In August 2024, the College of Science and the College of Engineering launched a new program to recruit undergraduate students for research opportunities. The platform, known as Student Research at Notre Dame, has seen continued success over the past year.
There is one application season per semester, and professors have eight weeks before this period to post their lab openings so students can apply. STRAND’s website currently hosts 49 projects posted by researchers for the January application round, with over six weeks still remaining in the project posting period. These openings are from both the College of Science and the College of Engineering. One to six spots are available in each project.
According to a written statement to The Observer from Jeff Thibert, the senior director of the Flatley Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement, “The initial pilot of STRAND was initiated by the College of Engineering, who brought in the College of Science after a semester so that they could each test a different software platform for the system.”
“The Provost’s Office was interested in learning more about STRAND, and CUSE was brought into the conversation with the idea that CUSE could one day administer STRAND if it expands to cover more colleges and schools at the University,” Thibert wrote.
Many students have found success with the STRAND platform so far, expressing that it makes research more accessible to undergraduate students without prior experience.
Sophomore Maggie Kustoff used the platform to apply to three different projects this fall and is currently working for the Santiago-Tirado lab, which she found through STRAND.
“I am currently working with a graduate student, Robbi Ross, on her project studying the interactions between the fungus Cryptococcus neoforman and microglia cells,” Kustoff said. “Through this project, I’ve gained skills in cell culture techniques and data analysis, and I have become much more confident and independent in the lab. I’ve also noticed that the skills I’ve developed in research have translated directly to my chemistry and genetics lab courses.”
Kustoff noted that STRAND and its application process allow students to find research opportunities much more efficiently than previous methods, which often included “cold-emailing” professors and asking about openings in their labs.
Sheryl Lu, undergraduate research director for the College of Science, shares Kustoff’s views on the convenience of the program.
“The STRAND platform is pretty self-sufficient and fairly easy to use for both sides,” Lu said. “I’m not actively doing much on that part, except for regularly meeting with the Provost’s Office to look at the data.”
Since its initial launch, awareness about STRAND has increased, reaching even prospective students.
“We definitely see continued growth of student interest in using STRAND. When we in the College of Science have open houses, the incoming students are already asking about the program,” Lu said.
In the future, both Thibert and Lu expressed hope to expand the STRAND platform to other disciplines, including the College of Arts and Letters.
“It is my hope, as the director of CUSE, that we are able to expand the use of STRAND to cover a wider range of scholarly engagement opportunities in all of the colleges and schools,” Thibert wrote.
Lu noted that this expansion would further encourage students with little to no prior experience to get involved in undergraduate research, teaching valuable skills in all fields.
“The goal is to provide the opportunity for research to everyone on campus, regardless of their discipline or their background,” Lu said.
