Students can check out how to get involved in UAH research

Students view the wide world of UAH research at the 2012 Research Open House. This year’s event is even bigger and better.
David Cook / UAH

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (Aug. 15, 2013) - Want to add some hands-on learning to your student experience at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH)?

Then come to the Student Research Open House on Monday, Aug. 19, being held from 1-4 p.m. in the Von Braun Research Hall. It's sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) of as part of the campus-wide UAH Week of Welcome Aug. 16-24. Students in all majors are encouraged to come.

One of the greatest opportunities UAH offers is the chance for students from any major to get actively involved in research from the beginning of their academic career, said David Cook, OVPR student research program coordinator.

"The Student Research Open House gives students a chance to find out what research opportunities they can become involved with while a student at UAH," Cook said. "It's also a chance for everyone to discover the broad scope of the various kinds of research we do here, all at one event."

This second-annual event will host 25 groups. Every college will be represented, as well as most of UAH's research centers and many research-oriented student clubs.

Also on hand will be the UAH Moonbuggy, the ChargerSat 1 prototype, helicopter simulators, a dart concept rocket, a Nao robot demonstration and unmanned aerial vehicles.

"It's amazing the amount of research going on in every department at UAH, and it's surprising to students when they discover that they can get involved," Cook said. "Our undergraduates are doing things like documenting historic sites in Huntsville, biomass estimation field studies in Panama, archeological digs on Redstone Arsenal and designing, building and testing a cube satellite that will actually fly in space."

Many students find it beneficial to get immersed in the creativeness of a research project as part of their overall learning process, he said. The research work can help make the educational experience more vivid.

"Some students learn better when they have an opportunity to apply what they hear in lectures or read in a textbook," Cook said. "When you put those students in a research project, they just take off. I've seen many students leave UAH well prepared for graduate school and the workforce because of their involvement in research. That's why we have this event, to inform our students of the opportunities to become involved in research and the real benefits they can get from doing so."