Journal of Undergraduate Research

John S.k. Kauwe, Biology Project Justification and Overview Successful enrollment in and completion of graduate programs requires a constellation of skills. Students must be prepared to plan and execute experiments, present their findings both verbally and in manuscript form and interact effectively with senior scientists in the field of their choice. In this MEG I […]

Richard Gill, Biology Evaluation of how well the academic objectives of the proposal were met The central aim of this proposal is to provide opportunities for students from diverse academic backgrounds to work collaboratively on a number of federally funded environmental change experiments across four of Utah’s ecosystems—Mojave Desert, Great Basin Shrub Steppe, Subalpine Tall […]

Professor Mark C Belk, Biology How well were academic objectives of the proposal met? The proposal was to compare life history characteristics and the cost of reproduction tradeoff among populations of a burying beetle (Nicrophorus orbicollis). We conducted two major experiments with the MEG funding directed toward this goal. Both experiments required that we collect […]

Mark C Belk, Professor of Biology How well were academic objectives of the proposal met? The proposal was to compare life history characteristics and the cost of reproduction tradeoff among populations of a burying beetle (Nicrophorus orbicollis). We conducted two major experiments with the MEG funding directed toward this goal. Both experiments required that we […]

Richard Gill, Biology Background and Importance The National Research Council, in its report on how people learn, identified key differences between novices and experts (Bransford et al. 2000; Donovan and Bransford 2005). One of the grand challenges of education is to shepherd students through the process of becoming experts. Mentored research experiences are a critical […]

Dr. Clinton Whipple, Department of Biology Progress towards research objectives Progress has been achieved in most of the five research objectives. In some cases we have modified our original aims in the light of what can be reasonably expected of inexperienced undergraduates. Details of each aim follow: AIM 1 Identify novel mutants defective in bract […]

Dr. Mark Belk, Department of Biology How well were academic objectives of the proposal met The proposal was to conduct a large-scale mark-recapture project on a livebearing fish in Utah lake to evaluate size and sex-specific mortality rates of this population. The experiment was begun in mid- summer by marking over 1000 individual mosquitofish. All […]

Dr. Michael Whiting, Department of Biology Funding was received from the BYU ORCA mentorship program during 2011 to support undergraduates performing research in my lab, under the mentorship of postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, and myself. During 2011, this funding provided direct support for 6 undergraduates who are in various stages of completing research projects. The […]

Dr. Jack Sites, Department of Biology This award provided $20,000 to support of molecular phylogenetic work on a number of projects, including those related to my long-term focus on the “deep history” relationships of squamate reptiles (lizards and snakes), and the second more recent emphasis on phylogeographic (“shallow history”) studies of frogs and lizards. This […]

Dr. John Kauwe, Department of Biology Project Justification and Overview Successful enrollment in and completion of graduate programs requires a constellation of skills. Students must be prepared to plan and execute experiments, present their findings both verbally and in manuscript form and interact effectively with senior scientists in the field of their choice. In this […]