Ohio Wesleyan Student-Researchers to Present Findings at Science Symposium
Ohio Wesleyan junior Alexander Landgraf spent 10 weeks working in the laboratory of chemistry professor Kim Lance, Ph.D., as part of OWU’s Summer Science Research Program. Landgraf collaborated with his professor on research intended to improve water-purification processes. (Photo by Mark Schmitter ’12)
DELAWARE, Ohio – For 10 weeks this summer, 33 Ohio Wesleyan University students immersed themselves in scientific research with faculty mentors both on and off the OWU campus. In addition, seven students and teachers from other institutions came to Ohio Wesleyan to participate in OWU’s intensive Summer Science Research Program.
“The program encourages students to meld classroom knowledge with practical experiences,” said Martin J. Eisenberg, director of the Summer Science Research Program (SSRP) and dean of academic affairs. “The experience allows students to focus and hone their intellectual skills through investigating questions of importance not only to their research group but the wider national and international academic community.”
The student-researchers will share their experiences at noon Sept. 15 during Ohio Wesleyan’s 22nd annual Patricia Belt Conrades Summer Science Research Symposium. The free, hour-long event will be held in the atrium of the Schimmel/Conrades Science Center, 90 S. Henry St., Delaware.
“The SSRP provides students the opportunity to learn how to be a scientist by doing science,” said Eisenberg, Ph.D. “Students spent 10 weeks in the summer working side by side with faculty mentors as the central researcher in the project. They participate in all the steps of the research process, taking ownership of the successes, the failures, and the knowledge gained.”
Research conducted as part of the summer program included ongoing efforts to use “green” chemistry to purify water, efforts to determine the impact of endurance exercise on male fertility, and efforts to understand why cells sometimes produce potentially harmful proteins that should be suppressed automatically.
Daniel F. Fink, a 1998 Ohio Wesleyan graduate and current part-time OWU professor, said participating as a student in the Summer Science Research Program helped to prepare him for his future.
“My research experience as an undergrad at OWU not only helped me get into graduate school, it helped me succeed there,” said Fink, Ph.D., who teaches courses in zoology, chemistry, and physics. “I knew how to work, how to question, and how to grind through adversity. … [N]ow when I get to consult students as they work to learn how to find answers to the right types of questions and how to share their new knowledge with others, I hope that I can impart some aspect of the grandeur of the endeavor that is scientific research.”
Learn more about Ohio Wesleyan’s Summer Science Research Program and read research abstracts at https://www.owu.edu/about/offices-services/academic-affairs/programs/summer-science-research-program/. Learn more about majoring in the sciences at OWU at https://www.owu.edu/academics/#majors-minors.
Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private, coed university offers more than 90 undergraduate majors, minors, and concentrations, and competes in 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Ohio Wesleyan combines a challenging, internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities to connect classroom theory with real-world practice. OWU’s 1,850 students represent 42 states and 37 countries. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included in the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “best colleges” lists. Learn more at www.owu.edu.