Events
Undergraduate Research on Display
STEM Researchers Present Their Findings
RALEIGH, N.C. (April 21, 2023) – From analyzing health care data to studying seismic activity, Wake Tech students in the STEM Academic Research & Training (START) program presented their projects at the 2023 Student Showcase.
This semester, 56 students studying math, science and engineering at Wake Tech gained valuable experience as paid research interns through the START program.
Among their projects: Hidden Figures as STEM Scholars, Correlating Health Care Outcomes with Proximity to Fast Food/Greenspace and Shaky Science: Seismograph Construction and Design.
For the Shaky Science project, students Arabelle Kwiatek, Stephanie Lobato, Kennedi Williams and Glory Chisolm built a seismometer and a case to keep it safe and monitored seismic activity at Wake Tech's Southern Wake Campus. The goal was to make something that could be built with little cost to provide accessibility to earthquake monitoring for students and the community.
Chisolm says being a STEM researcher has been a great learning experience.
"Being in START has provided me with mentorship and opportunities that first-generation college students like me often don't have access to," she said. "I gained the confidence to know that I belong in STEM and can achieve anything with hard work."
Many of the START projects were developed in partnership with local universities, health care institutions and industry organizations and included both in-person and virtual projects.
The START undergraduate research program is funded with a $1.4 million grant from the National Science Foundation, along with contributions from Terracon Foundation, the Christman Company, Clancy & Theys, Brooks Pierce and DeLisa Alexander. The students are paid $1,000 for a 60-hour commitment on their research project. That commitment includes 15 hours of training, five hours of community-building and 40 hours of research. All students are assigned a faculty mentor.
Undergraduate research at a community college is a unique opportunity. The START Showcase is the culmination of months of hard work.
"The START Showcase gives our interns practice presenting their work, the confidence that they are part of the STEM community and the joy of being the 'expert' in the room," said Jackie Swanik, Wake Tech's associate dean of mathematics, sciences and engineering. "The sense of accomplishment as their friends, family and Wake Tech faculty and staff show up to support them is a wonderful first step to the great future that is before them."
Much of the research is completed in the state-of-the-art STEM Lab in Building H on the Scott Northern Wake Campus and in labs on the Southern Wake Campus. Wake Tech also offers STEM Centers on three campuses and virtually, where students study, collaborate and receive tutoring from their professors.
The START program is accepting applications for Fall semester. Research projects are available in biology, mathematics, 3-D printing, geology and physics. For more information, visit waketech.edu/START.
