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Harrison Undergraduate Research Award Recipients 2001-2002

The Harrison Undergraduate Research Awards The Harrison Undergraduate Research Awards program, administered by the Faculty Senate, will fund outstanding undergraduate research projects in the spring and/or summer of 2002 for current second and third-year undergraduate students. Working in collaboration with a faculty sponsor, an awardee will plan and implement a substantial and significant research project. Forty awards of up to $3000 each will be granted on a competitive basis to current second and third-year undergraduate students. An honorarium of $1000 will be awarded to the faculty sponsor. Faculty who do not wish to claim an honorarium should so indicate at the time of the application. Foregone honoraria will be added to the funding pool available for student awards.

In the course of carrying out a research project, an awardee will be expected to create a bibliography of relevant background materials, read and research the topic, establish contacts with professionals in the field, produce a final product (e.g. final paper, creative project, presentation) that summarizes her or his findings, and present at the Harrison Awards Symposium. Faculty sponsors and award recipients will be expected to attend the Harrison Awards Symposium.

Applicants are urged to think creatively in conceptualizing their research projects. Proposals focusing on any of the undergraduate fields represented at the University will be considered. Applications that integrate different areas and approaches are encouraged. One might examine the overlap of two disciplines such as philosophy and medicine, where important new realms (e.g. bioethics) have emerged. Projects might entail the kind of imaginative scholarship that is the hallmark of many humanities departments, using the award to provide funds for a summer period of serious contemplation. Projects might involve travel, either within or outside of the U.S., to take advantage of resources that would be otherwise inaccessible. Projects requiring laboratory work might call for the purchase of equipment that could not be obtained without an award of this kind.

Current second and third-year undergraduate students who wish to apply for an award should submit six copies of the following materials by 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 13, 2001 to the Faculty Senate Committee on Research and Scholarship, c/o Frances Peyton, Faculty Senate Office, The Rotunda. Materials may not be submitted electronically.

  1. A concise description (one page maximum) of the proposed research project. The applicant should explain what is to be done, where the research will be carried out and what will be the final product. A schedule for the implementation of the project should be included. The applicant also should indicate what impact the research project will have on his or her intellectual development and how the project relates to any ongoing research program (such as a Distinguished Major thesis);
  2. A one-page resume that includes class, major, relevant course work and prior experiences.
  3. A letter of support from the student's faculty sponsor. The sponsor should explain the basis for concluding that the student is capable of completing the project at a level of high quality.
  4. A budget of anticipated expenditures (half a page maximum), including travel, living expenses, research supplies and materials.

Questions may be addressed to Frances Peyton at ftp7e@virginia.edu or by phone (924-7643). Notification of the award recipients will be made on or about December 18, 2001.

The first annual Harrison Undergraduate Research Symposium is being held on Tuesday, November 6, 2001. Prospective Harrison Award applicants are encouraged to attend and learn more about the opportunities for Harrison Undergraduate research awards.