A Message From THE DIRECTOR & DEAN

Over the past seventeen years of the STAR Scholars program, we have seen the effects, both immediate and long-term, of undergraduate research on our students and their faculty mentors, our Drexel community, the City of Philadelphia and our wider world. Since 2002, more than 1,700 Drexel students have participated in the STAR and iSTAR Scholar Programs.

This summer, 176 STAR Scholars, have completed faculty- and professionally mentored projects, working in 10 colleges and schools. Under the direction of their outstanding mentors, our rising sophomore researchers have worked on cutting age projects that contribute to the knowledge bases of their academic disciplines. Twenty-five students worked with faculty in international settings: the Indian Institute of Technology – Madras and SSN College of Engineering in India, the University of Sussex in England, the Universidad de Cienfuegos in Cuba, and through the Dornsife Global Development Program in various countries in Africa. Drexel faculty hosted iSTAR Scholars on bioscience programs in Costa Rica, on a dance program in Beijing, China; and on educational research in Vietnam. And a few of our campus-based engineering STARs were able to join Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) in Engineering where they will be able to nurture their research skills on real-life problems over several years.

In 2018, 15 former STAR Scholars earned 18 prestigious graduate fellowships including Gates Cambridge, Goldwater, Fulbright, Truman and NSF- GRFP. More than 50 former STAR Scholars have presented their work this year at national and international discipline-specific and undergraduate research conferences. Because of their participation in early undergraduate research, STAR Scholars are retained at a high level within the University, go on to graduate school in higher numbers than their peers, secure premier co-ops and prestigious fellowships, and graduate to outstanding careers. We are confident that our 2017-18 class of STAR and iSTAR Scholars will shine as brightly.

Each summer, as we meet with our STAR Scholars, we see them grow in competence, confidence, and maturity as they begin to reimagine their lives because of this extraordinary experience. It is our hope that, as you see the result of their work, you are inspired, as well.

Dean

Dr. Suzanne Rocheleau, Director Office of Undergraduate Research