Tag Archive: Undergraduate Research
By Brendan Kane, Research Associate In an effort to keep the computing community informed of latest research on formal research experiences, the CRA Center for Evaluating the Research Pipeline (CERP) recently released an annual report on the summer 2023 data collection efforts from undergraduate students in formal research experiences such as NSF CISE REU Sites […]
By Julia Sepulveda, Senior Program Associate, CRA-E The UR2PhD program is a virtual, synchronous initiative designed to enhance and expand mentored undergraduate research experiences, with the goal of increasing the number of women and gender-marginalized students pursuing doctoral studies in computing. By providing programming, funding, and resources, UR2PhD makes undergraduate research opportunities more accessible and […]
By Ama Nyame-Mensah, Senior Research Associate, CERP Undergraduate research experiences are a promising tool for recruiting and retaining students in computing disciplines. Some studies show that undergraduate research opportunities help students gain confidence in their ability to conduct research, acquire valuable knowledge, and explore professional and career options (Alvarado, Villazon, & Tamer, 2019; Nyame-Mensah, Tamer, & […]
This Q&A highlight features Ellie Young, an Honorable Mention in the 2022 CRA Outstanding Undergraduate Researchers award program. Ellie graduated from New College of Florida and is now a Societal Computing Ph.D. student at Carnegie Mellon University. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Congratulations on your Honorable Mention! How did you first join the project you were recognized for?
As a computer science student, I was staring down the possibility of spending life after graduation making widgets for a huge corporate machine, unintentionally complicit in societal harm. I felt an obligation to do work with as little potential to hurt people as possible. Having really enjoyed a class in usable privacy and security and an initial research experience at my home institution, I applied to research programs, mainly in privacy/security and human-computer interaction. I also applied to the Research Experience for Undergraduates in Software Engineering (REUSE) at Carnegie Mellon University after a classmate recommended it. REUSE offered me a position working in the exact sub-area of usable privacy and security I was most excited about!
One of the goals I hope to accomplish with this article is to open the eyes of faculty to the ways in which bright and motivated undergraduates can contribute meaningfully to their research projects and groups. This piece intends to help educate folks who have limited experience with undergraduate research or are unsure how to come up with research projects. I hope it helps others learn quickly from the knowledge I have gained over the years.
