Wentz Scholarship provides research opportunities for undergraduates

Thursday, April 21, 2011

By Amy Wilson

Forty seven undergraduate students at Oklahoma State University will display their Wentz research projects during Wentz Research Day from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. today in the Student Union Ballroom.

Last spring, the undergraduate students received a one-year, $4,500 award to conduct independent research under the supervision of a faculty mentor.  Today, OSU friends, family, students and faculty have the opportunity to view the research they have conducted over the past year.

Biosystems engineering senior and award recipient, Laura Merriman, said she is grateful for the opportunity to share her research with others. “I’m really excited about sharing what I’ve done and seeing what everyone else has done as well.”

Merriman has been researching the effectiveness of riparian buffer zones on subsurface phosphorus transport, and said she’s lucky to have received the scholarship for many reasons.

“I think it definitely prepared me well to apply for fellowships and prepare me well to go into grad school. I’ve been blessed in that I got the $4,500 because the professor I was working with already had the materials, so I didn’t have to spend the money toward the experiments,” Merriman said.

Director of Scholar Development and Recognition, Robert Graalman, said the Wentz program wouldn’t be possible without the OSU faculty’s support.

“They have been unfailingly supportive of the students and the program. They are always there to support students.”

Biochemistry junior and award recipient, Jake Keeling, said he was grateful his research mentor, Dr. Rita Miller, monitored his project in a balanced manner.

“You need to be an independent thinker and independent actor in a lab. Of course when I have problems or questions she’s always there to help me, but it’s not as if she stands over my shoulder.”

Graalman said about 100 students apply each year, and 40 to 50 receive the awards.

To apply and receive this award, students must write a research project description, including the purpose of their research and a reasonable objective to convince the award committee their research is independent from schoolwork and worthy of sponsorship.

Students also must be undergraduates, have a minimum 3.0 GPA and have completed at least 12 in-residence hours at OSU. Applicants are welcome to research topics of any academic discipline.

“I think the Wentz has gone a long way to illustrate why all fields have research components. We are hoping that programs like the Wentz will inspire even more interest in research,” Graalman said.

Graalman also said the Wentz Foundation has been instrumental in making OSU’s program so effective and well known. “OSU’s undergraduate research program has proven to be a model nationally, and it’s a really valuable part of our efforts to attract great students and to improve our reputation in regard to high level academic work.”

“We have seen the results of the Wentz scholarship in regards to students who get major national awards and who get into prestigious graduate schools,” Graalman said. “It is a different way of thinking than traditional classroom experience and it provides an edge for those who go into fields where there is a lot of research.”