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Show 2 SPRING 2008 President Young's Message In accepting the 2007 Nobel Prize in Medicine, distinguished professor Mario Capecchi explained that part of what made his extraordinary research possible was the intellectual " room to reach" he found at the University of Utah. That sense of limitless horizons and endless possibilities infuses the work of many of the U's remarkable faculty. It is also underscores why undergraduate students here enjoy almost unheard- of opportunities to engage in research with top faculty researchers: There is a commitment here to expansive thinking. When a student works one- on- one with a faculty mentor on research or a creative project, a kind of educa-tion takes place that exceeds the experience available at basic universities. The experience complements what happens in the classroom and moves beyond it to engage the learning process in direct and personal ways. The results of this engagement always enhance the University, the community and, most importantly, our students and their learning experience. The abstracts presented here represent the work of some of our most promising students- work that ranges from ground- breaking research on the frontiers of science to studies that explore aspects of community service and performing arts. The quality is evident in the words of the students themselves, as each abstract describes the research, scholarship, or creative project undertaken, the goals set forth, and the way in which those goals were achieved. Whether from the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, Bioscience Undergraduate Research Program, Honors College, or individual research in a faculty lab, these students have become partners in creating the kind of expansive, intensive, and transformative education that mark the very best universities of the twenty- first century. We are extraordinarily proud to call them our own. Michael K. Young President President Michael K. Young |
