CRE Spring Semester in Review!

In this newsletter, we are looking back on the Spring 2021 semester! We accomplished a lot this semester, and we are excited to share all these updates with you. We highlight our Research Mentor Award winners, the Florida Undergraduate Research Conference 2021, the Undergraduate Research Symposium 2021, highlights from our programs, and more!
CRE had a very busy but productive Spring semester this year! Faced with the challenge of continuing to engage our students virtually in research programming, particularly with our virtual conferences, each one of our programs found great success engaging with our students. Below is a summary of our programs in addition to the announcement of our 2021 Research Mentor Award Winners!

Thanks to everyone who made this semester such a great success!
GENERAL CRE PROGRAM UPDATES
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH OPPORTUNITY PROGRAM (UROP)
UROP continues to get students involved in virtual undergraduate research opportunities, and we have had amazing results from this semester. Nearly 1000 students applied to be a part of UROP and 411 students started the program this year.

With this many students, we had to assemble an impressive cohort of UROP Leaders to teach our UROP students on the mechanics of conducting undergraduate research. We had 60 UROP Leaders, across all disciplines and majors at FSU, teaching our undergraduates across 29 colloquium class sections. You can check out featured leaders on our CRE Social Media (links at the bottom of the newsletter).

Our UROP Leaders and students weren't the only ones that faced a challenge in pivoting to a virtual format. Our research mentors, who provide our students opportunities to work on research projects, also had to figure out a way to configure their research to a virtual setting. With this, we had 230 research projects proposed to our UROP Database.

In addition, UROP has instituted a diversity and inclusion focus group to improve the pipeline to the UROP Leader position to better reflect the UROP student population. Thus far, participants of the focus group have found this focus group highly representative and beneficial.

Overall, the general theme of our recap of UROP is that our UROP Leaders and students rose to the challenge of virtual teaching and learning in the midst of a pandemic and have excelled. We are so incredibly proud of their hard work and dedication to continuing the mission of UROP and undergraduate research in general at FSU.
GLOBAL PROGRAMMING
CRE’s global programs have started under their new formats this year! The Gap Year Program has shifted into its new model supporting both funded students interested in intercultural service as well as unfunded students focused on other types of personally enriching experiences. This year, 16 students from FSU’s incoming class have been chosen to be a part of this newly expanded program. Meanwhile, the 2020-2021 Gap Year Fellows are finishing their experiences, blogging, and preparing to start their first semester at FSU! The 2021 Global Scholars are similarly piloting the program’s relaunch as a three-phase independent support program for students to explore social impact work domestically and internationally (remotely). They’ve completed the spring theory course and will start their experiences between mid-May and early-June. Keep your eyes out for their blogs to keep up with their experiences through the summer!


IDEA GRANTS
Thanks to the overwhelming support from our donors, the CRE awarded IDEA Grant awards to over 30 students. These awards support projects ranging from examining mental health outcomes due to COVID-19 related isolation to the development of an e-choir to support individuals suffering from aphasia. If you visit the Honors, Scholars, and Fellows House blog, you can find posts from the 2021 IDEA Grants winners about their wide variety of projects and what they hope to achieve over the summer.
INNOVATION PROGRAMMING (TECH FELLOWS AND IGEM)
You will find blog posts from our five Tech Fellows who went through their Spring preparation course. Their blog posts overview what they will work to accomplish over the summer in their business incubator internships and information about their research projects. The IDEA Grants award winners and Tech Fellows will be culminating their programs this Fall at the President’s Showcase for Undergraduate Research Excellence. 

