Web site promotes undergraduate research

 Two Pitt faculty members are in the process of creating a web site dedicated to undergraduate research opportunities.  “Research opportunities for undergraduates enable students to apply what they have learned in the classroom to real-life situations and to get uniquely trained,” said Lynne Hunter, Biological Sciences, who with Joe Grabowski, Chemistry, initiated web site construction, assisted by comments from a small steering committee.

      “Learning opportunities abound outside the classroom in the natural sciences and other areas.  The goal of this site is to give undergraduates the ability to find out about all the opportunities that present themselves in any discipline,” Hunter said.  These opportunities include internships, fellowships and competitive awards.  Hunter said the site also will tout and promote undergraduate researchers who have been recognized nationally and internationally. “One the strengths of receiving your undergraduate education at Pitt,” Grabowski noted, “is the astonishing number of opportunities to be involved in state-of-the-art research, and to work closely with world renowned faculty, highly talented post-docs, strongly motivated graduate students, and eager classmates.  Yet these opportunities are largely known only inside a given department.”  Hunter and Grabowski note that work on the site is in its very early stages and encourage submission of information for the site to be emailed to them via lhunter@pitt.edu.

      Work on the site has proceeded through support from the College of Arts and Sciences’ Associate Dean Beverly Harris-Schenz and Vice Provost for Research George Klinzing.  Prof. Ken Jordan, Chemistry, played a catalytic role in getting the project off the ground, Grabowski pointed out.