Undergraduate Research

Most people consider student research to be reserved for the graduate level, but that’s not the case at NMU. At Northern, undergraduate students have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience by working on individual or group research projects or by assisting professors with their research. Students have the opportunity to contribute to manuscripts, articles and books. Many students also get the chance to present their findings at regional and national conferences.

Research isn’t restricted to science-related areas of study. Students in all majors can get involved in research in their programs. Whether students are collecting water samples from a river or conducting a survey of area residents to determine how they feel about a new city ordinance, students will get the experience they need to improve their research and analytical skills and to prepare themselves for their future careers or graduate education.

Some of the research experiences students had in the last year include presenting at the Society for Neuroscience and the American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting; contributing to a manuscript on drug development and research; working on various individual projects, such as the synthesis of phenylbutazone and hydrazobenzene, the detection of manganese, vanadium, calcium and gadolinium in tissues by atomic absorption spectroscopy, and validating mercury and other metal concentrations in fish from the streams in the Yellow Dog Plains; and assisting faculty and graduate students with their research. Many of the students involved in the research projects were freshman, so don’t think you have to wait until you’re an upperclassman to get involved. Now is the time to get inspired, get creative and get results.