The Natural Sciences department’s annual Open Research Lab Day on October 2 gave undergraduate students an opportunity to explore the research taking place in the department and discover ways to get involved.
The event’s organizer, Professor Michael Tobin, kicked off Research Day by moderating a panel of professors—Department Chair Rachna Sadana, Associate Professor Ken Johnson, Associate Professor Jacob Theruvathu, and Assistant Professor Erik Stricker—and senior Aimalohi Edeghere.
The conversation helped students better understand how participating in research can complement their academic experience and open pathways for further exploration. There, professors also advised students to think strategically about how they can secure opportunities by focusing on what they can personally contribute to a lab. As Sadana put it, the relationship between faculty and students in a lab should ultimately be symbiotic.
Alongside the technical skills required to perform experiments, panelists emphasized the importance of being adaptable. “Of all the things you learn, it’s essential to know how to problem solve,” said Stricker.
One of the strongest themes throughout the panel was how student research develops character. From pushing past potential discomfort in reaching out to faculty, to learning how to pitch oneself, to handling disappointment as experiments fail to yield promising results, and eventually networking at conferences, a student will inevitably be pushed outside their comfort zones. Yet panelists emphasized that these experiences can be rewarding both professionally and personally.
Reflecting on her own experiences, Edeghere said that the process of joining and working in a lab may be intimidating, but that, “Anything worth doing is worth doing while terrified.” However, she added, opportunities like conferences are “great for your social life. They may be a little daunting at first, but people come up to you and it’s a lot of chatting.”
Following the panel, students had the opportunity to tour 16 research labs across all Natural Sciences disciplines and to engage in demos and activities. Visiting the labs gave students a chance to interact with research faculty, hear about specific research projects, and take a closer look at the instruments and lab equipment that support scientific discovery at UHD.
By bringing students and faculty together, Open Research Lab Day highlighted the range of research opportunities available to undergraduates while giving students a chance to envision themselves as active participants in the Natural Science’s research community.