MURFREESBORO — MTSU undergraduate students
are taking their second and third steps in the early summer session FirstSTEP
program.
The
30-plus rising sophomores and juniors are in the midst of a three-week research
phase in the STEM process to acclimate them better in the areas of science,
technology, engineering and mathematics.
The
FirstSTEP program at MTSU is a five-year, $2 million grant funded by the
National Science Foundation. It is an enrichment program that provides
financial and academic support for students majoring in biology, chemistry,
computer science, engineering technology, geosciences, mathematics and physics and
astronomy.
To
view video about the program, visit http://youtu.be/8AKwTXk4kIc.
FirstSTEP
offers three components:
• A
two-week “summer bridge” to help them in math just before the fall academic
semester begins.
•
Fall and spring seminar precalculus and calculus classes, helping them grow in
these areas of math and in college life skills.
•
Introducing the students to team-based research.
The
research phase, which is what MTSU officials call “summer immersion,” is where
they are now.
Their
research is helping them learn about pervious concrete, robots and 3-D
printing, green algae and other organisms collected in the field and DNA
next-generation sequencing.
“Many
times undergraduate research is just juniors and seniors,” said mathematical
sciences professor Ginger Holmes Rowell, the day-to-day FirstSTEP director.
“This is for students at the end of their freshman year.”
“All
of the FirstSTEP experiences work together to help improve retention and
graduation of science and engineering majors while preparing these students for
successful careers in their chosen fields,” Rowell added.
Through
the grant, students receive a stipend of about $1,000 from the National Science
Foundation to help offset the cost of not working 40 hours a week for three
weeks.
“The
FirstSTEP program has been a really good experience,” said Donte Kirk of
Chattanooga, Tennessee, a rising junior mechatronics engineering major
completing his second year with FirstSTEP. “It’s good for when you’re not too
great in math, but you want to excel in those areas.”
Sophomore
Jasmine McCroskey, also from Chattanooga, “enjoyed the hands-on experience of
the genetics,” she said. “It definitely gave me a background since I had not
taken a class.” A biochemistry major with a concentration in pre-pharmacy, she
is in her first year with the program.
Sophomore
chemistry major Megan Schulz of Milton, Tennessee, is among the group
researching pervious concrete.
“What
we’re trying to do is grow microbial and algae community in the pervious
concrete to make for cleaner and less polluted runoff water,” Schulz said.
Faculty
mentors include Jeff Leblond and Mohamed "Moh" Salem in biology; John
DiVincenzo in chemistry; and Ahad Nasab and Saeed Foroudastan in engineering
technology. Foroudastan serves as associate dean in the College of Basic and
Applied Sciences.
With
most of the teams containing five students, FirstSTEP leaders are experimenting
in the overall format with one 12- to 15-member team led by Leblond, who has
three assistants. They are running the research team as a class, combining
fieldwork and laboratory research to produce new scientific results.
“The
midterm presentations of this group make this educational experiment look very
promising,” Rowell said.
Their
research includes field trips, one of which was to Burgess Falls State Park
between Cookeville and Sparta, Tennessee.
Dr.
Tom Cheatham, director of MTSU's Tennessee STEM Education Center, not only led
the grant-writing effort that resulted in the National Science Foundation award,
but he also leads the project and serves as a liaison with the internal and
external advisory boards and the NSF program officers.
To learn more about the FirstSTEP
program, visit http://www.mtsu.edu/firststep/,
email firststep@mtsu.edu or call
615-898-2175.
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