This year’s IDEA grant recipients gave oral and poster presentations at the Chancellor’s Excellence in Undergraduate Research Showcase on Thursday, October 10, 2024. (Brittany Mobley)
Shakti Rajesh was playing video games at a friend’s house one day when she was in high school in Chennai, India, when her friend’s mother started screaming from the kitchen. She found a viper with saw scales on the floor.
Luckily for her, Rajesh is a budding snake lover and calmly guides the unwanted reptile out of the house in a bucket.
“Anything that’s toxic, I’ve always loved it,” he said. “It’s really cool to see a snake go from just crawling around to a snake that can kill a person in 30 minutes.”
Rajesh’s early snake-catching adventures grew into a more serious interest in venomous animals. He is currently a third-year computational biology student at Florida State University, with the guidance of Biological Sciences Professor Darin Rokita and funding from an IDEA Grant, which provides summer funding for undergraduate research and creative projects. In response, we are studying the Florida bark scorpion.
This year’s IDEA grant recipients gave oral and poster presentations at the Chancellor’s Showcase on Excellence in Undergraduate Research held on Thursday, October 10th. The event, which attracted an estimated 800 participants, is a collaboration between the Office of the Provost and the Center for Undergraduate Research. Academic Engagement (CRE) and the signature event of FSU’s week-long Discovery Days celebration.
FSU President Richard McCullough addresses students and guests at the Chancellor’s Excellence in Undergraduate Research Showcase on Thursday, October 10, 2024. (Brittany Mobley)
“Your work is outstanding, and we are so proud of each and every one of you,” FSU President Richard McCullough said in his opening remarks to students, faculty, and other guests. “This work will make a difference in the world, and we are excited to be here and interact with students about the project.”
Thirty-five students selected through a competitive grant program will create posters and creative projects that explore topics such as the role of diplomacy in future space exploration, the rhetoric of Poland’s 1791 Constitution, and innovations in 3D printing equipment to diagnose hazards. shared a project. Heart attacks, strokes, and the effects of solitary confinement on social outcomes.
“One of the best parts of running IDEA Grants is being able to watch our students truly blossom as researchers,” said CRE Director Latika Young. “What started out as just an idiosyncratic interest, like Shakti’s love of venomous animals, can make a valuable contribution to society with the support and funding of an IDEA Grant and the guidance of an outstanding faculty. This allows students to establish their own identity as researchers.”
The IDEA grant includes donor-funded research awards from the Tyler Center for Global Studies and other privately funded contributions.
IDEA Grant recipient Shakti Rajesh will be the featured student speaker at the Chancellor’s Annual Excellence in Research Showcase on Thursday, October 10, 2024. (Brittany Mobley) Students present their research findings to FSU President Richard McCullough and First Lady Dr. Jay Vertikar at the Chancellor’s Showcase of Excellence in Undergraduate Research on Thursday, October 10, 2024. (Brittany Mobley) Attendees interact with student researchers at the Chancellor’s Showcase of Excellence in Undergraduate Research on Thursday, October 10, 2024. (Brittany Mobley) Students Show Off Their Achievement Research at the President’s Outstanding Undergraduate Research Showcase on Thursday, October 10, 2024. (Brittany Mobley)
At FSU, our commitment to undergraduate research continues to grow. This year, undergraduate student participation in campus-wide undergraduate research opportunity programs increased by 11 percent, research mentor participation increased by 3 percent, and undergraduate student participation in the major thesis honors program increased by 21 percent, according to . program directors.
At the 24th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium held in April, approximately 700 undergraduate researchers presented research and creative projects produced under the guidance of research mentors from FSU faculty and the graduate student body. We showed off our project.
“These undergraduate research events celebrate the best of our university. FSU has a unique culture of community and mentorship that empowers our students,” said Vice President and Dean Joe O’Shea. he said. “Magical things happen when our world-class faculty guide students through the process of research and discovery, and we are so proud to offer that opportunity.”
The FSU Discovery Days event continues through Saturday, October 12th. Visit discoverydays.fsu.edu for a complete calendar of events.
