• Undergraduate Research Center
• Summer Opportunities
• Faculty Sponsored Research

Faculty Sponsored Research

Interested students should contact faculty members directly for information. This page will be updated as information becomes available. Students selected for these projects are considered part of the Summer Research Program, are eligible for subsidized housing and other support, and are expected to participate in the activities of the program, especially the Research Ethics session and the End of Summer Conference. Opportunities will need to be posted by February 13^th.

- Prof. Dennis Eggleston can support one or two students to help with his research on plasma transport, a project funded by the Department of Energy and the NSF. Contact Prof. Eggleston, Physics Dept.

- Prof. George Schmiedeshoff may be able to support one or two summer students to participate in his NSF-funded project "Quantum criticality in rare-earth and actinide-based intermetallics" studying the thermodynamic and transport properties of novel materials at low temperatures and in high magnetic fields. Interested students should contact Prof. Schmiedeshoff, Physics Dept.

- Dr. Andrew Shtulman will supervise 3 to 4 students with a background in Psychology or Cognitive Science on an NSF-sponsored investigation of the causes and consequences of conceptual change, or knowledge restructuring at the level of individual concepts. Research questions include how prior knowledge constrains learning, how cultural input constrains learning, and how conceptual understanding constrains both communication and problem solving. Our approach to answering these questions will be fundamentally interdisciplinary in nature, combining methods from cognitive, developmental, and educational psychology.Interested students should contact Prof. Shtulman, Psychology Dept.

- Of drugs and viruses: Prof. Andrew K. Udit may support two students working on projects involving 1) developing biocatalysts for pharmaceutical applications using cytochrome P450; and 2) generating heparin synthetics using viruses. Interested students should contact Prof. Udit, Chemistry Dept.

- A grant from the Chemistry Division of the National Science Foundation, "Surface & Analytical Chemistry to Elucidate Fundamental Biofilm Properties and Mechanisms of Biofilm Control" will support one or two students. Contact Prof. Eileen Spain, Chemistry Dept.

- Prof. Michael Hill will support several students for his research in electrochemistry.  Interested students should contact Prof. Hill, Chemistry Dept.

- UEPI will support several interns who will work with community-based non-profits on housing issues such as affordability, homelessness, community development, and improvement of conditions in low-income neighborhoods. Interns will work with professional staff at a variety of local organizations. Details are available at http://www.oxy.edu/urban-environmental-policy/jobs-internships/summer-affordable-housing-community-development or contact Prof. Peter Dreier, UEPI.

- Prof. Dan Snowden-Ifft can support up to 2 students to help with his search for dark matter in the galaxy, an NSF funded project. Contact Prof. Snowden-Ifft, Physics Dept.

- Dr. Roberta Pollock and Dr. Karen Molinder have an opening for one undergraduate student in their lab this summer. The student will be participating in our ongoing study of the immune response to Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis in horses and mice, and our work towards developing a vaccine for the disease, pigeon fever, caused by this bacterium. Our approach utilizes a variety of immunological, biochemical, and molecular approaches. Contact Prof. Pollock or Prof. Molinder, Biology Dept.

- Prof. Kirsten Wandschneider will support a student to help with her project on the historical origins of mortgage credit, funded by the Institute for New Economic Thinking. Students should have a background in economics and history and be interested in testing modern economic theories using historical sources. Contact Prof. Wandschneider, Economics Dept.

- Dr. John McCormack can support 1-2 undergraduate students in research on evolutionary history of birds and reptiles in the Mexican highlands. Duties will include genetic analysis with DNA in the laboratory, field work, and prepping bird skins for the museum. Contact Prof. McCormack, Biology Dept.

- The ECLS department announces the first annual Argonaut summer research grant for a student in creative writing. Those interested should submit an application directly to the ECLS department (not to the URC) and should submit a project proposal including background and future plans concerning creative writing (2 double-spaced pages, Times New Roman, single-spaced), a letter of faculty support, and a writing sample (at least 5 pages of prose; 10 poems) to Prof. Martha Ronk by February 14; final decisions will be made by the ECLS department.