Schapiro Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF)

The 2009 Schapiro Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program is underway at Randolph-Macon College. With the guidance of their professors, thirty-five SURF students are spending the summer diving into research and soaking up new and innovative information in across-the-board subjects, from mathematics to chemistry to religious studies. A sampling of this year's SURF topics includes The Green Behind Going Green, which Kim Dutton '11 will be researching with economics/business professor, Catherine Staples, Ph.D.; Ethics and Risk Management among the Corporate Stakeholders in the Mortgage Crisis, which Becky Johnsen '10 will be researching with economics/business professor Ed Showalter, Ph.D.; and The Geologic and Sedimentological Framework Offshore of the Virginia Barrier Island Chain, which Bray Wilkins '11 will be researching with environmental studies professor Michael Fenster, Ph.D.

In order to participate in the program, students had to write proposals and apply for grant money to fund their research. SURF students receive a stipend and room and (SURF)board. Many past SURF participants have presented their research throughout the United States and the world, and some students also have had great success in publishing their work and obtaining entry into graduate school.

You can follow the work of ten R-MC students through their on-line blogs. Throughout the summer, they will be posting on-line SURF diaries with updates on their research, discoveries and exciting experiences.

	Looking for the Lost Hand: Traditional Healing and Medicine-Uncovering Africa's Secret Strategies for Health and Well-being Leah Gregory		Teaching Shakespeare: The Art, the History & the Classroom Chris Lambert
	The effect of temperature stress on maternal investment in the sea star asterias forbesi Cara Carne		The Green behind Going Green: A Financial and Ethical Analysis of Corporate Sustainability Kim Dutton
	A Comparative Study of Assimilation Strategies among Ethiopian and Ghanaian Immigrants in Washington, DC Faith Hall		Randolph-Macon College and the Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church: An Exploration of Our Methodist Tradition in Student and Campus Life Ashley Hampton
	A comparison of standard enriched laboratory environments and relevant naturalistic environments: Effects on Cognition and neuroplasticity Jordan Huber		Ethics and Risk Management among the Corporate Stakeholders in the Mortgage Crisis Becky Johnsen
	Putting Evangelism in Perspective Baylee Smith		Demographic responses of trout populations two decades after habitat manipulation in five Colorado streams Shannon White

 

The SURF program was established in 1995 by the Schapiro Research Program, an endowment fund that supports scholarly undergraduate research by Randolph-Macon College students in all disciplines.