beyond your textbook

Undergraduate Research

“Doing” science – making new knowledge rather than simply absorbing existing information – is at the core of Drew’s approach to preparing future scientists. Says one Drew professor, conducting original research is so important to a science major’s education that NOT doing it would be akin to a student going to music school without ever playing an instrument.

At many schools, conducting an independent study or completing an honors thesis in the sciences would be considered an “extra.” At Drew, it is part of the culture. Drew recognizes that young science graduates face fierce competition – both for getting into good graduate schools and finding positions in industry. One of the most important skills that they can bring to the application or interview is the ability to think critically – a key skill learned in the research lab.

Drew offers many avenues for students to get involved in research – whether through the aforementioned independent study or an honors thesis, by working one-on-one with a retired industrial scientist in RISE (Research Institute for Scientists Emeriti), or attending the Drew Summer Science Institute (DSSI). In many cases, their research projects may span two or more of these programs.

A look inside…

Amanda Holloway, a senior neuroscience major who is headed to medical school next year, is completing an honors thesis exploring the effects of nitric oxide on neurons, in relation to Alzheimer’s disease treatment. She began her project as part of the RISE and DSSI programs, working with Barbara Petrack, a biochemist and RISE fellow, and Roger Knowles, head of the Neuroscience Department at Drew. Now, she is continuing her work, growing neurons in cultures and examining their reactions to nitric oxide exposure.

“The great thing at Drew is that it’s so easy to get involved in research. Because it is a small school, you can really get to know your professors and work directly with them. At the same time, they let you decide what you want to do, and then let you work independently.

I’ve appreciated being involved in Alzheimer’s research. There are so many theories and so much progress to be made. It is incredibly exciting when we find interesting things that might be meaningful, and it is rewarding to have such important goals. I have developed a real sense of ownership with my project. I feel very lucky to have Dr. Knowles as my advisor. He loves this subject and has so much experience.

In general, doing this research has enabled me to apply what I’ve learned in class to a real-world situation. I have evolved an experiment of my own, with results that I didn’t know were coming. I’ve learned how to approach science effectively, how to ask questions and how to deal with problems.

When you think about it, these skills could be applied in any field. And I know that I will use them in medical school and throughout my career.

A look inside…

Drew graduate Brett Becker, who double-majored in computer science and physics, is well on his way to earning his Ph.D. in computer science from the National University of Ireland’s University College Dublin. For his honors thesis, entitled “Benchmarking Multithreaded Program Performance,” he used Java to explore the impact of a large number of threads running on a quad-processor machine (specially purchased by Drew for research like Brett’s). He investigated problems like fast fourier transforms, matrix multiplications and computing large sums of numbers. Brett ultimately established that Java threads are very lightweight, making it possible to run thousands of threads efficiently in order to increase parallel program performance.

“Having the freedom and independence to explore something that I thought was interesting in detail was excellent. My advisor, Dr. Christopher Van Wyk, was open and willing to let me go on the track I wanted. That sense of promoting and fostering students to do their own thing is something I enjoyed at Drew in general.

Doing an honors thesis is a good springboard into real science. It’s a great way to find out whether or not you like research. I enjoyed it very much, particularly because it was self paced and self motivated, and didn’t involve class meetings, deadlines and exams. I felt like I could do instead of just learn. I work well in that capacity.

Overall, the experience gave me a sense of confidence that I could accomplish a highly goal-oriented project. It also helped me decide what I wanted to study in grad school.

In fact, I’m doing similar work today in my Ph.D. program. I’m focusing on heterogeneous parallel computing and deal with matrix multiplications all the time. I just published a paper on a particular technique for parallel matrix multiplication. My first exposure to the topic was during my thesis project.”