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Summer Undergraduate Research Group Experience

Information for students

The Summer Undergraduate Research Group Experience (SURGE) is an eight-week summer research experience designed to engage undergraduate students in faculty-mentored research during the summer months. The program features group research projects of up to eight students led by one or two faculty mentors. These projects offer students a collaborative research experience based around a central theme, problem, or question. Faculty use the first week as an academic orientation, the second week to help the students develop individual or team components of the larger project, and the remaining weeks carrying out the project.

Compensation

All accepted undergraduate student participants will be provided with the following:

  • A $4000 stipend for full-time summer participation (roughly 33 hours per week for 8 weeks at $500 per week)**
  • On-campus housing (if requested)
  • A food stipend of $75 per week

**SURGE stipends are paid through the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships. Students who are near or at their financial aid ceiling (up to budget) may not take summer classes if they want to receive full payment for participation in the SURGE program. Accepting summer stipends may decrease the amount of aid you are offered in the subsequent school year. Please contact OneStop to discuss your individual situation.

Sample Schedule:

  • Proposed dates: June 6 – July 31, 2022
  • Week 1: Orientation & Skills Intensive
  • Week 2: Individual Research Planning (for each team member)
  • Week 3: Skill Development
  • Week 4-7: Research
  • Week 8: Finalize Project & Preparing Posters for Discovery Day

Requirements:

  • Accepted students must participate for the entire eight weeks of the program.
  • Priority is given to UT LEAD students, though applications will be considered from non-UT LEAD students.
  • Students graduating in May or August 2022 are not eligible.
  • Accepted students are required to register for the UT Summer Scholars Program.
  • All participants are required to present their research at Discovery Day, UT’s fall celebration of research and creative achievement.

Please review the projects below, and APPLY HERE: SURGE 2022 Application

The SURGE 2022 application period has closed.

Projects for 2022

Faculty:

  • Sharon Jean-Phillippe, Herbert College of Agriculture, Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries
  • Natalie Bumgarner, Herbert College of Agriculture, Plant Science
  • Perceval Assogba, Herbert College of Agriculture, Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries

Project Description:

The number of minorities currently entering agriculture and natural resource career paths is insufficient to support increased representation in these disciplines. Opportunities to develop additional pathways for future professionals, scientists, and practitioners in schools of agriculture and natural resources will heavily depend upon making connections with non-traditional students. This project will focus on providing opportunities for mentoring and shadowing professionals in the fields of forestry (urban forestry) and plant science (horticulture production), by participating in applied research carried out using an agroforestry model. In addition, students will be able to develop and facilitate community outreach activities with local residents. The proposed undergraduate research will help increase student’s awareness of agricultural sciences and natural resources -STEM disciplines by connecting students with field research experiences, providing opportunities for mentoring, shadowing, organizing summer programming activities that promote community engagement.

Position Description:

Exploring Sustainable Urban to Rural Practices (E-SURP) undergraduate research experience is designed to introduce students to agriculture food production systems in both urban and rural settings. Research projects will be focused on different methods of food production and students will be engaged in sharing information about food production and agriculture with residents in historically underserved communities in Knoxville.

Tasks for student undergraduate research will include:

  • Engage and actively participate in agricultural and natural resource production site visits and orientation, specifically urban food forest.
  • Establish, manage, and maintain agroforestry food production trial plots at the KBGA and Western Heights Community. All trials will be designed to provide information for small-scale food producers across a rural to urban gradient. Planned trials include small-scale production research in native fruit and nut tree plantings, herbal and medicinal plantings, and urban and rural vegetable plantings.
  • Harvest and evaluate plots to support data collection from these trials which will include written, photographic, and digital video records.
  • Implementation and analyses of human dimension research for historically underserved communities.
  • Assist in preparation and delivery of teaching and demonstration presentations on these trials for KBGA and Knoxville Community Development Cooperation outreach events and other programs.
  • Produce outreach materials for stakeholder education including but not limited to Extension fact sheets, blog posts, social media posts, and instructional or educational videos.

Faculty:

  • Michelle Childs, Education, Health and Human Sciences, Retail, Hospitality and Tourism Management
  • Christopher Sneed, UT Extension, Family and Consumer Sciences

Project Description:

This interdisciplinary project between disciplines of Retail and Family and Consumer Sciences offers turn-key research experiences for undergraduate students. This project aims to equip, train and evaluate students’ progress utilizing formative and empirical research necessary to develop and implement merchandising and marketing strategies for attracting limited-resource families to farmers’ markets. Students recruited from diverse disciplines across campus will collaborate with Nourish Knoxville and farmers at the Knoxville Market Square Farmers’ Market to implement this project. Utilizing a series of formative research opportunities including touring local farms and farmers’ market and interviewing limited-resource families participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Education, students working in groups (i.e., 2 groups of 4 students each) will create and execute activities aimed at attracting limited-resource families to farmers’ market booths. Students will evaluate the effectiveness of their implemented techniques. Additionally, students’ learning outcomes will be evaluated by instructors, with the goals of possessing retail merchandising knowledge and research experience. This project presents a sustainable opportunity to be extended into the school year as a research intensive course and serves as a pilot for external funding through USDA SNAP Education and USDA Education and Workforce Development.

