Calvin Hosts Record Number of Student Researchers

From: Phil de Haan <dehp@calvin.edu>
Date: Wed Jun 21 2006 - 10:42:00 EDT

June 21, 2006 == MEDIA ADVISORY

This summer a record number of science student researchers are working at
sites on and off the Calvin College campus through the college's annual summer
undergraduate research program.

All told 91 students are at work at Calvin and all around the nation on a wide
array of projects in all fields of science.

"This year about 80 percent of our graduates were involved in experimental
research (during their time at Calvin)," says Calvin professor of biology David
DeHeer. "Our goal is to have every one of our students involved in research
because it has been proven again and again to be the premiere way to learn
science."

The 57 on-campus student researchers this summer are at work on everything
from laser photochemistry to the effects of pollutants on water birds of the
Great Lakes. Another 34 students are doing research off-campus on everything
from molecular oncology to monitoring coyotes.

DeHeer said that this year's record package of researchers reflects a 15-year
effort on the part of Calvin's natural science division to expand its research
offerings for students.

"We are really proud of these students and the work that they do," DeHeer
says. "It helps them to identify their career goals. Some will find their
life's work after a taste of research. Others will discover it's not for them.
And for them career discovery is just as important as research discovery."

The program has been funded not only through grant support from such entities
as the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the National Science Foundation and the
National Institutes of Health, but also through the contributions of generous
donors.

Contact DeHeer at 616-526-6083 or dehe@calvin.edu
For the full story see http://www.calvin.edu/news

-end-
Received on Wed Jun 21 10:42:41 2006

This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.8 : Wed Jun 21 2006 - 10:42:41 EDT