NEWS

New science Web site shows high school students the promise of undergraduate research

By LAUREN E. HOLDER
UNC News Services

CHAPEL HILL -- For the past two years, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill junior Ben Wilde has worked toward creating a three-dimensional force microscope that will allow researchers to touch small structures contained in living cells.

The computer science major is working in the physics laboratory of associate professor Dr. Richard Superfine and under the guidance of his adviser, Dr. Russell Taylor, research associate professor in the computer science department.

Showing high school students how they, too, may immerse themselves – as undergraduates – in the physical sciences and technology at UNC is a major reason behind a new Web site: sciencecarolina.unc.edu.

The Web site particularly focuses on how undergraduates and world-renowned faculty work together in the classroom and in research settings, university officials said. It also showcases UNC’s leading programs in science, engineering and technology; illustrates how a liberal arts foundation can prepare students to better communicate in their careers and emphasizes the general undergraduate research experience.

"At Carolina, students can participate in research programs at the frontier of science through close, one-on-one interaction with many of the world’s great scientists," said Dr. Holden Thorp, director of the university’s Morehead Planetarium and Science Center and a chemistry professor.

As a UNC alumnus, Thorp said, his praise stems from firsthand experience. "Being able to do these things in the rich, overall undergraduate environment is an opportunity available nowhere else."

Visitors to the new Web site will find featured stories on students, faculty members, successful alumni and academic programs – including a story on Wilde’s ongoing research.

In the laboratory, Wilde and Taylor place tiny magnetic beads in, on and around living cells.  Then, they use electromagnets to "touch" the beads and pull them against different parts of the cell, giving them a better sense of its properties.

"The coolest thing is that it’s a fun job, so I enjoy every minute I spend in the lab," Wilde said.

Rohit Prakash, a sophomore physics major, studies carbon nanotubes with Drs. Michael Falvo, Superfine and Sean Washburn, in the physics and astronomy department’s nanoscience research group. Nanotechnology is the science behind building increasingly fast devices in dramatically smaller packages. It affects everything from sensors and computer chips to medical implants.

Prakash said he values the interdisciplinary approach to research at UNC.

"What I enjoy most about the lab is the wide variety of specialties we have here. There are all kinds, from physicists to chemists to computer scientists at every corner."

Undergraduate research experiences extend beyond campus laboratories, too. Senior environmental science major Liz Veazey traveled to the U.S. Virgin Islands with classmates from her coral reef management course and professor, Dr. Greg Gangi. She later spent a summer with the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences.

This year, she will journey to New Zealand, thanks to a Morris K. Udall Scholarship, where she will study conservation and biodiversity with the School for International Training. Her research experiences are profiled on sciencecarolina.unc.edu.

The Web site also demonstrates how science programs also offer excellent preparation for medical school.

Senior biology major Kristin Benjamin looks forward to working directly with patients, but for now she’s helping people through her research with mutant flies in professor Dr. Stephen Crews’ neurogenetics lab. Eventually, Benjamin’s findings may further the development of treatments and cures for diseases resulting from abnormal central nervous system development.

The new Web site is one component of a larger initiative including faculty scientists campuswide and the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. They are telling high school students about what UNC offers in the study of science, in research opportunities for students and in preparation for science careers.

The admissions office also is arranging for UNC faculty members and students to meet with high school students in select North Carolina cities, contacting outstanding students throughout the state and hosting on-campus events for science teachers and their students.

For more information on the Web site or science-related initiative, call Sue Klapper at (919) 966-3987 or e-mail sklapper@email.unc.edu.

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News Services contact: Deb Saine, (919) 962-8415