Position Description:

We are seeking students interested in developing and implementing strategies to appeal to limited-resource families. Through this experience learning project, students will be equipped and trained in both formative and empirical research methods as well as merchandising and marketing strategies for appealing to farmers’ market consumers.

Specific duties include:

  • Provide leadership for a program of activities that meets the needs of all eligible clientele regardless of race, color, national origin, age, sex, disability, religion or veteran status.
  • Complete required training and learning modules needed to implement project. Including participation in both formative (e.g., visit farmers’ market and local farms) and empirical research (i.e., data collection).
  • Travel locally as part of experience learning activities.
  • Assist with the planning and preparing of activities for farmer’s market booths. This will can include assisting with gathering and organizing supplies, creating and implementing materials and items necessary to enhance appeal of farmer’s market booths.
  • Collect data related to farmers’ market activities and communicate progress for the purpose of reporting and evaluating the project.
  • Complete timesheets and travel records per University policy.
  • Assist with other duties as assigned related to tasks for the project.

Faculty:

  • Keerthi Krishnan, Arts and Sciences, Biochemistry and Cellular & Molecular Biology

Project Description:

All organisms respond and learn to deal with their surroundings throughout life. Brain plasticity is a process that is essential for this adaptation and learning. Cellular mechanisms underlying brain plasticity, specifically neural plasticity (changes in neurons, a major cell type essential for brain function), are still unknown. We approach this complex, fundamental neurobiological problem by studying a mouse model of a disorder called Rett Syndrome (RTT).

RTT is initially characterized by a short period of typical development, followed by expression of stereotypic sensory, motor and speech impairments. RTT is hypothesized to be the result of altered plasticity caused by abnormal experience-dependent changes to synapses (the communication sites between neurons). These plasticity mechanisms contribute to sensory processing deficits, which then result in further impairments. RTT is caused by mutations in the X-linked gene methyl CpG-binding protein 2 (MECP2). However, the pathogenesis of this disorder is unclear. This problem is further compounded by the lack of existing paradigms to study stereotypes in adult female models for RTT. We use behaviors and cellular microscopy approaches to gain insights into how neural plasticity essential for appropriate behavior is affected in female mouse model of RTT.

Position Description:

The Krishnan lab works on understanding plasticity mechanisms in the mouse brain. We use behavioral experiments and fluorescent microscopy/image analysis as our main techniques for different projects in the lab. Students will learn and perform behavioral experiments and image analysis/quantification on monitors. You will work with a postdoctoral scientist or senior graduate student in day-to-day engagements in the lab. We are looking for students who are reliable and consistent, have good observational skills, and exhibit enthusiasm for learning new concepts and techniques. Students who show exceptional engagement will be chosen to learn and perform behavioral experiments, implementation of computer programming codes, other histology techniques and genotyping.

Faculty:

  • Vermont Dia, Herbert College of Agriculture, Food Science

Project Description:

This Summer Undergraduate Research Group Experience project will recruit 8 freshman and sophomore UT students with diverse backgrounds to study the potential utilization of pulse (beans, lentils, chickpeas, pigeon peas) components in food product application. Increase utilization of alternative crops such as pulses can lead to sustainability and promotion of over-all human health associated with crop diversification and unique nutritional and chemical components of pulses. The students will isolate different components of pulses, analyze these components in terms of their chemical composition and physicochemical and functional properties for food application. In addition, the students will quantify components responsible for health-promoting properties of pulses and determine their biological activities. The project is open to all students regardless of majors and emphasis will be given to students from underrepresented groups. Students will learn different laboratory techniques, literature search and reading, poster preparation and oral presentation skills. It is expected that at the end of the 8-week research experience, students will obtain preliminary data that they can use for to continue working during the regular semester for credit for food product applications such as bread, cakes and pasta. Moreover, these will serve as data for external funding application of the PI to USDA.

Position Description:

The Department of Food Science thru the Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships is looking for up to 8 freshman and sophomore students to undertake a position in the laboratory of Dr. Vermont P. Dia. The project will entail the isolation of novel food ingredients from different pulses. In addition, students will analyze different physicochemical, functional and biological properties of isolated novel ingredients. Students will be trained in different laboratory techniques, literature search, poster preparation and oral presentation skills. Questions can be directed to Dr. Dia at vdia@utk.edu or at 865-974-7265.
The students will:

  • isolate components of pulses
  • characterize pulse components in terms of their physicochemical and functional properties
  • determine the biological properties of pulse components and the level of different health-promoting compounds (polyphenols, flavonoids, tannins); develop laboratory skills and techniques in a food chemistry lab setting; develop writing and oral presentation skills

APPLY HERE: SURGE 2022 Application

The SURGE 2022 application period has closed.

 

 

**This program is adapted from the Summer Impact Grants program at George Mason University**