ACADEMICS School of Arts & Sciences
Researching Summer F
or many students and faculty, summer is a time to take a break from academic study. But for students like Dan Caruso and faculty like Dr. Brad Kraft, summer has been a time of intense study and research.
Summer 2013 will mark the third year of the Summer Science Fellows Program at the College, bringing students and faculty into the research lab to collaborate on scholarly research initiatives.
to submit a proposal, including a detailed description, proposed timeline, budget, and what they hope their research will do for them, as well as the greater scientific community. Accepted students spend 80 hours through the summer working on research and collaborating one-on-one with faculty. Once completed, student researchers present their findings at academic symposiums, both locally and nationally.
“...I learned a completely new subject as well as a very specialized subset of skills. It was an invaluable experience that has set me up for future success.”
Dr. Kristina LantzkyEaton, assistant professor and chair of the Chemistry Department, said that the program has offered great opportunities for undergraduate students. “Not many small schools have an opportunity to focus on student research,” said Lantzky-Eaton. The program is competitive, requiring students
Dan Caruso, a Fairport native, earned his biology degree this May and was a Summer Science Fellow for two summers. “The summer program allowed me to do graduate-level research as an undergraduate,” said Caruso. “I was able to work with Dr. Kraft one-on-one for 10 weeks, during which I learned a completely new subject as well as a very specialized subset of skills. It was an invaluable experience that has set me up for future success.” “During the summer research program, we watch these students mature as scientists and as people,” said Lantzky-Eaton. “They learn that, in research, things will fail. A lot. And when you fail, you have to get over it and move on.”
Faiza Filfil presents her research at PITTCON. Her work focused on the synthesis of peptide-based chiral ionic liquids, a topic that has seen very little research and documentation.
17
Chris Manzella, a 2013 chemistry graduate, agrees. “In the lab, things don’t always turn out the way you anticipate they will. The type of thinking that I acquired during the two summers allows me to ask the right questions and propose methods to answer these questions. It’s the critical thinking involved in such troubleshooting that I became addicted to.”
Dan Caruso (left) and Dr. Brad Kraft work in the drybox in the Skalny Science Center. Their research focuses on the chemical behavior of silicon-containing compounds.
Junior Faiza Filfil was able to use her experience as a Summer Science Fellow in 2012 to earn one of 10 spots in an REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) sponsored by the National Science Foundation in Golden, Colorado. “The Summer Science Fellows Program gave me a lot more confidence working independently in the lab. It’s a completely different experience,” she said. Lantzky-Eaton also feels that the Summer Science Fellows Program has helped the faculty grow. “At Fisher, faculty are focused on instructing in the classroom and the lab, not on our own research interests. Through this program, faculty—especially our younger faculty—learn a lot as well. And guiding students through extensive research gives us great fulfillment and is very energizing.” To date, the program has yielded great results. Of the participants that have graduated, all are enrolled at the graduate level. Caruso is heading off to dental school at the University at Buffalo and Manzella will be joining the Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago. This is a M.D./Ph.D. dual-degree program for future physician scientists. “We, as faculty, might not be performing research that is going to find a cure for cancer, but our students will be the ones to find the cure,” says LantzkyEaton.
I know what you did last summer. A few of the topics that have been researched by Summer Science Fellows: • Synthesis of Tri (2-anthryl) Phosphite for Fragility Study • Analysis of Mercury Concentration in New York Game Fish Tissue • Determination of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in Ground Water in Monroe County • Development of a Series of New Peptide-Based Chiral Ionic Liquids (CILs) • Analysis of Concentrations of the Clopyralid in Compost Piles in Pittsford and Perinton • Determination of Acetaminophen in Pharmaceutical Compounding Products
18