When mild tremors rocked North Texas over the summer, junior Ashley Howe moved to the frontline of seismology research that could shape the future of urban oil and gas drilling.
The earth sciences major worked as an undergraduate research assistant for Professor Brian Stump, the Claude C. Albritton Jr. Chair in Geological Sciences in Dedman College. She helped Stump and Chris Hayward, geophysics projects research director, deploy portable seismographs in affected Dallas-area and Cleburne, Texas, locations.
Howe, who is now helping Stump’s team write two papers for submission to scientific journals, views the experience as a “launching pad for graduate research,” she says.
“Ashley’s making primary observations that still will be referred to in 10 years,” Hayward says. “She’s making a lasting contribution as an undergraduate.”
Creative Spirit
“Research is central to SMU’s academic mission and contributes directly to its stature among universities,” says James E. Quick, associate vice president for research and dean of graduate studies and a professor in the Huffington Department of Earth Sciences, Dedman College. “We should attempt to solve major societal problems, such as energy sustainability, and address questions that capture the public imagination, such as the origin of the cosmos. In these efforts, it is essential that we engage our undergraduates, to capture their creative spirit and draw them into the excitement of discovery through direct participation in research.”
The University’s Undergraduate Research Assistant (URA) program, which extends to all disciplines, allows faculty to connect students to ongoing research. The University Financial Aid office covers 50 percent of each salary, with the other half paid by the participating academic department. Students in the program earned a total of $127,526 in academic year 2008-09 (including summer).
The hiring process continues through the fall semester, according to Meredith Dawson, student employment coordinator. As of mid-October, 20 URAs were on the job. In 2008-09, 61 undergraduate research assistants worked in 11 departments, including 16 in chemistry, 10 in anthropology, nine in physics, and six in environmental and civil engineering.
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