In a 1897 example of learning by doing, future president William S. Clark worked to clear a new campus of brambles and stumps.He was making way for the farmers, mechanics, experimenters, and compulsive doers who would people the Massachusetts Agricultural College.

 

The Beckman Scholars Begin Their Research Careers

In the same grand tradition of hands-on education pioneered by the Morrill Land-Grant Act, hands-on research provides students with the tools and knowledge to comprehend complex material learned in class. As Associate Professor of Biology Elizabeth Connor says, "It is the way students can make the transition from reading a collected text of facts to actually carrying out the process in which truth is cut open and dissected." But how can undergraduates who haven't been exposed to the process of research understand how it's done? Connor often has lab students ask her how an experiment is supposed to turn out. "I don't know," Connor answers. "That's why it's called an experiment."

Enter the Beckman Scholars Program. The summer of 1999 brings six of our best and brightest honors students from the departments of Biology, Chemistry, and Biochemistry into a new undergraduate research program funded by the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation. The Foundation's purpose for making these grants is to "help stimulate, encourage, and support research activities by exceptionally talented undergraduate students." UMass is one of 16 elite institutions selected (out of 40 who were invited to submit full proposals of the initial 107 who applied), and has been awarded $88,000 for the Beckman Scholars Program. Normally, four scholars are funded, but another grant was made to provide this opportunity for a student transferring from a community college. By also using University resources and other grant money we were able to expand the program to six and to include support for an additional academic year. Our goal for these Scholars, says Connor, the UMass coordinator for the program, is "to develop leaders in scientific research and education."

During the spring of 1999, invitations went out to 50 sophomore honors students in biology, chemistry, and biochemistry. Those selected would receive a total of $18,200 each, of which $14,600 is from Beckman funds, to do full-time research for two summers and two academic years. The non-monetary benefits add up too: a spot in a professor's lab group; research related to the student's scholarly passions; workshops and seminars dealing with lab technique and the tools needed for doing journal articles, grant proposals, and presentations; and a final symposium with other Beckman Scholars from across the country. Best of all, the Beckman Scholars Program promises a mentor to guide each scholar through the shoals of career development, networking, and the ethical dilemmas that accompany research.

The six were selected after an intensive application process. The main criteria were academic achievement, interest in research, communications skills, good recommendations, and potential both as a researcher and a scholar. "It's so important to be able to communicate and interact in a lab group and be able to talk about your research." says Connor. "We really looked at people who had shown an interest in research early on and had shown the initiative to get in a lab already, or to arrange some kind of laboratory connection. Some of these kids are truly remarkable people. They were clearly dedicated. Research was something that lit them on fire."