “Wex Drive-In.” This is a summer series of films at the Wexner Centerfor the Arts, and Thursday evening’s feature is The Mummy, a horror classic from 1932. Snacks are available at 8pm, and the film starts at dusk around 9. We will set a meeting time and place, and feel free to bring a friend or two. Also, bring a blanket or lawn chair for sitting. More information about the film series is available at http://www.wexarts.org/fv/index.php?eventid=2941

Lastly, for those of you living at Ohio State for the first time, this printable map may be helpful for getting around: http://www.osu.edu/map/pdf/map_4color.pdf

Welcome to SURI!

Hello, and welcome to the Summer Undergraduate Research Institute (SURI) at Ohio State! We are very excited that you are choosing to spend your summer conducting undergraduate research. SURI is hosted by Ohio State's Undergraduate Research Office in partnership with various summer programs across the university.

Our goals are to provide student researchers with a strong sense of community and purpose by networking, developing professional skills, and having some fun during the Summer Quarter at Ohio State. We are open to students participating in formal, organized undergraduate research programs as well as to undergraduate researchers who are not affiliated with a formal program. While most students involved in SURI activities will be from Ohio State, students from other universities who are conducting research on our campus this summer are welcome to participate as well. You are always welcome to bring friends involved in research to our events!

We hope to use this blog to keep you updated with the most recent SURI events as well as to serve a forum to provide support and guidance as you embark on research this quarter. Please feel free to post comments concerning the helpfulness of posts and what content you'd like to see in the future.

If you have any questions regarding this blog or SURI, please contact Michael Jaung at jaung.1@osu.edu or Helene Cweren at cweren.1@osu.edu

We look forward to meeting you this summer!

Coming Soon

We are thrilled to announce the inaugural Summer Undergraduate Research Institute (SURI) at Ohio State for the summer of 2008! Keep checking here for announcements and articles geared toward any undergraduate pursuing summer research at Ohio State.

Questions about the blog or SURI? Contact Michael Jaung at jaung.1@osu.edu or Helene Cweren at cweren.1@osu.edu

Catch the excitement!