Issues in Education
Issues in Education
Securing O.R. 's future through undergraduate research
By Susan E. Martonosi
Course scheduling, vaccine stockpiling and mass prophylaxis, malaria prevention in Africa. What do these topics have in common? These were the research topics presented by six undergraduates during the Undergraduate Research Showcase at the recent INFORMS annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. The showcase, sponsored by INFORM-ED, highlighted the impressive modeling and analysis done by some of our undergraduate students (O.R., I.E. and math majors) on important problems. In this article, I hope to demonstrate the critical role undergraduate research can play in shaping the future of our profession by addressing some "what 's," "why 's" and "how 's" of undergraduate research.
What is "undergraduate research"?
According to the Council on Undergraduate Research, it is "an inquiry or investigation conducted by an undergraduate student that makes an original intellectual or creative contribution to the discipline" [1]. In an O.R. context, this includes both applied and theoretical research, from emergency response to approximation algorithms. The goal of undergraduate research is inquiry-based learning conducted closely with a faculty member.
Three reasons why operations researchers should conduct research with undergraduates:
Reason 1: It helps foster the O.R. pipeline. INFORMS President Cynthia Barnhart expressed in the December 2007 issue of OR/MS Today that "reaching out" to students at all levels is an important component of marketing our profession [2]. Involving undergraduates in O.R. research would contribute to this effort in a couple ways.
First, our broadly applicable and mathematically sophisticated research projects can excite many young engineers and mathematicians. Cesar Gutierrez, a Showcase participant who presented his Georgia Tech senior project on malaria prevention in Swaziland, found it satisfying to do research that could "help
Securing O.R. 's future through undergraduate research
By Susan E. Martonosi
Course scheduling, vaccine stockpiling and mass prophylaxis, malaria prevention in Africa. What do these topics have in common? These were the research topics presented by six undergraduates during the Undergraduate Research Showcase at the recent INFORMS annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. The showcase, sponsored by INFORM-ED, highlighted the impressive modeling and analysis done by some of our undergraduate students (O.R., I.E. and math majors) on important problems. In this article, I hope to demonstrate the critical role undergraduate research can play in shaping the future of our profession by addressing some "what 's," "why 's" and "how 's" of undergraduate research.
What is "undergraduate research"?
According to the Council on Undergraduate Research, it is "an inquiry or investigation conducted by an undergraduate student that makes an original intellectual or creative contribution to the discipline" [1]. In an O.R. context, this includes both applied and theoretical research, from emergency response to approximation algorithms. The goal of undergraduate research is inquiry-based learning conducted closely with a faculty member.
Three reasons why operations researchers should conduct research with undergraduates:
Reason 1: It helps foster the O.R. pipeline. INFORMS President Cynthia Barnhart expressed in the December 2007 issue of OR/MS Today that "reaching out" to students at all levels is an important component of marketing our profession [2]. Involving undergraduates in O.R. research would contribute to this effort in a couple ways.
First, our broadly applicable and mathematically sophisticated research projects can excite many young engineers and mathematicians. Cesar Gutierrez, a Showcase participant who presented his Georgia Tech senior project on malaria prevention in Swaziland, found it satisfying to do research that could "help
References: 1. Council on Undergraduate Research, 2008, "About CUR," www.cur.org/about.html, cited Oct. 25, 2008. 2. Horner, Peter, 2007, "Q&A: Doing Good with Good O.R.," OR/MS Today, December 2007. 3. National Conferences on Undergraduate Research, 2008, "Joint Statement of Principles in Support of Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities," www.ncur.org/ugresearch.htm, cited Oct. 25, 2008. 4. National Science Foundation, 2006, "Research in Undergraduate Institutions Program Announcement," NSF 00-144, www.nsf.gov/pubs/2000/nsf00144/nsf00144.pdf, cited Oct. 25, 2008. 5. Council on Undergraduate Research, 2008, Undergraduate Journals and Publicationshttp, www.cur.org/ugjournal.html, cited Oct. 26, 2008. 6. OR/MS Tomorrow, 2008, "OR/MS Tomorrow Paper Competition," http://ormstomorrow.informs.org/papercomp.php, cited Oct. 26, 2008. 7. American Mathematical Society, "2009 Joint Mathematics Meetings - MAA Sessions for Students," www.ams.org/amsmtgs/2110_maasessstud.html, cited: Oct. 26, 2008. 8. Mathematical Association of America, 2008, "Upcoming Conferences," www.maa.org/rumc/upcoming.html, cited Oct. 26, 2008. 9. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, 2008, "Rose-Hulman Undergraduate Mathematics Conference," www.rose-hulman.edu/mathconf/, cited: Oct. 26, 2008