A step toward research

REXBURG, Idaho (AP) - Few would tout Brigham Young University-Idaho - which lacks any sort of graduate programs - as a research institution.

But the private university, which is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is aiming to expand its research opportunities for undergrads and recently received laudable achievement in that direction. One of its students attended a selective undergraduate research exhibit in Washington, D.C., for the first time in the university’s history.

Senior Paul Powell, accompanied by faculty adviser David Collins, was one of around 60 students chosen nationwide to present his research project before lawmakers at the national event called “Posters on the Hill.” The conference is sponsored by the Council on Undergraduate Research, with a goal each year to advocate for federal funding of undergraduate research.

“The fact that we went to Washington, D.C., is really a feather in the cap of the university,” Collins said. “It is very meaningful to (BYU-Idaho) because we’re not known as a research institution - we don’t have a graduate program and usually it’s the graduate program that supports research. Without a graduate program, there’s really no need to do research. But, there is starting to be a push here.”

Powell was selected from a pool of more than 600 applicants, Collins said. Powell also was the only Idaho applicant to attend this year and the first BYU-Idaho applicant ever selected.

His attendance follows a series of steps the university has taken recently in an effort to expand its undergraduate research opportunities.

In October, BYU-Idaho President Kim B. Clark created the College of Faculty Development and Mentored Research. Part of the new college’s goal is to better promote mentored student research projects such as Powell’s, said Sid Palmer, dean of the new college.

University officials in recent years also have encouraged faculty members to adopt a slightly reduced teaching credit load to allow for more professional development time, which can include mentored research, Palmer said. So far, around 50 percent of faculty members university-wide have done so.

Palmer also pointed out that the university’s Research and Creative Works Conference - an event held every semester with students from nearly every university department showcasing research projects - has steadily grown each semester.

The benefits of mentored research projects are twofold, he said.

“For faculty, we’re hoping they’ll use them as an opportunity to grow professionally — it certainly makes them much more current in their discipline if they do so,” Palmer said. “For students, we’re finding employers really value a student’s capacity to apply what they’ve learned in the classroom, and mentored research activities are a great way of applying knowledge that makes them valuable in graduate school or for simply entering the workforce.”

While Powell presented the research at the nation’s capitol, he’s actually one of five students currently working on the project. He was selected, however, for the significant amount of work he’s put into it, clocking in more than 500 hours over the course of several semesters. The work was also published recently in a peer-reviewed journal called “Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry” - and Paul was its co-author.

The project, Powell said, focuses on developing a technique to simultaneously separate chemical compounds in two dimensions. Eventually, the technique could be used in thin-layer chromatography for a number of purposes including the quick-screening of drugs, analyzing plant extracts or analyzing small ions — which ultimately translates to saving money and effort with less instrumentation, Powell said.

“This research project has really been an eye-opening experience for me,” he said. “It’s allowed me to see, ’this is where I want to be, this is what I want to be involved in.’ And I think many other students have had a similar experience.”

Collins doesn’t envision BYU-Idaho adding graduate programs in the future - but he hopes to see more research opportunities added to give students such as Powell hands-on opportunities in their field.

“I think if we were doing a really good job at the undergraduate level, we would be fulfilling the current mission of the university,” he said. “But we need to kind of step it up a little bit - and do a little bit more with research so that we can better prepare our students for graduate school.”

___

Information from: Post Register, https://www.postregister.com