Good Fellowship
By Anna Lynn Spitzer
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Irvine, CA, August 30th, 2012 - - Final presentations have been delivered, audience questions asked and answered, and certificates of completion distributed. For the eighth consecutive summer, the 10-week SURF-IT student research program has come to a successful conclusion.
SURF-IT – the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship in Information Technology – this year afforded 11 UC Irvine students a hands-on research experience under the mentorship of faculty and graduate students. The program is jointly sponsored by Calit2 and UCI’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program.
Projects spanned the research gamut: from designing software programs for hand rehabilitation and power consumption optimization to creating home energy-management solutions; from designing oxygen sensors to studying cloud-based writing in schools; and from stem-cell analysis techniques to migraine-management technologies.
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The students, who were chosen for the program based on their transcripts, essays and rankings by project mentors, unanimously gave a thumbs-up to their experiences. “I felt incredibly privileged to be able to be able to discuss my research with a professor who is a pioneer in the field I plan to do research in,” said Katherine Lo, who worked with professor Bonnie Nardi on understanding how the manipulation of hardware interfaces impacts video-gaming experiences.
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“At every point in the summer there were always new questions to answer, new directions to explore or new opinions to consider,” said Paul Lowood, who researched the history of simulation with professor Peter Krapp. “I began the program without any idea how research was conducted, but now I feel that I could do much more. I have much greater confidence in my abilities.”
At the conclusion of the students’ individual 10-minute PowerPoint final research presentations, Calit2 director G.P. Li congratulated them before handing out their certificates in a room filled with mentors, families and friends.
“We’re very proud of what you have accomplished and we know you will continue to make the most of your education and experience,” he told them.
“We look forward to watching your future success.”