by Shiv Gaglani ’10, Founder

How many times have you read an article in TIME or Newsweek that referenced ‘Harvard researchers’? It’s no secret that Harvard attracts these world-class professors who conduct top-notch research by offering them abundant resources. In return, they enhance the reputation of the college and change the lives of students they teach or work with. These research professors have received almost every prestigious scientific award given and, more importantly, have made discoveries that revolutionized their fields. The unparalleled prominence of Harvard and its professors definitely lured me, as a prospective undergraduate studying science, to the college last year. Though I have been largely satisfied and my expectations have almost always been exceeded, there was one particular area of my freshmen science experience that was missing – the sense of an active, interdisciplinary undergraduate science community. In late 2006, a group of peers and I have sought to remedy this problem by forming the Harvard College Undergraduate Research Association (HCURA)
We are an interdisciplinary organization focused mainly on science research. While there are many existing science organizations at Harvard, most of them, such as the Chemistry Club and Society of Physics Students, appeal mainly to upperclassmen concentrating in those specific fields. In addition to these students, HCURA attracts undergraduates who are concentrating in smaller areas of scientific research, researching at other Harvard schools (i.e. the medical school), or simply interested in interdisciplinary science. Though no previous experience is necessary to be a HCURA member, many of us were very active with high school science research and participated in competitions like Intel ISEF, Siemens-Westinghouse, Intel STS, and JSEHS. I immediately joined a lab when I arrived at Harvard, but I noticed that many of my freshmen, and even sophomore, peers had not started taking advantage of the amazing research opportunities mainly because they were unfamiliar with the process of getting involved. Apart from my qualitative observations, a 2005-2006 report titled “Undergraduate Science Experiences at Harvard College” found that though many undergraduates “describe research as being one of the most rewarding experiences of being at a place like Harvard,” a majority of students “say that not a single person at Harvard has ever encouraged them to pursue scientific research early in their undergraduate career” (1).

One of the main goals of HCURA, therefore, is to encourage undergraduates to begin researching as early as their freshmen and sophomore years and to make them aware of opportunities. Fortunately, Harvard is very supportive of undergraduate research and is providing an increasing number of research opportunities for students. The Harvard College Research Program (HCRP) and Program for Research in Science and Engineering (PRISE) summer fellowships are two prime examples of Harvard programs that are invaluable to us undergraduates. It is also an exciting time for interdisciplinary science at Harvard, especially since the Harvard Corporation recently committed $50 million to the newly created Harvard University Science and Engineering Committee (HUSEC) to promote interdisciplinary science efforts after a Harvard committee concluded “Fostering an environment that encourages and facilitates inter-disciplinary research and collaboration will be critical to maintaining Harvard’s leading position in science and engineering research and teaching” (2).

HCURA, which earned official recognition in January 2007, aims to create an active, interdisciplinary undergraduate science community. We have received much support from faculty members, including our Advisors – Professor Dudley Herschbach (Nobel Laureate in Chemistry) and Gregory Llacer, Director of the Harvard PRISE proram – Professor Robert Lue, Head Chemistry Tutor Gregg Tucci, Life Sciences Research Advisor Ann Georgi, and many more faculty and administrators. With all of this collaboration and enthusiasm, we look forward to growing and implementing our goals, including holding developmental workshops to improve presentation and writing skills, weekly journal clubs to discuss important research papers, faculty lectures for supplementary learning, and lab tours to expose our members to many different areas of research. We are open to any undergraduate interested in research and hope to see you next year!

References:

(1) Vijay Yanamadala. “Undergraduate Science Experiences at Harvard College: Findings from 40 In-Depth One-on-One Interviews with Students of Varied Interests and Abilities in Science.” 2005-2006 Academic Year. (Supervised by Professor Richard J. Light, Walter Gale Professor of Education).

(2) UPCSE. “Enhancing Science and Engineering at Harvard.” December 2006. Available: http://www.provost.harvard.edu/reports/final_report.pdf