Finally, during the Spring semester the CRE became a formal partner with the FSU iGEM team, International Genetically Engineered Machines, with Associate Director Dave Montez serving as a co-principal investigator. Over the semester, iGEM team members were selected and the team chose the problem area of malnutrition to explore potential interventions. Over the summer, the team will finalize their intervention and test it in the lab and with Tallahassee area stakeholders. In October, the team will present their project as a part of the international competition.
FLORIDA-GEORGIA LOUIS STOKES ALLIANCE FOR MINORITY PARTICIPATION IN STEM (FGLSAMP)
This year, FGLSAMP started with a new round of NSF funding for the next five years! FGLSAMP at FSU expanded dramatically this year, increasing the number of participants from 14 to 31. We were also able to add four more grad mentors bringing that number up to ten. In addition, we will be disbursing $21,000 in student support in the coming academic year. Over the course of this year meetings focused on different topics such as finding internships, choosing an advisor, and mental health among others. This year, FGLSAMP participated in identity workshops facilitated by the Center for Leadership and Social Change. FGLSAMP students were also able to attend the 2021 Virtual Florida Undergraduate Research Conference in February along with FSU’s Presidential Showcase of Undergraduate Research Excellence in September and the Undergraduate Research Symposium in April. We are excited to return to in-person meetings in the Fall! 
Research Mentor Award Winners
The Undergraduate Faculty Research Mentor Award for 2021 was presented to Dr. Robb Tomko, Department of Biomedical Sciences, for mentoring UROP student Sathvik Bilakanti in research about "discovery of microsporidia-selective anti-proteasome nanobodies."

"In one-on-one mentoring situations such as my scientific laboratory, it is my duty to impart on the next generation of scientists the craft of academic research, in addition to more pragmatic skills essential for today’s scientists, such as grantsmanship, budgeting and accounting, time and personnel management, and networking. I firmly believe in leading through actions. As a mentor and scientific role model, I aim to make all of my scientificandadministrative actions transparent, so that my mentees can learn from them. In some cases, however, there is simply no substitute for frontline experience. Therefore, I try to actively include mentees in processes such as conceiving their scientific studies, designing their experiments, and crafting manuscripts, presentations, and posters. I also encourage my mentees to continuously draft and revise their scientific goals and conclusions. These experiences familiarize them with the iterative nature of many academic and technical endeavors, teach patience and determination, and perhaps most importantly, prepare them to tackle lofty goals in their chosen careers or to be successful in subsequent graduate education. Importantly, I strive to impart strong scientific ethics and academic honesty upon my students by focusing on the goal of answering the question, not getting the desired result.

I view my teaching and mentoring as an investment in young academics; these men and women will shortly be my colleagues and collaborators. By forging strong relationships with my students based on clarity, honesty, and rigor, I help assure there will be a cadre of talented and objective thinkers to carry on academic discovery into the future."

—Dr. Robb Tomko, from his mentoring statement
The Post-Doc Undergraduate Research Mentor Award for 2021 was presented to Dr. Sam Holley-Kline, Department of History. Dr. Holley-Kline mentored UROP student Michelle Evangelista on "Histories of Extractivism in Indigenous Mexico."

"To begin, I meet students where they are, so that they are able to accomplish individual objectives that meet broader standards. We first discuss mutual expectations and needs. Sometimes, the result is a structured, proactive approach. My UROP student collaborators are new to the craft of research. Before beginning our project, I used a Canvas Org site to set up shared Dropbox folders, Zotero accounts, Google Sheets, and introductory readings, such that we shared common references. I followed up with individual students during biweekly meetings, and discussed progress with each as they developed their ideas. During monthly group meetings, we discussed the broader project and re-checked expectations. In other cases, meeting students where they are requires a resourceful, reactive approach.The two students for whom I served as a thesis committee member at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana were experienced, having already completed field research and data analysis. As they requested, I provided digital copies of hard-to-locate sources and multiple rounds of thesis feedback. Meeting students where they are enables me to provide a common foundation with which to further develop each collaborator’s unique contribution—depending on their needs.
Meeting students where they are requires sensitivity to students’ backgrounds, experiences, and social positions. Research suggests that emotional support and motivational scaffolding are important strategies for students from minoritized communities. In the service of equitable development, I prioritize student mentees, responding within the hour to their e-mails and not limiting my meeting time with them. Such relationships allow me to discuss issues of concern to students: the importance of speaking heritage languages, for example, or the politics of identity markers (Latinx or Latine?). I back up this support with a willingness to work outside the bounds of the formal research assistantship: I have edited IDEA Grant applications for my UROP student collaborators, have offered (and written) letters of recommendation, and introduced students to other faculty members to further develop their interests."

