The Research Communications Studio is teaming freshman,sophomore, and junior engineering students with graduate students from the Department of English and engineering doctoral students. The collaborative approach is designed to help the undergrads sharpen their research skills and improve their ability to communicate their research findings to a broad audience.

"If you look at the list of what any company wants in new employees, it's the ability to communicate, to think independently, and to work in teams," said Mike Matthews, a chemical engineering professor and principal investigator of the Research Communications Studio. The project is funded by a $375,000 NSF grant to the College of Engineering and Information Technology, as well as the College of Liberal Arts and the College of Education. "'This project hones all of those skills, and it will help measure the value of undergraduate research, both in learning and in retention."

Engineering students at most universities may get involved in faculty-guided research but often quite late in their undergraduate programs.

"Trying to get a research experience and effectively communicate it in a thesis during one semester is like drinking water from a fire hydrant," Matthews said.

The Research Communications Studio is recruiting sophomore and second-semester freshman engineering students with the idea that they will engage in research projects for at least three semesters. The undergraduate students work in groups of three;in addition, a doctoral engineering student helps each group with their research skills, and an English graduate student coaches them on effectively presenting their findings. The studio sessions and approach are under the direction of English and communications professionals; Libby Alford, College of Engineering; and Nancy Thompson, English, co-PIs of the interdisciplinary research project. Students who complete the project should be able to do worthwhile research, justify the work, and explain its significance, Matthews said.

"In the first semester of the grant we’ve asked the students to do three things: visit an Engineering 101 class to talk with first-semester freshmen about research, produce Web pages about their research projects that high school students could understand, and prepare posters and be ready to give oral presentations about their research," Matthews said. "As the project proceeds, students will move on to higher-level communications that their advisors request."

If it proves successful, the Research Communications Studio could become a model for other colleges, Matthews said.

"This studio approach doesn’t add more courses to a curriculum or increase the number of credits for graduation," Matthews said. "Most colleges already have independent study courses built into the curriculum—this project builds on that and provides more structure so that it becomes a better learning experience."

Long term, Matthews hopes to team with the English department to keep the project going after NSF funding ends. Costs will decrease dramatically, he said, "because we won't need to do assessments of the project once we've gathered data on how it improves learning and student retention."

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