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Faculty-Student Research

Research Symposium
Michael Blatnik '11 (left) works with Dr. Eric Goff, associate professor of physics, on a project to explain why some piano chords are pleasing to the ear and others are not.

Sharpen Your Skills

Faculty-student collaborative research engages students in research projects outside their regular program requirements. Opportunities to participate in research with faculty are available to students in many disciplines from all six of the College's schools.

Collaborative research with faculty provides students an unparalleled opportunity to:

  • conduct basic and applied research with College faculty,
  • learn valuable research and problem-solving skills,
  • develop strong academic relationships with faculty,
  • co-author journal articles and other publications,
  • and prepare for graduate school and
    research-oriented careers.

 

 

Kelley Deegan '13 is tending the greenhouse and a student garden this summer as she does two campus internships, one working for physical plant as maintainer of beds throughout the campus, and the other doing orchid research with Dr. Nancy Cowden, associate professor of biology, and Dr. Priscilla Gannicott, professor of chemistry. Kelley received a $2,000 Undergraduate Summer Science Research Fellowship from the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges to conduct the field research on orchids and insect behavior.

 

 

 

Loriann Garcia
Loriann Garcia (biology) has traveled twice to Panama to conduct Acacia plant research with Dr. John Styrsky.

Students have the opportunity to present their work at the annual Student Scholar Showcase and other events such as the Research Symposium sponsored by the School of Sciences. Recent faculty-student research projects have included:

  • The Role of Similar Coloration on Male Betta splendens Aggression (Dr. Kari Benson, associate professor of biology, and Amie Simmons '10)
  • Adolescent Reports of Online Victimization: Is Cyber Bullying the "New Millennium" of Bullying? (Dr. Alisha Marciano, assistant professor of psychology, and Shaina Miranda '10)
  • The Relationship between Acacia Ants, Acacia Plants, and Spiders that Live Among Them (Dr. John Styrsky, assistant professor of chemistry, and Loriann Garcia '10 - pictured at right - and Helen Wolfe '10)

Check out more faculty-student collaborative research.