—Dr. Holley-Kline, from his mentoring statement
The Graduate Student Undergraduate Research Mentor Award for 2021 was presented to Jennifer Harding, College of Music. Jennifer mentored Emily Coston in researching "Harmonic Characteristics of Music: A Computational Approach."

"My approach to mentoring rests upon two pillars: relationship and scholarship. The pillar of relationship is built from empathy, compassion, and honoring the humanity within each of my students. The undergraduate years come with a unique set of challenges: many students are away from home from the first time, navigating the transition from adolescence to adulthood, and managing many more responsibilities than they have had before, to name just a few. For all the excitement and vibrancy of this time, students’ lives can also be overwhelming, confusing, and quite simply, difficult. Over the course of working with my students, I get a small peek into both the triumphs and challenges they are experiencing. I make sure to check in with my students regularly, and adjust both my expectations and demands based on what they are able to take on. My students have the flexibility to take on less demanding tasks when they are overwhelmed, and more challenging tasks when they have the mental bandwidth to do so. I strive to respect the boundaries and limitations of my students while maintaining a rigorous program. I hope to model grace, understanding, and integrity to my students in the hope that they carry on this practice to their colleagues, and eventually their own mentees.

The second of the two pillars is scholarship. The mentoring and advising relationship is founded on the expectation of academic and scholarly excellence. Part of my job is to pull back the curtain to reveal the often circuitous and messy behind-the-scenes view of research, analysis, and communication. Then, I walk them through step-by-step how to navigate the research process. The first problem we approach is how to ask questions.This includes how to ask a good research question to initiate a productive line of inquiry, as well as how to ask questions, evaluate answers; revise, and repeat every step of the way. Curiosity and inquisitiveness is the lens through which I encourage my students to evaluate both all other aspects of research: reading the work of others, determining how to collect data, parsing the data, and communicating results. Together, my students and I work to develop their practical skills: how to procure resources, how to evaluate those resources (especially when an article is written at too-high a level), how to synthesize existing ideas with their own, and how to communicate clearly, succinctly, and in an engaging way without sacrificing information or depth. I work closely with my students at every stage of their research, directing them towards resources, talking through articles, and editing their writing both asynchronously and in real time. My hope is that my students will cultivate both the practical and cognitive skills to continue pursuing their research questions after our time together has ended."

—Jennifer Harding, from her mentoring statement
CRE CONFERENCES REVIEW
FLORIDA UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH CONFERENCE 2021
From February 26-27th, The Florida Undergraduate Research Association and Florida State University hosted the Florida Undergraduate Research Conference (FURC) 2021, this time in a virtual format. FURC is one of the nation's largest multidisciplinary research conferences and is open to all undergraduate researchers in the state of Florida to present their research in a poster format. This year, we had around 750 attendees with around 400 student presenters from institutions across the state. Disciplines and topics for presentations ranged from ethnomusicology to documentary studies to biological studies to literature. We were thrilled with this turnout and are excited to announce that FURC 2022 will be hosted by the University of Central Florida (UCF) from February 18-19, 2022!
2021 UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM (URS)
On April 1, 2021, we hosted our annual URS! This was our second time hosting the event virtually but the first time we hosted the event via Whova!

The event was a success: with over 1000 people as registered participants and roughly 500 presenters, there was a huge audience, and we were thrilled with how many student projects we had. Parents, research mentors, and friends/peers all joined to listen to students present their projects from disciplines ranging from ethnomusicology to biomedical sciences to international affairs to religion to literature.

