Month: October 2015

Lydiah Mpyisi, a senior at Roanoke College, was one of the students who did research on campus during Summer 2015. Lydiah worked in the Chemistry Department on an independent research project. Her research focused on a better understanding of the four putative Glutamine synthetases found in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent for tuberculosis disease. Lydiah decided to pursue the project because of her interest in medicine and desire to get experience doing laboratory work. She became involved in Dr. Johann’s research work, which focuses on finding potential targets for drugs against tuberculosis.

Lydiah spent her time conducting experiments, doing literature research, and updating her lab notebook. She’s enjoyed working together with Dr. Johann on the project.

“He is always available to answer any questions or concerns that I may have, regardless of whether they are research related or career related questions. In addition, I have been able to fit research hours into my schedule and sometimes Dr. Johann stays late just to help me conduct my research. I would say being involved in on-campus research is one of the best experiences that I’ve had in my undergraduate experience so far.”

Lydiah’s favorite part of her project are the times when experiments go late into the night.

“I stay in the lab until midnight setting up an experiment that needs to run through the night, and then I find positive results the following morning. I’m usually filled with joy and lots of satisfaction from my hard work.”

For people considering research, Lydiah says:

“Research will lead you into numerous opportunities that you never anticipate. It is through my research experience that I got an internship with Novozymes – an international biotechnology company. I used my research for my honors project and now I’m in the process of earning an honors in Biology through the same research. In addition, I earned class credit through the same research and ended up earning a minor in Chemistry without having planned for it.”

Molly Trosch, a senior at Roanoke College, is one of the students who did research at Roanoke College over the summer. Molly works in the History department with Dr. Miller and Dr. Leeson. The project involves taking artifacts from Explore Park, a closed state park, and housing them in educational settings. Molly became involved with the project after hearing her friends talk about the project last semester.

Molly helps fill out the paperwork associated with the artifacts. Afterwards, she takes a photo of the artifact and attaches a tag to identify it. She also meets with people interested in taking in some of the artifacts for education.

Molly enjoyed working with her project advisers.

“Working with Dr. Miller and Dr. Leeson helped me learn about what the museum and archiving world is actually like, plus I got to learn a lot about the artifacts and the time period they came from.”

One of Molly’s favorite moments from the project was being interviewed by the Roanoke Times with Dr. Miller.

“It was such a fun experience being able to show the reporters (and the Roanoke area!) what I’ve put so much work and effort into. It was really fun and incredibly special.”

To anyone thinking about doing research, Molly says:

“Just go for it! If you are especially interested in what your friends or your professors are doing, ask them about it. Cool projects and experience opportunities like these tend to be hard to find, but if you do find one, do it. What have you got to lose?”

To see the interview with Molly, click the link below

https://www.roanoke.com/news/local/salem/roanoke-college-to-turn-clay-street-house-into-th-century/article_99b13751-babf-5164-8bc4-f1d864539513.html

Dionys Beck, a senior at Roanoke College majoring and physics and minoring in math, travelled to Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina over the summer to conduct research. During his 10 weeks at Coastal, Dionys assisted a graduate student’s research project. The project studied the dispersion of rainwater runoff through an offshore outfall into the ocean front.

“I first had to study up on the theory behind the research, which was a lot of fluid mechanics. During the time I was there the project was in the experimental design phase. I was responsible for testing instruments that would later be used for the experimental deployment. Testing the instruments resulted in a lot of data being collected, so it was my job to learn how to use various computer programs (MATLAB mostly) to organize and plot the results of the tests.”

Dionys’ favorite part of the program was going out in the marshes and testing the salinity and temperature of the water.

“It was important to get accurate measurements because my data was used to ensure that the instruments would get quality readings during the month long deployment. It was exciting to see the end result of my work actually making an impact and being used to further the research project.”

Dionys’ advice to incoming and current students is to get involved in undergraduate research.

“If your plan is to attend graduate school or go into a science related field, there is nothing else you can do to better prepare yourself. Not only will it look great on a resume, but it will let you apply the knowledge you have learned at Roanoke College to real life situations.”