Hope College holds more grants for summer student research from the National Science Foundation's "Research Experiences for Undergraduates" (NSF-REU) program than any other liberal arts college in the country.
Hope College holds more grants for summer student research from the National Science Foundation's "Research Experiences for Undergraduates" (NSF-REU) program than any other liberal arts college in the country.
Hope holds a total of five of the awards for the
summer: in biology, chemistry, computer science,
mathematics, and physics and engineering. It is the ninth
consecutive year that at least four Hope departments have
had NSF-REU support.
Nationwide, only 11 other institutions, all of
which are universities, hold at least as many of the grants
as Hope, and of those only five universities hold more.
Other than Hope, the only recipients of three or more of the
grants are universities or research institutions.
More than 200 institutions, including not only
colleges and universities but also museums and independent
research organizations, hold NSF-REU grants this year.
Through Hope's grants, undergraduate students from
both Hope and elsewhere will conduct research on a full-time
basis with Hope faculty members for eight to 10 weeks this
summer, and will receive stipends as well as support for
housing, travel and other expenses. They will join students
whose summer research at Hope is supported in other ways.
The department of biology's grant is supporting 10
students working with nine faculty members for 10 weeks.
Some of the projects include the regulation of enzyme
production in yeast, the effects of hormones on water
balance and mammary gland development, the effect of
hybridization on species definition in plants and the role
of birds in the spread of swimmer's itch. The three-year,
$156,000 grant is being administered by Dr. Virginia
McDonough, who is an assistant professor of biology, and by
Dr. Christopher Barney, who is professor of biology and
chair of the department.
The department of chemistry's grant is supporting eight
students working among 11 faculty for up to 10 weeks. The
research projects include PIXE (Particle-Induced X-ray
Emission) analysis of environmental samples, synthesis of
polymers and studies of atmospheric compounds. The three-
year, $139,119 grant is being administered by Dr. Joanne
Stewart, professor of chemistry.
The department of computer science's grant is
supporting eight students working with four faculty for 10
weeks. The five projects include "Supporting Classroom
Interaction Using Handheld Computers," "Enabling Remote
Displays on Handheld Computers with Jini," "Smart(?) Lego
Robots" and "Comparing Methods for Timetable Construction
and Student Course Scheduling." The three-year, $146,700
grant is being administered by Dr. Herbert Dershem,
professor of computer science and chair of the department,
and Dr. Michael Jipping, associate professor of computer
science.
The department of mathematics's grant is
supporting six students working with two faculty members for
eight weeks. The projects include "Modeling Population
Dynamics with Difference Equations" and "Generating One-
dimensional Rings." The four-year, $120,000 grant is being
administered by Dr. Timothy Pennings, associate professor of
mathematics and chair of the department.
The department of physics and engineering's grant
is supporting eight students working with seven faculty for
10 weeks. The seven projects include "Biomechanical Studies
of Balance Recovery in the Elderly," "Nuclear Reaction
Studies with Radioactive Particle Beams," "Development of
Laboratory Projects for Non-Engineers" and "Enhancing
Commercial Aircraft Survivability." The two-year, $90,251
grant is being administered by Dr. Peter Jolivette,
professor of physics.