Summer program introduces students to scientific research

Published: August 14, 2024

Author: Dave Bell

For many students, their previous academic experience has centered around a model of lectures and testing to assess their progress.

But for eight Greenville University math and science students, their participation in the Summer Research Experience introduced them to the world of scientific research. In that field, success is measured not by test scores but by using accepted lab techniques to discover new knowledge.

“Research is a new model for them,” said Scott Pattenaude, assistant professor of chemistry at GU. “What they’re doing in the lab is generating new knowledge. We’re excited about those findings, but we also value seeing the students take ownership of a project and make decisions about it.

“Further, the experience gives them a realistic glimpse of what graduate school will be like,” Pattenaude said. “It helps them determine if a research-centric path is what they want to do.”

This summer, three groups participated in the six-week research program. Their projects were:

1) Exploring how a variety of metals interact with specific amino acids. Students: Faye Jones, Madison Carter, and Katie Peppler. Adviser: Scott Pattenaude, assistant professor of chemistry.

2) Studying (and later synthesizing) bio-hydrogels, which are used in medical applications to deliver medicines, dress wounds, and promote tissue growth. Students: Quaid Schlanser, Tyler Heldt, and Austin Moses. Adviser: Fengdan (Sophena) Zhao, assistant professor of chemistry.

3) Using computer algorithms to help predict cancer cases. Students: Duyen Nguyen, and Marshal Wiegand. Adviser: Gang Wang, assistant professor of physics.

Members of each group will summarize their findings by creating a poster. Those posters will be displayed in Snyder Hall and participating students will be available to answer questions during Homecoming Week in October.

Even though the summer research program often presented new challenges, the students said the experience was beneficial.

“We applied what we’d learned in class to what we encountered in the lab,” said Schlanser. “Sometimes the lab results were what we anticipated, sometimes they weren’t. We had to keep at it until we had consistent results.”

Heldt added: “This experience helped my confidence in the lab. In research, good lab techniques are vital. Then, when things didn’t go as anticipated, we had to talk it through as a team to find a solution.”