A top priority of the agency is to stimulate new thinking at colleges and universities on how to better link research with education. Bill Noxon, spokesman for the National Science Foundation, said the Recognition Award for the Integration of Research and Education acknowledges demonstrated leadership, innovation and achievement in developing programs institutionwide that integrate research and education activities. These awards are a good way to show how institutions, particularly with strong research in their portfolios, are able to balance research with education and do it well, Noxon says. Other universities honored by the National Science Foundation at the Feb. 21 ceremony were the universities of Arizona, Delaware, Michigan, Missouri and Oregon, along with Carnegie Mellon, Duke and Kansas State universities, and the State University of New York at Stony Brook. SRP allows undergraduates to assist faculty with an array of ongoing research projects.
Students receive transcript notation for their work.
Some undergraduates conduct honors projects that culminate in a senior research thesis. In addition to research opportunities, the programs encompass faculty and peer mentoring, financial assistance, counseling and outreach. This broadly based education reform project has introduced advanced computer based interactive instruction to a range of subjects. The project uses video, sound, graphics, simulations and databases for self-paced student explorations in physics concepts, research and applications. For example, using a UCLA-generated multimedia program, students are guided through a rat dissection.