Presented by: Melissa Ramon Marine Biology Mauricio Marquez Pre-Medical MESA Program, San Diego City College November 2012

 1 week “train-the-trainer” academy for understanding “what is research?” - Hosted at San Diego State University – July Led by 3 graduate research students - 20 MESA student participants (10 each from City College and Southwestern College)  Trained on research process  Learned about available research opportunities  Conducted 3-day “investigative shadow” in teams  Funded by California Space Grant Consortium

The method of investigation and discovery.

Lab Culture Take Notes Define Terms Rules & Expectations Teamwork & Productivity

Step by Step

Choosing your topicTip: Turn your interest into a topic Develop a QuestionWho? What? Where? When? Why? How? Question to TopicDevelop the answer SignificanceWhy is your topic important?

Credible background information that reflects on your personal project. Search for similar articles that refer to your topic. View references at end of article to refer to similar topics. Don’t forget to Cite your sources!

Give yourself an agenda to follow and deadlines to complete. Manage your time efficiently and effectively.

General scientific knowledge required to achieve goal Theories Properties Equations

Your Data: What? How?

Your Experiment: What? Where? When? How? Who? Projected Timeline Budget

Does your data make sense? Close to what was expected? Graphing your data Acceptable Error Were all your goals met?

Publish your work Technical Presentations

UCSD – Validation Lab Principal investigators (PIs) David Hernandez - Aerospace Engineering Julie Narasaki – Mechanical Engineering

What can we learned about space and structures? Would the environment be good enough to deploy a structure? Will the payload and its equipment withstand certain elevations?

Visited the UCSD library to search for background research on our experimental project. Smolley, J. H. "Science Foundation. " Balloon Sy mpssiuri (1970).

Independent Variables : GPS & Spot – radio frequency. Dependent Variables: Data location of the balloon. Measured: pressure, altitude, latitude, velocity (speed of wind), distance, weight, time and wind direction. Examined: Time vs. Altitude & Altitude vs. Pressure.

Principles Equations Theory Buoyancy Ideal Gas Law

Materials Balloon GPS SPOT Sand bags Wires Foam box Kapton tape Plastic Tubes Helium Assemble

Test Ballast System: maintain the balloon at altitude of 40,000 ft.

GPS : Balloon Location (Map) SPOT : redundant tracking - satellite tracking

Zero Pressure Balloon : Wind direction before launch

Launch

SDSU, UCSD, USD

AMGEN Scholars Program AMGEN Scholars Program The program supports summer research for thirty undergraduates majoring in fields related to biotechnology, including: microbiology, bioengineering, biochemistry, neuroscience, and molecular genetics. Faculty Mentor Program Faculty Mentor Program The Faculty Mentor Program offers research experience to all junior or seniors who have the desire to prepare for graduate or professional school.

CAMP Science Program CAMP Science Program The UCSD California Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (CAMP) in Science, Engineering and Mathematics program provides support and advancement opportunities to ethnically underrepresented (African American, Mexican American, Latino, American Indian, Alaskan Native, or Native Pacific Islander) students who are seeking bachelor's degrees in chemistry, physics, cognitive science, biology, other sciences, mathematics, engineering and technology. Health & Medical Professions Preparation Program Health & Medical Professions Preparation Program The UCSD Health and Medical Professions Preparation Program (HMP3) provides undergraduates with enriching experiences that will enhance their preparation for admission into professional school in the medical and other health professions. McNair Program McNair Program The McNair Program provides low-income, first-generation college students, and students from groups underrepresented in graduate education, with effective preparation for doctoral study.

MARC Scholars Program MARC Scholars Program The Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) Program is designed to train and prepare highly qualified underrepresented minority undergraduate students in the biosciences for entry into graduate school. Summer Research Program Summer Research Program The UCSD Summer Research Program is an eight-week, full-time research experience for undergraduates. UCSD Undergraduate Research Conference UCSD Undergraduate Research Conference Held each May, the UCSD Annual Undergraduate Research Conference recognizes outstanding scholarly work produced by UCSD undergraduates. UCSD Undergraduate Research Scholarship UCSD Undergraduate Research Scholarship All UCSD undergraduates in any major are eligible to apply.

Scholarships for Undergraduate Student Participation in Computational Science and Engineering Research Program. Available to assist: academically talented financially needy students Goal: to explore opportunities for computational modeling and simulation research in science and engineering disciplines. Funded by National Science Foundation.

Minority Access to Research Careers(MARC) The Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) Honors Undergraduate Research Training Program was recently awarded to San Diego State University from the National Institutes of Health. Students who are selected as trainees can receive three-quarter tuition and a monthly stipend of $913. Contact: Thelma Chavez

Minority Biomedical Research Support (MBRS) Is an intensive undergraduate research training program which prepares students for direct entry into STEM Year-round financial assistance for your research development. Undergraduates are paid 15 hours/week during the academic semesters, hours/week over the summer (depending on the budget) Year round research and academic mentoring Connection to graduate program and other research opportunities Contact: Michelle Lopez

Summer Undergraduate Research ExperienceSummer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) provides funds to USD undergraduates to conduct summer research with a USD faculty mentor. Pre-Undergraduate Research ExperiencePre-Undergraduate Research Experience (PURE) offers summer research opportunities to San Diego high school students who will begin classes at USD in the fall and who may be the first in their families to pursue a college education. Honors Program Honors Program offers a four-year interdisciplinary curriculum integrated with a student's major and engages the students in sustained independent work through original research projects as a focus of a senior independent study project.

Community Service-Learning Community Service-Learning offers course-based service-learning courses that incorporate community partnerships which can also include research and internship opportunities. McNair Scholars McNair Scholars are partnered with faculty mentors in their discipline, formulate a research plan, and receive stipends to support their research projects. Hayes Scholarship/Fellowship Hayes Scholarship/Fellowship provides funding to support research in the sciences. Independent study Independent study allows students to conduct research on a topic of interest by enrolling in an independent study course. In addition, research can be conducted as part of an international study course