Three Oklahoma State University students were selected to participate in the 2016 National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates at OSU this summer.

Alexis Goad, Katelyn Redman, and Anna Smith, along with seven other students from across the country, will participate in an eight-week intensive research program focused on the biological basis of human and animal behavior. The program is one of many funded by the NSF in order to provide research experiences for undergraduates.  NSF’s goal is to increase the number of undergraduates entering careers in research. 

The OSU program is directed by Shelia Kennison, psychology professor, and Jennifer Byrd-Craven, psychology associate professor, with the assistance of Roha Thomas.  In the program, each student is paired with a research mentor in one of three departments at OSU: psychology, integrative biology or communication sciences and disorders in the College of Arts and Sciences. Students work full-time on original research that is supervised by a faculty member. The mentors include, in addition to Drs. Kennison and Byrd-Craven, DeMond Grant (psychology), Jen Grindstaff (integrative biology), Ramesh Kaipa (communication sciences and disorders), Barney Luttbeg (integrative biology), Mary Towner (integrative biology), Polly Campbell (integrative biology) and Sarah DuRant (integrative biology).

The program provides seminars for students about ethics in research, how to apply to graduate programs, and how to be successful in graduate programs. The summer culminates in a research poster session in which students present their projects to each other, mentors and the public. The poster session will be held on Friday, July 22, 2016, from noon to 2 p.m. in the parlor on the first floor of Murray Hall.

“This is the sixth year of our program and the second grant from that National Science Foundation that we have received,” Kennison commented.  “We are pleased that we are able to play a role in creating a pipeline of students into science careers and also to advertise OSU to talented students who might consider applying to one of OSU’s graduate programs.”

The other seven students selected for the 2016 program are Rouaa Ahmad (Salem State University), Abigail Andrews (Barnard College of Columbia University), Molly Byrne (Wesleyan University), Jordan Eschman (Austin Peay State University), Brianna Newport (Bethel College in Newton, Kansas), Molly Schools (Michigan State University), and Kia Seehafer (California State University, Sacramento).