Physics PhD student Vedran Jelic (left) got a jump start on his graduate research when a bonus question on an undergraduate assignment from instructor Frank Marsiglio (right) led him to publishing his first research paper in the European Journal of Physics. (Photo: John Ulan)
Frank Marsiglio beams when he talks about the progress of undergraduate research in the Department of Physics. "We started noticing that undergraduate students are increasingly involved in and, in some cases, even leading research publications," he says.
The department recently collated all of the information to present the undergraduate publication successes to the world via their website. "We are illustrating very concretely through this new web page how much our undergraduate students contribute to the research process." In total, the page lists 96 peer-reviewed publications since 2010 with representation from every level of undergraduate study.
The publications are developed very often as a result of project courses-like PHYS 499, where a student works on a research project with a supervisor, often resulting in a research publication-as well as summer projects where students are paid to work with researchers in the department. Students can apply for NSERC funding, and the department has also set aside money to allow more students and faculty members to get involved in the undergraduate research initiative.
"Our undergraduates have responded by getting involved and moving fast," continues Marsiglio. "They're sometimes the first author in even some prestigious journals like the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."
Marsiglio looks at the undergraduate publications not just as research, but also as examples of teaching. "It is increasingly clear that this initiative is another aspect of the learning process. Coursework is very important, but there is nothing that compares to sitting down and actually applying the coursework to a project."
The initiative is a win for the department as well as the students, in that the undergrad research also allows faculty researchers to be more productive and expand their own areas of focus. Marsiglio notes that the majority of faculty members in the department are now working with undergraduate researchers.
One of the most remarkable cases out of the bunch was spurred unexpectedly from a class assignment. "I have been criticized for giving assignments that are too hard and too time consuming. One student came to me the day before a final exam, not to talk about the final, but because he wanted to show me the latest results that he had been working on from a bonus question from an assignment. We worked on the results over the holiday break, and it turned in to an 18-page paper which was eventually published in the European Journal of Physics. This was not a PHYS 499 project, not a summer placement-it was a bonus question on a class assignment."
That student, Vedran Jelic, is now working on his PhD with physics professor Frank Hegmann. "Typically publishing in physics journals requires several years of being at the forefront of the field," says Jelic of the experience, summarizing that paper as describing a new way to teach introductory quantum mechanics using computation/simulation to help visualize and solve typically abstract problems.
"The background for everything was in place since I had finished a class on introductory level quantum mechanics with Frank Marsiglio," he explains. "The scope of our work on the paper was primarily pedagogical, which meant that as an undergraduate student, I could help with computation/simulation, theory/equations, and writing/editing of the manuscript."
"We are increasingly impressed by our undergrads," says Marsiglio, who credits a project course he himself took as an undergrad as influencing his philosophy here. "We are rethinking sending them forth to other institutions for graduate studies. We are more and more convinced that we do an incredible job of preparing these students for advanced degrees and the working world.
"We really work our students. We ask a lot, and they are working day and night. But as a result of all of their hard work, I think we prepare undergraduates better than anybody else."
The department recently collated all of the information to present the undergraduate publication successes to the world via their website. "We are illustrating very concretely through this new web page how much our undergraduate students contribute to the research process." In total, the page lists 96 peer-reviewed publications since 2010 with representation from every level of undergraduate study.
The publications are developed very often as a result of project courses-like PHYS 499, where a student works on a research project with a supervisor, often resulting in a research publication-as well as summer projects where students are paid to work with researchers in the department. Students can apply for NSERC funding, and the department has also set aside money to allow more students and faculty members to get involved in the undergraduate research initiative.
"Our undergraduates have responded by getting involved and moving fast," continues Marsiglio. "They're sometimes the first author in even some prestigious journals like the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."
Marsiglio looks at the undergraduate publications not just as research, but also as examples of teaching. "It is increasingly clear that this initiative is another aspect of the learning process. Coursework is very important, but there is nothing that compares to sitting down and actually applying the coursework to a project."
The initiative is a win for the department as well as the students, in that the undergrad research also allows faculty researchers to be more productive and expand their own areas of focus. Marsiglio notes that the majority of faculty members in the department are now working with undergraduate researchers.
Inspiration is everywhere
Marsiglio notes that publishing acts like a positive feedback loop for the students. "The benefits these students are receiving are similar to graduate studies. They are driving and doing the research." Marsiglio himself has worked on eight publications with undergrads in the last two years.One of the most remarkable cases out of the bunch was spurred unexpectedly from a class assignment. "I have been criticized for giving assignments that are too hard and too time consuming. One student came to me the day before a final exam, not to talk about the final, but because he wanted to show me the latest results that he had been working on from a bonus question from an assignment. We worked on the results over the holiday break, and it turned in to an 18-page paper which was eventually published in the European Journal of Physics. This was not a PHYS 499 project, not a summer placement-it was a bonus question on a class assignment."
That student, Vedran Jelic, is now working on his PhD with physics professor Frank Hegmann. "Typically publishing in physics journals requires several years of being at the forefront of the field," says Jelic of the experience, summarizing that paper as describing a new way to teach introductory quantum mechanics using computation/simulation to help visualize and solve typically abstract problems.
"The background for everything was in place since I had finished a class on introductory level quantum mechanics with Frank Marsiglio," he explains. "The scope of our work on the paper was primarily pedagogical, which meant that as an undergraduate student, I could help with computation/simulation, theory/equations, and writing/editing of the manuscript."
A step ahead
Jelic notes that the initial research experience has been a significant boon in grad school. "It helped me to not be afraid of simulation/coding problems and to challenge myself when doing them." For his part, Jelic says he was drawn to stay at the University of Alberta for his graduate work as a way to work with great people conducting high quality research with cutting edge equipment."We are increasingly impressed by our undergrads," says Marsiglio, who credits a project course he himself took as an undergrad as influencing his philosophy here. "We are rethinking sending them forth to other institutions for graduate studies. We are more and more convinced that we do an incredible job of preparing these students for advanced degrees and the working world.
"We really work our students. We ask a lot, and they are working day and night. But as a result of all of their hard work, I think we prepare undergraduates better than anybody else."