We used Whova to simulate and mimic a live conference as much as possible. Using the new artifact center, our students uploaded their posters and live Zoom links to the center to collate all the posters in one central place. Conference participants were able to view the posters while being in the Zoom rooms, where they were able to interact with presenters while viewing a PDF of the poster at the same time. See above for a picture of what the artifact/poster hall looked like.

To enhance participation in the URS, we also hosted Campus Partner Info Sessions, where campus partners--including Garnet and Gold Scholar Society, FSU Libraries, the Academic Center for Excellence (ACE), and more--got to interact with the undergraduate research community in an unique setting. Some of our campus partners had over 80 participants in their session and reported that the sessions were a great way to forge new connections.

We want to extend our sincerest gratitude for our student presenters and their research mentors for engaging and presenting at the symposium. We're so proud of all the hard work that you all have accomplished.

Congratulations to our student presenters and their research mentors!
SUMMER 2021 RESEARCH ADVISING
CRE provides general research advising to help you get started on your research journey at FSU and to connect you with relevant campus partners.

One our staff members who coordinates Drop-in advising, David Advent, conducted humanities-based research (specifically in English) during his time at FSU and is more than happy to help fellow Humanities and Creative Arts researchers start their journey at FSU! 

With that, our Summer 2021 Drop-In Advising Hours are now officially open! Times and links to register will be updated at the link at the bottom. Once you click on the link, there will be instructions on how to register. We look forward to helping you find your passion in research!

Please contact David Advent at david.advent@fsu.edu with any questions.
CRE UPCOMING DEADLINES
APPLY FOR THE UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH OPPORTUNITY PROGRAM (UROP) AS A TRANSFER STUDENT
Join a community of hundreds of first and second-year student researchers and UROP alumni, including discipline-specific, transfer, and student-veteran cohorts through UROP:



  • Explore academic and career interests through faculty and graduate student mentorship, all while learning to think in creative and innovative ways
  • Choose from hundreds of projects representing all areas of study, including fine arts, humanities, sciences, medicine, engineering, business, and social sciences, including the freedom to engage research outside of your proposed, or declared, field of study
  • Join an established researcher or team, with the ability to collect and analyze data, co-author, present findings at conferences, and make other important contributions
  • Gain hands-on knowledge and application of research principles, a competitive and tangible asset for graduate and professional school applications, and an attractive skillset for future employers.

Program Components:
  • Conduct research 5 -10 hours per week assisting a faculty member, graduate student, or startup company;
  • Meet bi-weekly with a UROP Leader and fellow UROP students;
  • receive personalized guidance about research and campus resources
  • Present at the 22nd annual Undergraduate Research Symposium

Deadline to apply: Thursday, July 1, 2021 for transfer students

UROP RESEARCH MENTOR PORTAL OPEN
We encourage you to learn more about UROP and to view the UROP Research Mentors Handbook here: https://cre.fsu.edu/research-mentor-information.

When you are ready to upload a research or creative project to request research assistants, make sure to submit your project by August 16th, 2021 to the database using SurveyMonkeyApply: https://fsu-cre2.smapply.us/
Facilitated by the Center for Undergraduate Research and Academic Engagement (CRE), UROP is a nationally recognized, yearlong program in which 400 high-achieving underclassmen, transfer, and veteran students serve as research assistants to faculty, post-docs, graduate students, and campus partners.

Faculty, post-docs, graduate students, and campus partners who have submitted research projects to the portal will be contacted by UROP students the first few weeks of fall semester to schedule interviews. After finding a good match, research mentors and UROP students sign a contract outlining the expected duties and hours for the assistantship, which runs through spring semester. In addition, all UROP students enroll in a yearlong research colloquium and present a poster of their contribution to the research mentor’s project at the annual FSU Undergraduate Research Symposium.
The eager and talented students who have applied for UROP will be excited to start working as research assistants—but we still need more research proposals from all of you! Your participation will enable more students to participate in undergraduate research, while continuing to build our nationally recognized undergraduate research portfolio at FSU.

