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Show SPRING 2009 PRESIDENT YOUNG'S MESSAGE There is a commitment here to expansive thinking. Such thinking leads to new ideas, fresh ways of see-ing things, and novel approaches to research and discovery. That sense of limitless horizons and endless possibilities infuses the work of many of the U's remarkable faculty. It also underscores why undergrad-uate students here enjoy almost unheard-of opportunities to engage in research with top faculty researchers. You'll see the results of that panoramic approach in the pages of this extraordinary journal. When a student works one-on-one with a faculty mentor on research or a creative project, a kind of education takes place that exceeds the experience available at basic universities. The experience com-plements 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 important, the students and their learning experience. The abstracts presented here represent the work of some of our most extraordinary 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 is a hallmark of 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 2 |