Purdue undergraduate researchers begin summer projects
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Undergraduate students from Purdue University and other universities around the nation will spend the summer on the West Lafayette campus working on research projects that have practical applications to everyday life.The research projects are part of the two-month Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships, or SURF, that allow students to work directly with Purdue faculty researchers. The program started on May 22 and wraps up Aug. 4.
"We will have 177 students in this year's fellowship program," said Jay Gore, associate dean for the Purdue College of Engineering and founder of SURF. "Some of the goals of the project include introducing undergraduate students to the concept of learning through discovery and to give them the opportunity of working alongside master's and doctoral students as well as university professors."
Students in the summer program come from Purdue, University of Notre Dame, Alabama A&M, Rutgers, California State University, Florida A&M, University of Illinois, University of Wisconsin, Edward Walters College and Norfolk State University.
Some of the research projects include:
• Studying new ways to transform coal into liquid fuels in the School of Chemical Engineering.
• Developing instructional technology in first-year physics education in the Department of Physics.
• Finding ways to increase the efficiency of solar cells in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
• Designing and testing radio-frequency antennas in the School of Mechanical Engineering.
• Determining the effect of distillers' grain processing on ethanol fuel production in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering.
• Developing steel-FRP hybrid bridge decks in the School of Civil Engineering.
The SURF program was founded in 2003 through a gift from Purdue alumnus Patrick Wang. It was expanded through the sponsorship of Intel Foundation, National Science Foundation, DaimlerChrysler Corp., Purdue College of Engineering Office of Research and Entrepreneurship and departments within the College of Engineering and College of Science. This year's corporate sponsors are Intel, DaimlerChrysler and Fluor Corp.
Students in the program receive a $1,000 per month stipend and attend weekly professional-development seminars.
Writer: Cynthia Sequin, (765) 494-4192, csequin@purdue.edu
Source: Jay Gore, (765) 494-1452, gore@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
Note to Journalists: Specific information on each of the research projects and contact information of students involved is available by contacting Cynthia Sequin at (765) 494-4192, csequin@purdue.edu
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