“Our Quest Program started almost two decades ago by the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (CoAS), Hsiao-Ping Moore, PhD,” recalls Shannon Timmons, PhD, chair of the Department of Natural Sciences and director of the Quest Program. Then-President Virinder Moudgil’s goal was to expand opportunities for undergraduates to conduct substantive research. Quest is that program.
LTU’s motto is “Theory and Practice.” Quest is one way that CoAS gives students hands-on experiences, a differentiator for undergraduates that helps them explore various disciplines before they graduate and, for many in the program, puts them on a path to their senior project. Under the mentorship of their professors, undergraduates receive instruction on how to do authentic research, disseminate their findings, and even publish their findings in peer-reviewed journals.
Lawrence Tech was a recent recipient of a $1.05 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s inclusive excellence initiative, which was used to create course-based research experiences, an opportunity for students to engage in research embedded in the curriculum. Timmons explained that “Quest is a co-curricular research opportunity for students to engage in extended scholarly activities outside the classroom under the supervision of a faculty mentor. Undergraduate research is a well-known high-impact practice that supports student success, including higher GPAs as well as higher retention and graduation rates.” Students who participate in course-based research experiences or the Quest Program develop discipline-specific and communication skills that help them succeed post-graduation and support their search for employment or applications to graduate programs.
“We want to build their resume as well as our college’s research portfolio,” she said.
All CoAS departments—Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Computer Science, and Humanities, Social Science, and Communication—are involved in the Quest Program. This year, six students received awards to undertake mentor-guided research:
- Noah Brown (data science major) for a project titled “Automated Detection and Identification of Road and Bridge Structural Issues Through Computer Vision Technology”
- Quest Mentor: Wisam Bukaita, PhD
- Noor Butros (mechanical and manufacturing engineering technology major) for a project titled “Mathematical Applications of 3D Printed Kinetic Sculptures”
- Quest Mentor: Yelena Vaynberg
- Cayleb Carey (biology major) for a project titled “Biocompatibility and Antimicrobial Activity of Honey Gelatin Tissue Engineering Scaffolds”
- Quest Mentor: Julie Zwiesler-Vollick, PhD
- Sydney Lochow (physics and computer science and mathematical sciences double major) for a project titled “How Fast Are We Going and What Do We Do in The Solar System?”
- Quest Mentor: Scott Schneider, PhD
- David Perez Sanchez (biomedical engineering major) for a project titled “Impact of Bisphenol A Analogs on Intestinal Immune Response”
- Quest Mentor: Aleksandra Kuzmanov, PhD
- Pol Jarne Cupons (physics and mathematical sciences double major) for a project titled “Monte Carlo Simulations to Study $B$-Decay Anomalies”
- Quest Mentor: Bhujyo Bhattacharya, PhD
Noah Brown is a sophomore in the Bachelor of Science in Data Science program. Bukaita, his Quest mentor, structured the project, which identified and analyzed where cracks in concrete occurred in a random stretch of road. The idea was to build AI-guided analytical tools, then test the AI model against 40,000 points of government-provided data. Brown looks forward to continuing this research with Bukaita and building a drone for his senior project to truly test the accuracy of the model. He said, “This project and Dr. Bukaita’s guidance launched my academics so much. I’m really happy for this opportunity.”
Timmons explained, “Quest is largely independently funded by alumni and other donors who believe that hands-on research is critical to student success. We would love to expand the program to the summer semester as well as to provide funds for student travel to present their research, an invaluable experience for them.”
If you, too, would like to support the Quest Program, please contact Richard DeLoof, Director of Development for CoAS, at rdeloof@ltu.edu or 248-204-3074.
By: Renée Ahee
