Several fellowships will go to students

Applications for the fellowships are due April 16.

By Jaryd Wilson

Published April 10, 2007

Next week, the Center for eResearch will award four to six $1,000 fellowships to students who engaged in Internet-based research with a faculty member.

Applications are due April 16, and the recipients of the fellowship awards will be announced April 20.

Center of eResearch IT manager Jamie Stephens said it is important to have a faculty member involved in the research.

"Each semester we fund four to six teams, composed of a faculty member and a graduate or undergraduate student, from any unit within the university to conduct Internet-based research," Stephens said. "Since most research on campus already includes faculty involvement to some degree, this merely extends that and also provides an opportunity to engage faculty in the discussion."

Center for eResearch Director John Foley said it is also important to have a faculty member accompany the student.

"Students and faculty work as teams," Foley said. "Since we are the major research institution in Missouri, we want to take advantage of faculty resources to better serve students."

Successful applicants and their faculty mentors will attend the eResearch seminar, which will meet Friday afternoons for one hour and make one presentation about their projects during the course of the semester.

Stephens said students from any college or school within the university are welcome to apply.

"In the past, we have sponsored teams from arts and science, engineering, education, health sciences, medicine and agriculture," Stephens said.

Foley said this is a good opportunity to raise awareness about Internet research.

"The goal of this program is to support Internet-related research across all departments and colleges at the university," Foley said.

Stephens said the money comes directly from the operating budget of the Center for eResearch. Stephens also said the application process is a tough one, and the center looks for a list of criteria.

"In short, we are looking for students who are doing innovative research involving the Internet and who can communicate it clearly through their writing and speaking," Stephens said. "Although it is not a requirement, we also look to see how certain parts of the research might be removed from the original area and applied to other areas of research."

Stephens said the campus is full of innovative young students who are doing great research, but they aren't getting noticed because they are in different areas. The goal of the presentations is to help share these different ideas.

"It is up to students to present their ideas clearly," Stephens said. "For this reason, the ability to communicate your research in a jargon-free way is a must for our fellows."

Foley said a good application is important when a student is applying.

"We are looking for innovative users of the Internet to support research in many areas," Foley said.

Fall 2007 will be the fifth semester the center awards fellowships, and Foley said it plans to do so for semesters to come.