Five Union College students were the only undergraduates invited to present
their scientific research projects at an annual graduate-level conference in San Francisco.
The 2004 Semiconductor Research
Corporation's (SRC) Graduate Fellowship Conference, from Sept.
19 to 21, showcased the research of students from colleges and universities
throughout the country who have received fellowships and scholarships for their
work on semiconductor-related projects.
The participating Union students were senior Mayrita Arrandale
of North Blenheim, N.Y., who is majoring in biology and chemistry; junior
Michael Boyer of Portland, Ore., a computer engineering major; senior Jennifer Eliseo
of Burnt Hills, N.Y., a chemistry major; junior Robert Katuska of Southborough,
Mass., a math and physics major; and senior Evan Leibner of Bellmore, N.Y., who
is majoring in chemistry and physics.
Associate Professor of Chemistry Michael
Hagerman, advisor for two of the research projects, traveled
with the group.
According to Hagerman, the conference and the collaborations made possible by SRC have reinforced the direction the College is taking with Converging Technologies.
“Our involvement with SRC has paved the way for our students to collaborate with researchers and have access to facilities that are simply unavailable to undergraduates at other institutions,” Hagerman said, noting that he and his students have teamed with Michael Carpenter of the College of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering at the University at Albany on a project to research nanomaterials.
And the conference itself gave Union students a glimpse of what lies ahead. “It was a wonderful experience for our students,” said Hagerman. “It gave them the opportunity to meet with Ph.D. students to see what it's like in graduate school.”
“Going to the SRC conference was an amazing opportunity,” said Leibner. “It was a rewarding experience in terms of being the only undergraduates there, and meeting the people in industry and grad school gave us a true idea of what it's like and now lucky we are to be at Union.”
Arrandale and Eliseo worked with Hagerman and Carpenter (at the College of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering at the University at Albany) on a project titled “Optical Nanomaterials
Based on Quantum Dot and Rhodamine Dye Inclusion within Laponite Film Nanoscaffolds.”
Boyer worked with Cherrice Traver, a professor of electrical
and computer engineering, and Chris Myers, an associate professor at the University of Utah. His project is titled “Using ATACS for Verification of
Hazard-Freedom of Phased Logic Wrappers.” Katuska worked with Seyffie Maleki,
an associate professor of physics and astronomy, and professors Ganesh Panaman
and James Castracane of the Nanotech College at the University at Albany on “Optical
Testing of MEMS Compound Gratings (MCG) in the UV and IR.”
Leibner worked with Hagerman and Maleki, and
Carpenter of the Nanotech College in Albany, on a project called “Microscopy
Studies of Polyaniline/Laponite Nanohybrid Materials.”
The graduate fellowships
are offered through a national competition and are awarded based on outstanding
academic achievement in the field of microelectronics, and the relevance of the
proposed research to the SRC goals..
“Union has a long tradition and dedication
to student research,” said Union President Roger H. Hull. “The fact that Union
students are the only undergraduates invited to participate in the SRC
conference speaks to the strength and depth of the research here.”
Much of the
funding for the summer research projects was provided by IBM Corp.
James Libous, senior technical staff member of IBM's
Engineering & Technology Services, and a member of the SRC technical
advisory board, said Union is unique not only among its peer colleges but among
the more technically focused universities in its blend of the liberal arts,
sciences and engineering. “Union's
tradition of innovation combined with its cutting-edge programs and Converging
Technologies initiative sets it apart from other colleges,” Libous said. “This
is a tremendous opportunity for these highly talented students and professors
to showcase their research, and IBM is pleased to assist. Collaborating with
outstanding schools like Union provides IBM with early access to relevant
semiconductor-related research and to future leaders of our industry.”
Union's
Converging Technologies effort brings together engineering and liberal arts
disciplines to give students an understanding that goes beyond that provided by
a traditional major.
Larry Sumney, SRC president and CEO said, “The SRC and MARCO
sponsoring organizations support undergraduate research as the most promising
forum for building the pipeline of US students for graduate study in
disciplines of interest to the semiconductor industry. Building relationships
between outstanding undergraduate institutions like Union College and graduate research programs supported by the SRC and
MARCO is vital to future of the industry. The SRC is pleased to demonstrate
the value of undergraduate research at this national annual technical
conference.”
SRC, based in Research Triangle Park, N.C., is a research management
consortium of technology companies including IBM, Intel, National Semiconductor
Corp. and Texas Instruments. SRC plans and manages a program of basic and
applied university research on behalf of its participating members with the
goal of defining common industry needs, investing in and managing research to
expand industry knowledge, and attracting premier students to study
semiconductor technology. Currently, SRC sponsors research at universities
worldwide. Since it was established in 1982, SRC has funded more than $500
million in long-term semiconductor research contracts.