{"id":41511,"date":"2022-03-27T20:47:55","date_gmt":"2022-03-28T00:47:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/?p=41511"},"modified":"2022-04-03T11:42:11","modified_gmt":"2022-04-03T15:42:11","slug":"work-study-program-offers-research-experience-to-undergrads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2022\/03\/work-study-program-offers-research-experience-to-undergrads\/","title":{"rendered":"Work-study program offers research experience to undergrads"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A junior in biology, Martina Leach collects climate data while riding a bike with weather sensors attached to it .<\/p><\/div>\n

Martina Leach can do research while riding a bike.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a take from TikTok. Leach, a junior in biology at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, actually collects climate data on weather sensors attached to a bicycle\u2014while riding it\u2014as part of her research with DeAnna Beasley, assistant professor of integrated ecology at the University.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re studying variations in microclimates along urban greenways in Chattanooga. Later this spring, Leach will collect and test certain kinds of insects along the trails to see how urban conditions affect those populations.<\/p>\n

Both investigations are part of Beasley\u2019s Urban Greenspace Research Collaborative, a partnership between researchers from UTC and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.<\/p>\n

Leach will present her research at next month\u2019s ReSEARCH Dialogues, the annual two-day conference in which undergraduate and graduate students present their investigative work, everything from food security in Africa to the decomposition of microorganisms.<\/p>\n

Leach and five other Mocs are participants in this year\u2019s Undergraduate Research Work-Study program, which has paired them up with volunteer professors who serve as advisors and mentors.<\/p>\n

Once accepted into the program, students begin taking a seminar class on research concepts during fall semester, then work directly with their mentor-professors over the following two semesters.<\/p>\n

Although the experience culminates when students present their work at ReSEARCH Dialogues, the relationships they\u2019ve built with UTC faculty ideally are long-term.<\/p>\n

The Undergraduate Research Work-Study program is open to any student who is approved for a job with the University through the Federal Work-Study program, which pays student workers a traditional check for employment vs. lump sums like grants and scholarships.<\/p>\n

Students with demonstrable financial needs historically have been closed off to research opportunities while pursuing their bachelor\u2019s degrees, mostly because working and going to school is already hard enough, said Lisa Piazza, director for Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavor.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want more nontraditional students and we want them to flourish,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so cool because they are open to new possibilities and get the workforce skills to make that happen. It takes them from research to the real world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Piazza said putting federal work-study students into research jobs with faculty is a fairly novel concept started by George Mason University in 2016. She launched it at the University of South Florida before coming to UTC in 2018.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s group at UTC is heavy on the sciences, but the program is open to all majors. Professors willing to take on a research assistant also are encouraged to apply, Piazza said.<\/p>\n

The program also helps participants prepare for advanced degrees and medical school, she said.<\/p>\n

Endia Butler, assistant director for professional development at the Center for Career and Leadership Development, helped design and develop the Undergraduate Research Work-Study program while previously working as a financial aid coordinator at UTC.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to develop better jobs for students. Instead of just answering phones, I wanted to create experiences for them,\u201d Butler said.<\/p>\n

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2021-22 Undergraduate research work-study students & mentors<\/h4>\n