Undergraduates Recognized For Research Excellence


     Someone wandering into the Glass Pavilion on the Homewood
campus last Thursday afternoon, seeing the dozens of happy,
well-dressed undergraduates mingling about, could have reasonably
thought she had stumbled into a party.       

     And it was, of a sort. But rather than celebrating spring's
arrival or semester's end or homecoming's return, these students
were showing off what most of them do best: research. And they
came together from across the university to be recognized as
winners of the 1995 Provost's Undergraduate Awards for Research
and Excellence. 

     "When undergraduates leave Hopkins, one of the things they
talk about is the opportunity they had to do independent
research," said Interim Provost Steve Knapp, looking over several
rows of research posters, mounted for presentation by 36 of the
49 winners. "It would be hard to find another university with so
clear a mission as Hopkins--to combine teaching with cutting-edge
research. And we've stuck to that mission since [first university
president Daniel Coit] Gilman."

     The awards were created in 1993 by then-Provost Joseph
Cooper in an effort to encourage undergraduates to engage in
research activity. Students work closely with a faculty adviser,
getting experience not only in directing research but also in
applying for grants. The research is performed in either the
summer or fall by freshmen, sophomores and juniors, and those
projects selected by a committee headed by Vice Provost for
Research Ted Poehler receive cash awards of up to $2,500, a sum
underwritten by the Independent College Fund of Maryland. They
also have the option of receiving academic credit for their work.

     "This is the best part of being around Hopkins," Poehler
said. "There are just so many bright students doing such
interesting work."

     The deadline for fall grant applications is April 12.
Students can pick up grant applications at the Provost's Office,
276 Garland Hall.