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Office for Undergraduate Research
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EXCELLENCE IN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH
The University of Alabama is a place where all undergraduates
can engage in innovative research, mentored scholarship,
creative expression, and entrepreneurship. It is the mission of
the Office for Undergraduate Research to empower students
to better the world and themselves through discovery
and invention. With the help of the research faculty at the
Capstone, our undergraduates are building a foundation
for their future through programming, coursework, and
experiences in research labs and facilities. Our students
become critical thinkers and learn how to navigate the
research landscape through guided experiences and research
opportunities. We are building a better tomorrow with our
undergraduate researchers. At The University of Alabama, we
are committed to excellence in research, and it all starts with
our undergraduate researchers.
Office for Undergraduate Research
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STATISTICS OF UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH
326 POSTERS WERE PRESENTED AT
URCA
550 UNDERGRADS ARE INVOLVED
IN RESEARCH
195 UNDERGRADS ARE A PART
OF THE EMERGING SCHOLARS
250 FACULTY SERVE AS MENTORS
TO STUDENTS ENGAGING IN
A facet of the Office for Undergraduate Research, the
Emerging Scholars Program is an application-only twosemester program. The first semester is dedicated to
teaching the students the basics of research, while
the second semester is an independent study where
students pair with a mentor to work on a research
project. In order to complete the program they must
also present at The University’s annual Undergraduate
Research and Creative Activity Conference (URCA).
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
A former Emerging Scholars
participant studying psychology
and sociology, Towanda won first
place at URCA for her research
with Dr. Bronwen Lichtenstein
on their project: “A Study of Public
Health Cutbacks and Precursors
of the TB Outbreak in Perry
County, Alabama.”
This project attempted to
determine why the residents of
Perry County were opposed to TB
Towanda Pettway is a junior testing. The data she collected
from Bridgeport, Conneticut utilizing surveys and interviews
revealed that individuals mistrust
in the health officials, fear of being reported to law enforcement, and
misconceptions about the source of TB transmission were the major
sources for resistance to TB testing.
Towanda engages in undergraduate research because it is a learning
experience that goes beyond the books of a classroom. She hopes that her
research is able to educate others and make changes.
A former Emerging Scholars
participant studying history and
anthropology, William won second
place in the poster division of
Fine Arts at URCA for his research
with Dr. George Rable for their
project: “Civil War Values: What
the War is Doing to the Country.”
The student looked through
journals, newspaper articles, and
letters in an attempt to gain a
firsthand view of what Civil War
William McCrary is a junior from Soldiers -both Union and
Moody, Alabama
Confederate- valued, i.e. morality,
bravery, pride, etc. Upon
examination, soldiers on both sides were about equally concerned with
topics such as virtue, discipline, pride, and masculinity. By presenting the
values of the soldiers and the views of the culture around them, the ideas
that made them fight can become clearer.
William engages in undergraduate research because researching the past
can impact how we handle current situations.
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Katie is studying computer science at
The University, while also engaging
in undergraduate research through
the Emerging Scholars Program. She
is in the research semester of the
program working with Dr. Jeff Gray
on a project entitled: “Automating the Addition of Harp Pedals to Standard
Sheet Music.”
The student’s own project idea, she
is writing a program that can be used
as a plug-in for free, open-source
software MuseScore. The program
will have an option to automatically
Katie Zucker is a sophomore
add harp pedal markings, which
from Morgantown, West Virginia a harpist would normally have to
pencil in manually, to any music that is in MuseScore as an xml file. As well
as utilizing another open-source software, Audiveris, to scan in music to
MuseScore, then use my program to add harp pedals.
Katie engages in research because she is interested in many different areas.
She believes that computer science has the ability to cross-disciplines and
bridge technological gaps in more traditional fields.
Ana is studying biology at
The University while also
engaing in undergraduate
research through the Emerging
Scholars Program. She is in
the research semester of the
program working with Dr.
Stephen Secor on a project
entitled: “Phenotypic Flexibility
of the Small Intestine of Boas”
The experiment is designed to
assess the extent to which the
Ana Reding is a sophomore from
intestines of boas change with
Nashville, Tennessee
feeding and fasting. The focus of
the project is on the histological
changes of the mucosal layer of the small intestine and microvillus length
with fed and fasted snakes.
Ana engages in research because it allows her to foster a more personal
relationship with a faculty mentor as well as other undergraduate
students in her major who share similar interests.
Emerging Scholars Program
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HOW ESP IMPACTS PARTICIPANTS
MEET A UA 155 STUDENT:
Elisheba Mann is a sophomore studying chemical and biological engineering.
She is in her first semester of the Emerging Scholars Program, so while she
is not yet conducting research with a faculty mentor, she hopes to work on
a research project in her field next semester. She engages in undergraduate
research because she wants to dedicate her life to cancer/disease research.
Because cancer has greatly affected her family and she would love to prevent
more families from going through her situation.
MEET A UA 156 STUDENT:
Alaric Rohl is a sophomore studying theatre and mathematics. He is in the
second semester of the Emerging Scholars Program working with Dr. Amir
Zaheri on a project entitled: “Toward Devising a Scale of Music based upon an
Irrational Number.” The concept behind this project is to use music theory
to determine properties about an irrational number (that is, a number
that cannot be expressed by a ratio of two integers; pi, for example). The
individual terms of the constant will be used to construct a musical scale,
which will in turn be evaluated to reverse engineer properties about the
number. Alaric engages in undergraduate research because he sees it as a
necessity in order for progress to occur.
MEET AN EMERGING SCHOLAR URCA WINNER:
Manoj Sunny is a junior studying finance and economics. He presented
his research with Dr. Paul Drnevich entitled “Premiums Comparison: Same
Industry vs. Cross Industry Analysis” at URCA in the spring of 2016 and won
first place in the oral division of business and education. The purpose of their
project was to ascertain whether there is a difference in the market’s reaction
towards news of acquisitions within the same industry or cross industry. They
found that there is a clear distinction between the market’s reaction towards
acquisitions within the same industry vs cross industry. Manoj engages in
undergraduate research because the findings because it has taught him how
to solve problems.
MEET A ESP STUDENT IN THE WORKFORCE:
Emily Lewis graduated in the spring of 2016 with degrees in education and
theatre. During her time as an undergraduate, Emily worked on a research
project entitled “Theatrical Strategies in the English Language Arts Classroom”
with Dr. Liza Wilson and Dr. Stacy Hughey-Surman. The project examined
another set of tools for typically found in the theatre classroom, – readers’
theatre and improvisational role play – which were implemented and observed
in the English Language Arts classroom to examine student learning outcomes
of using traditionally theatrical activities in literature education. She is
currently utilizing the positive outcomes of the study in her classroom.