Seventh Annual Student Research & Creative Opportunities Open House set Aug. 13

The seventh annual Student Research & Creative Opportunities Open House at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) will be held on Monday, Aug. 13, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Charger Union.

UAH's Office of Academic Affairs is sponsoring the event as part of the campuswide UAH Week of Welcome, which will be Aug. 11-18. Students in all majors are encouraged to attend.

"As a top research university, UAH offers its students opportunities to get actively involved in research and creative projects during their undergraduate academic careers," says David Cook, director of undergraduate research. "The Open House is a great opportunity to meet and speak with many of the faculty, research staff, and students involved in undergraduate projects."

I've seen many students find their passions through research.

This event is well-attended and includes hands-on and close-up looks at a wide variety of projects. Every college will be represented, and several departments, research centers, and academic student clubs will be on hand to talk about how students can get involved beyond the classroom.

"We hold this event to celebrate our rich research culture, which includes student researchers, to inform our students of the opportunities to become involved, and to demonstrate the real benefits they can get from doing so," says Cook. "But while the Open House allows students to learn more about how to get involved, it's also a chance for everyone to discover the many different kinds of research we do here, all at one event."

Cook calls the amount of research going on at UAH "amazing" and says that undergraduate students are often surprised when they discover that they can get involved. Recent projects include designing and building an electromagnetic mass accelerator, studying the effectiveness of a mobile phone app as a stress management intervention in university employees, investigating innovative catalytic ozonation for water treatment and reuse, studying the high-pressure rare gas microplasma characterization of high-energy lasers, creating an inspiring laboratory physics curriculum, mapping indigenous resource use in the Pacific Northwest, and designing a hospital re-admissions reduction program. "These are only to mention a few," he says. "We're really proud of the great things our undergraduates do."

He adds that many students find it beneficial to get immersed in the creative aspects of a research or creative project as part of their overall learning. The work helps make the student’s educational experience more vivid and practical. "I've seen many students find their passions through research. They begin to see how their studies translate into real-life situations, and it starts to make sense," Cook says. "As a result, they leave UAH well-prepared for graduate school and the workforce because of the practical experiences they've gained."

---