Research and Perspective (featuring Eliana Nessaiver)

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 08:49:00 -0400
research

Conducting scholarly research means looking at the world through a new lens. You question your assumptions; you imagine alternative explanations for conditions commonly taken for granted. Your sense of the world expands to encompass new uncertainties and points of flexibility. You start to see connections and openings that had been invisible to you.

Developing this critical eye is a key to success, not just as a researcher but also as a leader and agent of change. If you want to make a difference in the world, it helps to be able to recognize the subtle forces that shape situations, imagine alternative futures, and spot openings for action.

In this post and two others in the coming weeks, I'll feature accounts from UMBC undergraduates of how participation in research is expanding their perspectives and preparing them for the challenges and opportunities ahead. First up is Eliana Nessaiver, INDS major:

Undergraduate research is a unique experience that is at the same time educational and fascinating. My research focused on evaluating the mid Atlantic offshore wind energy resource – or, put the way I say it when not presenting my research to a scientific body, seeing if Maryland is windy enough to put up some wind turbines.

The research had nothing to do with my major, interdisciplinary studies in medical imaging, but that didn’t impact the effect of the experience on my academic life – short and long term. I learned to get organized, to work independently, to pinpoint when I was confused and ask the right clarifying questions. I learned just how relevant the seemingly dry research done in a cloistered lab can be to the wider community. Every time I heard the phrase “wind energy” on the radio, I found myself turning up the volume. This was why I was going to school and struggling to earn a difficult degree. Not for some manufactured class project (although don’t get me wrong, those can be interesting as well,) but for the application of my education to real-world problems, with personal guidance from an interested and motivating professor. This experience crystalized my decision to pursue a PhD after I graduate from UMBC, and my research background gave me the skills I needed for the research position I held at Johns Hopkins University this past summer.

Undergraduate research is a facet of UMBC that should not be overlooked by those who want to put an extra spark into their undergraduate education. The three semesters I spent on this project are three I will certainly never regret, or forget.