Nineteen Saint Michael’s College students were awarded $3,700 each, from the college to enable them to carry out individual research projects with their professors over the summer. The grants totaling some $70,300, with living allowance on top of that, are titled Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA) Research Fellowships. Recipients were determined through a competitive process and were awarded by the Saint Michael's College Undergraduate Research Committee.
16 of the 19 grants were funded by the VPAA fund, and three by the Alumni Fund for Undergraduate Research, a fund established in 2009 by Shelia and Mark Nelson (Saint Michael’s 1991 graduate) to promote faculty-mentored student research.
Subjects ranged from lab science to fiction writing, from such topics as using quasars to visualize distant galaxies to the impact of ‘fracking’ on agriculture, from the literary impact of the King James Bible on John Milton to the impact of nicotine on coping styles, from sediment effect on Vermont streams to perceptions of health care in Vermont’s refugee community.
‘I enthusiastically agree with the committee in its judgment of the quality of the proposals,’ said Dr. Karen Talentino, vice president for academic affairs, in announcing the grants.
The student researchers will also be able to apply for funds to travel to a conference to present their research, and for supplies they may need for their work. All students will participate in training in the responsible conduct of research, prior to beginning their projects. This is required of Saint Michael’s undergraduate and graduate students participating in paid research or receiving academic credit for research.
Saint Michael's College. 3.13.2012.