Only the basics are found in textbooks. To learn something new and to go in new directions, research is the only way to do it. In the current climate of accountability, where skills and results are paramount and the time and money spent on research are often suspect, Anderson points out that in doing research, students are developing the kinds of skills needed to get employment or to go on to advanced degrees. In research we are asking new questions, the answers to which are important to large populations. For example, in one project we are looking at biochemical ways of detoxifying arsenic in the environment, a problem in rural areas where arsenic is found in groundwater as residue from past pesticide use.
Students experience working within standards of scientific rigor.
The research is on a par with that at the best institutions in the United States. One goal is to publish papers in premier scientific journals.