Undergraduate research proves a fruitful venture for students

University Park, Pa. -- The next time you reach for a piece of fruit, you may want to pause and thank some undergraduate researchers at Penn State University Park. Why is that? Well, the healthy, ripe peaches or plums you might find yourself enjoying represent the fruits of their labor—literally. As undergraduate researchers in the College of Agriculture, these students are getting opportunities to make everyone's lives a little sweeter -- including their own.

The right job, at the right place, at the right time

When Mary Beth Wiseman, a Schreyer Honors scholar and senior majoring in horticulture and minoring in plant pathology, heard one of her professors ask if any students were interested in doing research with him, she knew it was just the kind of opportunity she had been waiting for. Now, she is engrossed in research that could affect vital fruit crops across the country. A humble and unassuming undergrad has been transformed into a determined researcher investigating the potential role of aphids (essentially, very small bugs) in the transmission of plum pox virus, a new invasive virus that has potential to decimate crops.

As a returning adult student with a family, Wiseman was juggling an off-campus job with school and family responsibilities. The stress was starting to get to her, so the prospect of working on campus while obtaining experience in her field truly appealed to her. "I saw this was the perfect opportunity to combine work and school and minimize the amount of running around I was having to do. It made life a lot easier," says Wiseman.

"The work is much more focused on what I'm interested in anyway. It's not going to do any good for a biologist or horticulturalist to work at a job that has nothing to do with their interests and goals. I hadn't really thought about that until I started working as an undergrad researcher."

An early introduction to the world of research

Traditionally, research opportunities on college campuses—especially at large research universities—are the privilege of graduate students or faculty. However, in recent years, institutions like Penn State have sought to engage undergraduate students in research and creative discovery by providing opportunities for them to work with faculty mentors or to conduct their own inquiries with faculty guidance. In this way, what students learn in the classroom is made relevant as they work closely with those on the cutting edge of their discipline.

Fred Gildow, a professor of plant pathology and a researcher very much so on the cutting edge of current agricultural study, is the man who sparked Wiseman's interest the day he announced he was looking for undergraduate researchers during one of his classes in microbe-plant interactions. Gildow has been mentoring undergraduate researchers for the past 15 years and currently has five students working in his lab.

"It is satisfying to introduce a student to the world of research and get them started," says Gildow. "It is also satisfying when that student graduates and because of their research experience goes into a research-related career. I believe that supporting undergraduate research is part of our educational obligation as faculty members at a research university."

Getting a jump on the job market

Allison Totura is one former undergraduate researcher who can vouch for the utility of having research experience under her belt when looking for a job. Totura credits her time in Gildow's lab with helping her receive multiple job offers in her field after she graduated from Penn State in May 2004.

As an undergraduate researcher, Totura worked to identify and purify a newly identified virus infecting the black peach aphid—again, a project integral to the vitality of various fruit crops. In order to study the virus, Totura learned electron microscopy, which is a way of magnifying specimens that allows for greater magnification than traditional light microscopes do.

Gildow, it just so happens, is an expert in electron microscopy, so the one-on-one tutelage received from him was an invaluable experience for Totura.

As a direct result of her research, Totura says, she was offered three jobs doing electron microscopy work— one at University Children's Hospital in San Diego, one at John's Hopkins medical campus in Baltimore, and her current job working for Geo-Centers, a federal contractor for the Department of Defense at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland.

"I couldn't have gotten any of these science job offers without having the undergraduate research," says Totura. "When they see your undergraduate research experience on your résumé—that you worked in a lab and that you know how a lab works—they say, 'Hey, When can you start?'"

Forging meaningful relationships

Although these job offers largely resulted from Totura's scholastic success and research experience, she credits Gildow's support and enthusiastic professional recommendations with making these offers possible.

"Dr. Gildow was an excellent resource for me. He has a very vested interest in all his students. He really wants to know about you and your goals and is very interested in trying to help you pursue what you want to pursue. And he helps you get there."

Establishing close relationships with professors is another benefit of participating in undergraduate research, no doubt. In addition to faculty becoming familiar enough with students to comfortably recommend them for graduate school or job opportunities, professors may be able to help students start networking professionally.

"The student may tap into the faculty adviser’s professional network of colleagues, opening up future opportunities for jobs or graduate school," says Gildow. "Many times I have had colleagues from other universities or government labs approach me asking whether I was aware of any 'good' students available for open job positions in research."

Having an opportunity to work closely with graduate students also has been a useful and enlightening experience for Wiseman and Totura. Learning about graduate school first-hand has assisted both students in deciding whether or not to go on for additional schooling. Wiseman is now considering staying at Penn State for her master's degree, and Totura is investigating part-time graduate study.

Undergraduate research's many 'perks': traveling, presenting and publishing

In addition to gaining valuable lab experience and forging meaningful relationships, Wiseman and Totura have had opportunities to travel and to present their undergraduate research at various venues.

"Advanced undergraduate research students are often given the opportunity to attend and even present results at professional science society meetings," says Gildow. "I have had undergraduates completing projects in my lab give presentations at meetings of the American Phytopathological Society, and on a few occasions they were approached and offered jobs or graduate positions following their presentations. "

As part of their undergraduate research experience, Wiseman and Totura have accompanied Gildow on trips to Cornell University where they were able to explore other facilities and interact with other students and faculty in their discipline. Additional trips have included those to the USDA Foreign Disease Research Laboratory at Fort Detrick in Maryland, where some of Gildow's research is conducted, and Pennsylvania's Department of Agriculture in Harrisburg for training in aphid identification.

Both Wiseman and Totura were afforded opportunities to present their work, as well. Both participated in a College of Agricultural Sciences research competition sponsored by Gamma Sigma Delta Honor Society. During this competition, both graduate and undergraduate students presented their research to their peers and to faculty. Totura won second-place in the undergraduate division for her poster presentation. In addition, she presented her work at the Schreyer Honors College's Undergraduate Research Exhibition.

It is a very uncommon accomplishment for an undergraduate student to have published research credits on her résumé, but in Wiseman has plenty as a result of her undergraduate research experience. She has been listed on graduate students' publications as a result of her orchard fieldwork and aphid identification for their projects. Wiseman is currently working on projects Gildow is seeking to get published, including an aphid identification key and a new method for mounting aphids for study that she helped to develop.

Totura also is anticipating that publications will result from the research she did on the discovery of a potentially new virus.

Urging other undergrads to be 'fruitful,' too

As if acquiring job skills and practical experience in a chosen field and establishing life-changing relationships isn't enough, Wiseman and Totura credit undergraduate research with helping them learn to work in a team atmosphere, to multi-task and balance various aspects of their lives, and to find renewed interest in their fields. For these reasons, they each find themselves urging other undergraduates to seek out research opportunities actively by talking to their professors.

"I see students all the time who just don't ever interact with their professors, and I think, 'What a waste of an opportunity,'" says Wiseman. "If you are interested in something, talk to people who are involved with it. If you make a relationship with these people, they can only help you and they'll introduce you to more people who can help you.

"No one is an isolated system. We're all interconnected. And the more people you can touch those who share your interests, the better off you'll be."

For more information

Undergraduates interested in exploring research opportunities can visit http://www.psu.edu/dept/oue/research/research.html to search a list of possible job options and to obtain contact information for faculty advisers. The site also links to the "Undergraduate Research Conference Travel Support" site, where students can apply for financial support for research-related travel.

For more information about the plant pathology department, visit http://www.ppath.cas.psu.edu/