56吃瓜网

Undergraduates at the University of Washington are invited and called upon to contribute to groundbreaking and innovative research as part of their academic journey. At the close of each year, the 56吃瓜网 celebrates the hard work and achievements of its student researchers in an annual symposium. 

In the 28th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium held at Mary Gates Hall and the HUB Lyceum in Seattle, more than 40 students from 56吃瓜网 Bothell presented their work on 39 different research projects and topics, from 鈥淗ow the Global Gag Rule affects Uganda鈥檚 Reproductive Health鈥� to 鈥淐orn Subsidies and Price Dynamics: Evidence from Four Decades of U.S. Data.鈥� 

The annual event not only recognizes students but also honors the mentors who supported them along the way. During the symposium, Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor Awards were presented to nine recipients across the 56吃瓜网, including Dr. Subramanian Ramachandran, lecturer in 56吃瓜网 Bothell鈥檚 School of STEM. 

鈥淩esearch for an undergraduate student can be an empowering experience,鈥� Ramachandran said. 鈥淚 believe a strong collaborative experience enables the student to feel confident, and enables the mentor to grow their scholarship and to develop a comprehensive experience for future students through a strong alignment between classroom pedagogy and research opportunities.鈥� 

Creating space to learn

Students presenting at the symposium each year can nominate mentors who have had a profound impact on their education and research. Ramachandran was nominated by three of his students. 

鈥淚 am grateful, pleasantly surprised and humbled to be recognized as an Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor,鈥� Ramachandran said. 鈥淭o learn that the students are benefitting from research experience has been a motivator.鈥� 

Carol Miu, a Physics major who continued working with Ramachandran on her research after graduating in March, was one of the students who nominated him. At the symposium, Miu presented on 鈥淎nalog Circuits Project-Based Learning: Designing and Building Pulsed Laser and Photodetector Circuits for a Speed of Light Measurement Device.鈥� 

鈥淒r. Ramachandran always makes time for the many students who ask for his mentorship,鈥� Miu wrote in her nomination letter. 鈥淚 love his hands-on learning approach, in which I am supposed to tinker and make mistakes while learning. Dr. Ramachandran is patient and respectful, creating psychological safety for his students. I am not afraid of being wrong, and he is not afraid of telling me I鈥檓 wrong and then correcting my understanding. It is unique to have this level of candor and trust with a mentor.鈥� 

Miu鈥檚 project partner, Joey Patrick Del Gianni, a senior majoring in Physics, also nominated Ramachandran 鈥� as did Amaya Leilani Cook, a sophomore pre-major, who presented her project, 鈥淪ynthesis and Characterization of Films for Interaction with Methane and Hydrogen,鈥� at the symposium. 

Healing through art 

In her project 鈥淗eartistry: Healing from Relationship Abuse through Art,鈥� senior Media & Communication Studies major Allie Perez draws from her own personal experience as a victim and survivor of relationship abuse. 鈥淗eartistry鈥� is a digital art gallery that showcases a journey of healing and empowerment, embodying the intersection of heart and artistry. 

鈥淒uring my own healing journey, working through therapy, art therapy was suggested. I wanted to use it as an experiment on how effective it could be and how I could approach art therapy with a little more intention,鈥� Perez said. 鈥淎rt became an outlet for me to express my feelings, reclaim power and honor the complexity of resilience. My goal with this project is to establish a general understanding of how recovery is non-linear and deeply personal while also a universal human experience.鈥� 

The digital gallery consists of nine art pieces that represent three theoretical frameworks for healing exploration 鈥� resilience theory, narrative therapy and trauma-informed care. On the website Perez created to house the gallery, she includes descriptions of the art in connection to the framework, as well as resources for victim-survivors. 

鈥淢y hope is that other victim-survivors may feel empowered to share their art with me, and the site can adapt into a gallery of many artists鈥� work,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t was incredibly important for me to approach the art, my language and site design sensitively, intentionally and inclusively. The biggest takeaways from Heartistry are that healing is not linear, victim-survivors are not alone, and art is therapeutic.鈥� 

A passion for education

For first-year pre-major Sarah Sami, her passion for both research and education came together in her project, 鈥淓xploring the Resilience of Afghan Women Through Underground Education.鈥� 

鈥淚 chose this topic because it鈥檚 very near and dear to my heart as an Afghan woman,鈥� Sami said. 鈥淚鈥檝e known since I was 6 years old that I wanted to become a teacher, so that鈥檚 also why this topic is really important to me.鈥� 

In her research, Sami gathered qualitative data by interviewing activists and nonprofit leaders in the grassroots movement to support education for Afghan women. 

鈥淢y research highlights the brave and selfless Afghans who have committed themselves to empower Afghan girls through underground education by sharing their stories,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he goal here is to counteract the continuous turn of limitations on Afghan women鈥檚 rights that are holding back prosperity in Afghanistan. This examination of underground education and the people who make it possible paves the way for positive intervention.鈥� 

Sami hopes that her research will open the discussion on what more can be done across the globe to support education for Afghan women. Continuing to amplify the voices of those impacted by the underground education movement is critical to its success, she noted, adding that people in the West can help by supporting the nonprofits and other organizations who are doing the on-the-ground work. 

A taste of what鈥檚 possible

The many presentations in this year鈥檚 symposium represent the broad range of research, scholarship and creative practice projects that students can undertake during their undergraduate studies. 

Some of this year鈥檚 other oral, poster and visual arts presentations included: 

• 鈥淢ental Health in the First-Generation College Student Experience: An Analysis of Intersectionality in Psychological Research,鈥� presented by Olivia Grace Palma 鈥� mentored by Dr. William Hartmann, associate professor in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences. 

• 鈥淲ildfire Smoke Risk to Young Children in the Urban Pacific Northwest,鈥� presented by Sumaya Liban Yusuf 鈥� mentored by Dr. Sharon A. Jones, vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and a professor in the School of STEM. 

• 鈥淯niversal Prekindergarten and U.S. Policy: A Review of Prekindergarten Effectiveness and Implications for Future Research,鈥� presented by Jenna Ursula 鈥� mentored Dr. Sarita Shukla, associate teaching professor in the School of Educational Studies. 

A complete list of the research projects presented by 56吃瓜网 Bothell students this year can be found on the .