Hundreds of University of Colorado at Boulder undergraduates are pursuing research and creative projects with faculty in 2005, ranging from studies on the genetics of addiction to producing an educational video on child trafficking in Nepal.
As part of the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, or UROP, junior Priyanka Thummalapally is working with Assistant Professor Marissa Ehringer of the Institute for Behavioral Genetics on a study testing the effects of running on a strain of mice that prefers to drink alcohol more than water.
The mice under study have running wheels in their cages and access to both alcohol and water, Thummalapally said. The researchers have found that when the mice are allowed unlimited use of the running wheel, they tend to drink less alcohol than they normally do, suggesting human alcoholics may benefit in their recoveries by including exercise as a part of their treatment, she said.
Thummalapally, who works about eight to 10 hours a week in the lab, will earn a UROP stipend of $2,000 during the 2005-06 school year for her research efforts with Ehringer. "I want to go to medical school, and doing research in a laboratory situation like this helps prepare me," she said. "UROP is helping me to achieve my goals."
According to Ehringer, UROP does not just benefit students. "For a faculty member early in her career like me who does not yet have a lot of extramural funding, having motivated undergraduates working with me on research is beneficial," she said. "They learn how the process of science works, and it's helpful to my research."
Larry Boehm, assistant director of CU-Boulder's Special Undergraduate Enrichment Programs, said the UROP program has provided more than $5 million to almost 6,000 students since it began in 1986. Standard grants to qualifying undergraduates are for up to $1,200 a semester and the work may be related to the research of a faculty member or designed by students, he said.
Senior Ken Amarit is working with Film Studies Program Assistant Professor Kathleen Man, who recently produced a 50-minute feature documentary film on child trafficking in Nepal titled "Sita, a Girl from Jambu." Based on the true story of a Nepalese girl who is kidnapped and sold into a brothel, the film is expected to debut in the coming months at one or more film festivals in North America, Europe or Asia.
"The film is very compelling, which is why I'm glad to be involved in this project," said Amarit, who is helping to produce an educational video about the global sex trade. He and three other UROP students in film studies also are creating a Web site and DVD for the project that will feature the video as well as information and photos about children who have been forced into slavery in India and elsewhere in the world.
"This is a great opportunity for me," said Amarit, an aspiring film producer who directed "The Blackout Adventure," which tied for top honors in the Shoot Out Boulder filmmaking competition held in October. "This project has been a lot of hard work, but child trafficking is an important issue and we want to raise awareness. And this experience will definitely help me down the road when I have my own career."
Man said the UROP students have shown a lot of creativity and initiative on the project. "The students have been great, and in the end I think all of us will have produced something we are proud of. I love the whole process and the student involvement," she said.
"Although the stipends are important, we feel that the greatest benefit of UROP is the hands-on experience students acquire," said Boehm. "The professional-level work that these undergraduates are doing with faculty enables them to distinguish themselves when applying to graduate programs or for jobs."
Other UROP projects undertaken by students in 2005 include the construction of a hybrid-fuel rocket, studies on how some stream pollutants "feminize" newborn fish, measurements of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere and a seminar on writing literature for minority children, Boehm said.