Undergraduate Research
VPUS — UGResearch — Research Opportunities — Funding Opportunities — Conferences & Events — Forms — Contact Us
Profiles & Projects of Undergraduate Researchers
Undergraduate researchers at Temple are active in nearly every area of undergraduate study. Opportunities for undergraduates include Independent Study in the major, participation in a faculty member's research project, involvement in the Diamond Research Scholar's Program, or development of a research project with the support of the Undergraduate Research Incentive Fund. Engaging in research helps students understand their field of study better, fosters collaboration between faculty and students, and prepares students for post-graduate endeavors.
Gardens of Hope
During winter break in December and January 2004-05 and the summer of 2005, Josh Meyers (Udall Scholarship recipient '04, '05), Lauren Bolinger, and other Temple students combined their interests in environmental engineering and social responsibility in a project that brought hydroponic gardening techniques to the shanty towns of Rio de Janiero, Brazil. You can read more about this unique project at the following links:
"Gardens of Hope" Chronicle of Higher Education, October 14, 2005
"Planting the Seeds of Hope" Temple Times, October 20, 2005
The following undergraduate researchers were profiled in Temple University's 2006 Focus on Research.
“Mandritta is Rare Because She’s the Best”
Harvard-bound Mandritta Datta has a standing offer to return to Temple
Last fall, Temple graduate Mandritta Datta entered a biochemistry PH.D. program at Harvard University, having passed on overtures from Penn, Yale and Johns Hopkins.
Yet one of Datta’s most treasured Temple mentors, Dr. Tomasz Skorski, an associate professor in the department of microbiology and immunology, has another goal in mind, even if it’s at the risk of his livelihood.
“I want Mandritta to come here and take over my chair in the future,” said Skorski, who has employed her in his lab for three years. “Mandritta is rare because she is the best. Most of my lab workers have graduate students. I’ve had two undergraduates in my lab, but she is only one left standing.”
During her first two years in Skorski’s lab, Datta assisted a postdoctoral fellow with his experiments on what causes cells to become resistant to chemotherapy when a patient is treated for cancer. For the past year and a half, Datta has followed up on these studies of chemo-resistant cells with her own research plan.
Datta said Temple was the ideal place to grow her talents as a student new to America. :Being in a new country, I don’t think I was mature enough when I started college,” she said. “But I’ve had lots of great mentors at Temple, especially in the honors program. If you’re passionate about something, they react to it. You tell them what you want to do as a student, and they make it happen.”
Hitting the Right Notes
Composer Mena Hanna finds the keys to success
For young adults contemplating their future, the lure of what are commonly considered “stable” careers can sometimes
be irresistible. Though Boyer College student Mena Hanna wasn’t immune to these forces, he ultimately decided to
follow his heart and immerse himself in what he loved most: music.
It would appear to be a natural choice. The latest in a long line of musical talent, Mena was a member of the
Philadelphia Boy’s Choir at the age of eight and a composer since the age of 14.
In 2005, Mena, a former singer with Philadelphia’s International Opera Theater, received a commission from the
company for a piece for soprano, narrator and chamber ensemble. The piece, “Storia di un Ciliegio” or “The Story of the Cherry Tree,” is based on a children’s story by Umbrian poet Paola Caccioli Aliprandi.
Researching the works of composers Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Schoenberg, and others, Mena began to compose. Soon, everything he learned from fellow composers intersected with his own individual style to create something completely new.
None of the composers I studied ever used both a singer and a narrator to tell a story,” said Mena. “In my composition, the narrator simply tells the story, while the singer is the spirit of the story – it’s a juxtaposition of the concrete and the ethereal.” In August 2005, Mena premiered his creation at venues throughout Italy.
For Mena, Temple has played a key role in his success. “Temple’s music conservatory is world-renowned and I’ve had countless opportunities to perform and to flourish. It really is the best of the best.”
Mena is also a 2006 Marshall Scholarship recipient. He will study Music at Oxford University.
Making her Mark through Research
Diamond Scholar Allison Pymer finds her way by changing course
Entering Temple, Allison Pymer knew that she loved science and wanted to pursue a vocation that had a direct, positive impact on people’s lives. For her, these criteria naturally led her to think about a career in medicine, and she began her freshman year as a pre-med student in the fall of 2004.
Soon after enrolling, however, Allison discovered that becoming a physician might not be for her. Luckily, she soon found Dr. Ruth Ost, director of the Diamond Scholars Program, and a way to translate her strengths and interests into a career that made a difference.
Allison soon joined chemistry professor Eric Borguet and doctoral student R. Kramer Campen to investigate the adsorption of colloids, or small particles of one substance suspended in another. She realized that this research could have applications ranging from the production of paint to lessening the toxicity of environmental pollutants.
“If we can cont5rol the interactions between the solid and liquid phases of materials – such as pollution and paint – we may be able to alter the contaminated stream so that the solid pollutants fall out of the water or coat the solid portions of the paint,” said Allision. “This way, there’s no need to stir the paint each time you open the can. This is just one example of endless applications.”
Would Allison recommend Temple to other talented high-school students interested in research? “Absolutely. As an undergraduate, Temple is a great place to find research opportunities,” said Allison. “There are countless well-established programs to become involved in.”
Sticking With It
Mark Smith’s microscope is trained on the bigger picture
As a young man in the Air Force, Mark Smith studied electronics and telecommunications, following up his service with a successful career as an electronics technician and engineer. Today, Mark is exploring mechanical engineering at Temple, and helping the Navy build a better ship.
Why the big leap? “I love challenging myself and doing more than is expected,” said Mark. “I could have just gone on in electronics, but I ultimately decided to broaden by horizons and put more tools in my toolbox.”
The focus of Mark’s research is “joining technology,” specificillay, bonding metal and composites. In his research, mark is exploring the mechanics of adhesion and adhesive failure. Acting as an advisor, Mark now provides the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) with data to optimize metal surface treatment processes to yield the best adhesion between a metal and composite.
The processes that he devised, however, also had to be replicable outside of a laboratory, namely in a shipyard or other similar environment, and performed on large structural components.
“This was the hardest part,” said Mark. “Some things that you can do in a lab would be cost-prohibitive or simply impossible in some toher setting.”
Tackling problems like these and designing ways to solve them are what Mark loves to do most. “Mechanical engineering is so broad and applicable,” said Mark. “And I love examining things to a microscopic level while also seeing the big picture. Being at Temple, in the classroom and the lab, has allowed me to do that.”
