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"I was a little cautious at first about the specific topic," Thomson says. "I hadn't read about housing prices or environmental economics. As I got going, I became really interested in it, and I enjoyed the atmosphere on campus. We saw the professors day in and day out—and saw what they did outside the classroom. We were on a first name basis with them."
Kiel believes it was valuable for Thomson to go through the process of doing the research in order to understand that it takes dedication and creativity to solve complex problems.
"You have to be tenacious," she says. "There are problems you can't solve right away. It's hard but fun, and I saw this in Pat. You get into it, and you learn to solve different puzzles. It was good for students to see how passionate their professors are about what they do and to see them struggle and work to solve problems."
Weiss finds that student researchers often discover who they are and what direction they want to take following graduation.
"You can help to grow a scientist," he says. "Students find they are terrifically talented. This is a transformational experience."
Mathematics major and Fenwick Scholar Ellen Gasparovic '06, worked last summer with professor of mathematics, Thomas E. Cecil '68, on a research project involving non-Euclidean geometry and Lie sphere geometry. This work is related to Cecil's research in differential geometry, an area of mathematics used in Einstein's Theory of Relativity. Gasparovic was supported by Cecil's research grant from the National Science Foundation.
She is one of those students that Weiss describes as falling in love with the research process. Like Thomson, Gasparovic is headed to graduate school on her way to pursue her Ph.D., planning eventually to enter the field of geometry research. She and Cecil are also a great example of a student-professor team that truly works in collaboration.
"I like the independent aspect of doing research," says Gasparovic, explaining why she intends to continue in the field. "Doing research last summer and throughout this academic year has helped me to focus my mathematical interests and narrow down the field in which I would like to eventually specialize. And Professor Cecil is a wonderful professor to work with. He's incredibly supportive and a great teacher."
In addition to Cecil, Gasparovic worked with fellow student Heather Johnson '06 on the project—hunkered down, for the most part, in the Swords Hall student lounge. They would meet regularly with Cecil for about an hour a day—usually in the morning—then go to work. If Gasparovic and Johnson were stumped by a problem or had questions, they would meet with Cecil again.
"This gives students a taste of what it's like to do research," Cecil says. "It can be lonely at times. You work by yourself. You get stuck. You make progress and move toward the next step. It's good for them personally. They gain confidence and poise by having to do presentations and make arguments."
On the first Friday of fall semester the research students participate in a poster session, where they present and explain to the Holy Cross community the results of the study they had undertaken over the summer. Some students, like Gasparovic and Johnson, also travel to present their findings at academic conferences. Last summer, for example, the two traveled with Cecil to the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, where they gave a talk at a conference of the Clavius Group of Catholic mathematicians.
"Presenting my research to others was my favorite part of the summer project," Gasparovic says. "I felt confident that we knew the material well and that we were ready for the tough questions. It went well and was an excellent experience.
In mid-January, Gasparovic and Cecil traveled to San Antonio, Texas, for the joint national meeting of the American Mathematical Society, Association for Women in Mathematics and the Mathematical Association of America. Gasparovic was named the honorable mention for the Alice T. Schafer Prize—awarded by the Association for Women in Mathematics to an undergraduate female who demonstrates excellence in mathematics. While at the conference, Gasparovic presented her research at the Undergraduate Research Poster Session and won an award for her poster.
When Joshua R. Farrell '94, the Thomas E. D'Ambra Assistant Professor of Chemistry, was an undergraduate at Holy Cross, he worked on a research project with Herrick as his professor/mentor. Last summer, he and David Lavoie '06 teamed up on a project involving advanced materials and making organic materials conduct electricity.
"It's basic science," Farrell says. "You're putting compounds together in new ways. As you change volts it changes color. Some practical applications might be smart windows."
Lavoie is a research veteran, having started working with Farrell on this project in the summer of 2003, between his first and second years. In total, he spent three summers and two school years on the project.
"It's exciting to see students pull what they learned in class and discover where they can apply it," Farrell says. "It's even more exciting when students come in with ideas. We encourage that growth from passivity to collaboration. That's what you are hoping for."
In 2003, Farrell, Lavoie and three others published their research findings in The Journal of Organometallic Chemistry. Lavoie was a second-year student at the time.
"It's not often that students that young would be published," Farrell says.
As a result of a presentation he gave in 2004 on the research he has been conducting, Lavoie received Holy Cross' Vanhook-Vidulich Award, which is presented to third- and fourth-year students for excellent research thesis and presentation.
Lavoie also traveled to Atlanta this spring to give a poster presentation at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society.
As a chemistry major with a premed concentration, he hopes one day to become a primary care physician. Lavoie believes that he will take the valuable lessons he learned from his research experience with him as he treats his patients.
"The major relationship (between research and becoming a doctor) is the thinking strategy in the lab, problem-solving skills," Lavoie says. "In the lab, you have to approach problems in new ways if things are not working out. Discoveries come over very long periods of time and take a lot of work. Diagnoses in general medicine are often not clear cut."
Michael Reardon is a freelance writer from Southampton, Mass.
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The Teams of Summer, continued
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Pillars of Success
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