Information for Research Students

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Useful information for students who are currently active in research projects with me, or would like to be.

How to get involved:

E-mail me or stop by my office! I am always open to discussing research possibilities with students. Typically, an initial conversation about research would include the following questions:

• Do you have any ideas you are interested in researching?
• Are you interested in any of the areas I am currently researching (based on my publications, blog posts, or conversations about my current research)?
• What do you hope to get out of a research experience?
• Are you interested in graduate school or, for graduate students, further graduate school (i.e., a PhD)?

There aren't any wrong answers to these questions, but they help refine what you might be most interested in. Or even if another faculty member might be more likely to share research interests.

Research Expectations:

For volunteer/unpaid research positions (the normal case), the research student is expected to:

• Proactively work to solve research questions,
• Communicate status on a periodic basis,
• Work to disseminate results.

For paid research positions (the exception), the research student is expected to achieve the previous expectations, as well as:

• Work to accomplish goals and responsibilities in the supporting grant or fellowship,
• Continue to work proactively for the duration of the time covered by the grant or fellowship.

My support and interest in continuing to research with you will depend on meeting these expectations. More than anything else, a proactive work ethic is necessary to be successful.

Funding Sources:

While funding opportunities are limited, several opportunities exist to apply for grants and fellowships to either provide a stipend for research performed or partially abate conference travel cost. Typically, applications for these funding sources require faculty support. It is important to obtain the support of a faculty member whose research interests align with your own in order to apply. Often faculty support is more forthcoming for students who have already shown research potential while volunteering on a research project with the faculty member.

• Conference Funding Sources:
  • GVSU Office of Undergraduate Research & Scholarship (OURS) Academic Conference Fund
  • GVSU Graduate School Academic Conference Fund
  • GVSU Presidential Research Grant Awardee Academic Conference Fund
• Stipend Funding Sources:
  • GVSU Presidential Research Grant
  • Michigan Space Grant Consortium Fellowship

Paper Writing Resources:

Previous blogs posts that highlight some aspect of paper writing are categorized below:

• LaTeX Typesetting:
  • How to find that one weird symbol