Diego Carlton, a senior in the ECE Department and employee of the Educational Technology Center (ETC), recently won first place in the Math and Computer Science Division at a national undergraduate research conference held on the campus of the University of California at Irvine. The conference, hosted by the California Alliance for Minority Participation (AMP), allowed undergraduate researchers from AMPs all over the United States to present their work. The following text contains Diego's thoughts on attending the conference.
After a year of undergraduate research, attending a summer conference at the University of California at Irvine (UCI) rewarded me with the opportunity to experience an unique collegiate atmosphere and helped strengthen my conviction to pursue graduate studies and continue with research.
When I thought about writing this article, one singular theme surfaced: I participated in a conference, not just any confence, but a conference of fellow researchers.
The title " researcher " is only a title if the work it names remains a work in name only. Every researcher should possess an intense desire to work for discovery's sake. What thrilled me most about this conference was the work presented by other student researchers, my colleagues. Although our work, presented in both oral and poster competitions, was judged by a panel of distinguished educators, the greatest award consisted of reciprocal appreciation and interest in each other's work. Some of the abstract titles of work presented are as follows: Engineering: Electrical System Design for a Microsatellite and Biological Treatment of Airstreams Contaminated with Organic Vapors.
Math/Computer Science: Monte Carlo Simulation of Polymers Applications of Forced Harmonic Oscillators and *Framework for the Development of Interactive Tutorials Using Hypercard*.(ME!)
Physical Science: Kinetics and Mechanisms of the Degradation of Tetraphenylboron on Mineral Surfaces; Rapid Synthesis of Copper Oxide Base Superconductors.
Student presenters represented AMPs from all over the United States,
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from Mississippi to New York City, from Southern Rocky Mountains to Puerto Rico. The variety of backgrounds and US accents astonished me. After the awards dinner, the group of us - 58 in all - partied from 8pm-2am. It was an evening of non-stop dancing - meringue, salsa, house, rap, sixties, alternative, ... you name it. Before this conference, my experience had been that at any university I visit, social clicks form like sweat in a Chicago heat wave. But it was different at the AMP conference. Besides the beautiful weather of California, ugly words just didn't exist: neither did the atrocious humidity of July in Chicago.
An eye opener about UCI is that unlike IIT, all th eoffices, the library, multimedia labs, and general student computer facilities are MacPower PC-based. There is a room with an IBM PowerPC multimedia lab setup in the newer library; however, by demand of the student body, the campus is primarily Macbased. I thought this was interesting since UCI is a large, extremely modern, state university.
In conclusion, I have left out many enjoyable aspects ofthe trip: the hospitality, the campus park and lake in which the entire IIT campus could fit, and the adventures at Balboa Island and Newport Beach (deliciously bronzed models). But, I can't over-emphasize the thrill of participating in undergraduate research conference.
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I will close this article with alist of some character qualities I think are necessary for an undergraduate researcher: Do you like to read? Do you experience sleepless nights because of reading? Do you haunt libraries and bookstores? Do you know John Doffer, the clerk from Crown Bookstore? Can you deliver on less then specific parameters? Can you handle questions without efinite answers? Can you appreciate an "All of the above and that's not all" as an answer. Are you creative? Can you put a square peg into a circle? (Apollo 13) Can you distribute labor? Can you prioritize? Can you go beyond the call of duty? Is your work a matter of deep pride to you? Do you digest criticism? Can you distinguish genuine problems from justifications? Do you have backbone? Are you obsessed with the need to discover?
If you are a sophomore, junior, or senior of African American, Hispanic, American Indian, or Pacific Islander descent and are interested in participating in undergraduate research, contact Cheryl Caplan Coordinator, at 75216 or send e-mail to caplan@charlie.cns.iit.edu or Professor Peter Johnson, Principal Investigator, at 7-3440 (johnson@charlie.cns.iit.edu). Participants will be paid a stipend for their work and must have a minimum GPA of 2.5. Anyone interested in the research going on at ETC for the development of interactive tutorials in Hypercard should send e-mail to physkaragian@charlie.cns.iit.edu or stop by ETC and ask for Diego or Jim.
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