Benefits for research mentors submitting a UROP project include:
  • Undergraduate research assistance
  • Materials grants and recognition: faculty can receive a materials grant of up to $1,000 ($500/student, up to two students) and be eligible for a $2,000 Undergraduate Research Mentor Award
  • Post-docs can receive materials grants of up to $500 ($500/student, up to two students) , while Graduate students can receive materials grants of up to $250
  • Graduate students/Post-docs can be eligible for a $500 Undergraduate Research Mentor Award, while acquiring mentoring experience through a structured program

Please remember, by posting a project to the portal, there is no obligation to accept a UROP student if you do not find a good match. Feel free to contact CRE Associate Director, Alicia Batailles, with any questions you might have at alicia.batailles@fsu.edu.

Since the COVID-19 crisis may affect our ability to have in-person research opportunities for students, students can start by working on background research and continue with in-person research once it is appropriate conduct in-person research again.

Thank you for supporting undergraduate research at FSU!
UROP RESEARCH MENTOR INFO SESSIONS
The CRE is hosting virtual info sessions for faculty, postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, and campus partners to learn more about becoming a Research Mentor as part of the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP)!

Come learn more about becoming an Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) Research Mentor! At this session, you will hear about the benefits of working with a UROP research assistant as well as associated funding and awards, including perspectives from previous UROP Research Mentors and UROP students in the program. UROP Research Mentors who are currently working on a project and need help with their research can have student research assistants on their projects for an academic year at no cost as part of UROP.

Information sessions will be from 3-4 pm on the following dates:





Info sessions will be held on Zoom and will be recorded for later access if you cannot attend.

The deadline to submit a UROP project proposal is August 16, 2021. Please visit https://cre.fsu.edu/research-mentor-information to learn more about UROP and submitting a project proposal.

If you have any questions about UROP or submitting a project proposal, please contact Alicia Batailles, CRE Senior Associate Director and UROP Coordinator, at alicia.batailles@fsu.edu.
THE FSU-iGEM TEAM IS RECRUITING FOR TWO NEW TEAM MEMBERS
The FSU-iGEM synthetic biology research competition team is recruiting two new team members to serve a Software and Visual Arts leads. We need your help to research and innovate in this year’s problem area, food insecurity and malnutrition. These positions are open to all majors and prior knowledge of synthetic biology is not required. The Software lead will head the team’s development of a wiki or website from scratch that documents all of the work of the team over the life of this year’s project. You can find past team websites here and here. Our Visual Arts lead will use their graphic design skills to help us develop imagery and video content to not only document the team’s work but help educate the public on synthetic biology and our community’s difficulty with malnutrition. To learn more about the FSU-iGEM team visit our website, https://med.fsu.edu/igem/home. If you are interested in pursuing one of these positions, please email Dave Montez at dmontez@fsu.edu
CRE PROGRAM BLOGS
We're actively adding content to our UROP Leader and Student Spotlight Blogs on the HSF House Blogs site! Keep up with the UROP Leaders and Students over the summer using the link below!
Keep up with what the Tech Fellows are doing over the summer using the Tech Fellows Blogs, which are also being featured on the HSF House Blogs site! Use the link below to read those blogs!
Our 2021 Global Scholars are also writing about their summer experiences, but this time on the Omprakash website! They'll be discussing where they are working this summer and what they internships/projects will look like. Read those blogs below!
The 2021 IDEA Cohort is already putting up content to document their experiences for their research projects! Read those blogs below!
CRE VIRTUAL ADVISING

Please set up a meeting through Campus Connect, use the instructions on the “Getting Started” page, and we will respond to you with a link to a Zoom appointment.


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CRE SPOTLIGHTS WANTS TO FEATURE YOUR NEWS!

We are constantly amazed by what our current students and alumni are working on, so share your success stories with us to be featured in our monthly newsletter and weekly social media posts. Fill out this form to share your news!
Engaging students in research, innovation, and scholarship is the hallmark of a great research university. Through this engagement, students become better thinkers, innovators, and problem solvers, cultivating a depth of understanding needed to make a positive difference in the world.