As budget cuts continue to strain funding for undergraduate research, recipients and sponsors of this year's Faculty Senate Harrison Awards said they were especially appreciative of the honor.
Held yesterday in the Rotunda Dome Room, the ceremony recognized 40 undergraduate students with financial stipends for summer research projects, an increase from last year's 23 award recipients.
"The budget cuts make them more significant," Faculty Senate Chairman Robert Grainger said. "The fact that this has not been cut is a symbol of how important undergraduate research is to the faculty."
Grainger added that University President John T. Casteen III this week announced the creation of a new Office for Undergraduate Research to further encourage such endeavors.
"There's a good reason for these programs. They change people's lives in fundamental ways," Grainger said.
The awards, which are funded through money from private sources, recognized a diverse assortment of projects in over 20 different disciplines.
"They cover the whole range of what students do," Grainger said.
Topics include research on molecular biology, healthcare, eating disorders and racial integration at the University.
Third-year College student Melissa Grachan, whose research will be in the field of chemistry, said the award has had a significant impact on her University experience.
"It allows me to continue my project during the summer, and has helped me to figure out what I want to do career-wise," Grachan said.
Second-year College student Kurt Mitnam said he is excited by the recognition of his project on the neuronal basis for cognition.
"I may actually make a mark in the understanding of learning," Mitnam said. "That would be really rewarding."
Other award recipients, such as third-year Continuing Education student Mark Harvey, see the stipends helping possible research later in their academic careers. Harvey received an award to research civic participation.
"I'm hoping to use this as part of a master's or doctorate thesis," he said.
Recipients, who applied for the grants last November, each have a faculty advisor and received an average stipend of $3,000.
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