Students at Middlebury have a wide variety of options for engaging in research with a faculty mentor.
Summer Research in the Biology Department
Funding summer research:
Biology Department faculty often hire students to work on collaborative research projects during the summer. You are encouraged to talk to faculty early if you are interested in their particular research areas!
Spatafora Lab
Lloyd Lab
Dr. Andi Lloyd and Amanda Warren (‘11) holding cross-sections of Alaskan paper birch, collected as part of a project to better understand how future climate change will affect the growth and productivity of high-latitude forests
Combelles Lab
Margo Hennet(’11)collecting oocytes in Prof. Catherine Combelles lab.
Aylie Baker, a Watson Fellow, is collecting the stories of islanders around the world.
Student and Faculty Research
Neuroscience students have a variety of research opportunities available to them.
Students may choose to volunteer in faculty research labs, work as a paid research assistant, work as a summer research assistant, or enroll in independent research with a willing faculty mentor. Students enrolling in independent research before their senior year enroll in NSCI 0500. Seniors enroll in NSCI 0700, and seniors who successfully complete at least one term of NSCI 0700 may be able to pursue a final term of senior thesis research (NSCI 0701) described below.
RefWorks
Overview
RefWorks is a web-based research management tool that will download and store citations and articles, automatically generate bibliographies, and format your research papers in any of hundreds of styles including MLA, APA, Chicago, and Turabian.
Research Policies
Research involving animals must be approved in advance by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. Contact Professor Mark Spritzer, the committee chair, for procedures and forms.
Research involving human subjects must be reviewed by the Human Subjects Review Committee (Institutional Review Board). The committee's procedures and forms are available at http://go.middlebury.edu/irb. Further information may be obtained from Professor Matt Kimble, the committee chair.
Research Leave Program
1. PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAM
Leaves of absence are granted to enhance the scholarly and teaching capacity of the individual faculty member and to promote the general interest of the College.
2. BASIC ASPECTS OF THE PROGRAM
Directed, Independent, and Senior Thesis Research
Directed Research (PSYC 0350)
Directed research provides opportunities for students to become familiar with and participate in ongoing research projects under the direction of a faculty member. Students gain first-hand experience in many aspects of the process of psychological research and also learn to write technical articles in psychology by preparing a paper that describes the project using APA style.
Library and Technology
Political Science Research Guide - library resources relevant for political science.
Technology Helpdesk Support - Help documents and contacts.
Library Homepage - Library resources, hours, contacts, etc.
Library & Technology Resources for Faculty - Shortcuts to library and technology pages used by faculty.
Student & Faculty Research
Students and faculty in the computer science department are very active in research. There are numerous new and ongoing student-faculty research projects, independent projects, and group projects. Students present their work at different research forums, both on-campus and off-campus, and there are several faculty research projects with active student participation.
Current on-going faculty research projects involving regular student participation include:
Jeff Byers' Research
My research program at Middlebury is carried out entirely with the assistance of undergraduate students. Through a variety of other internal and external funding sources, I typically have 3-4 students working side-by-side with me each summer, with a comparable number during the academic year. Since beginning my career at Middlebury in 1986, I have been awarded one grant from The Research Corporation, two ACS/PRF grants, four NSF-RUI grants, and served as PI or co-PI on NSF instrumentation grants leading to the acquisition of an NMR, GC/MS, polarimeter, and LC/MS for use in research and co
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Meet (in Person!)
Research Desk
Davis Family Library, Main Floor
Hours
Map
Look for the sign:
Research Advice
Having trouble finding what you need? Ask us for help! Research assistance and instruction is available to groups and individuals in the College community.
For assistance in the areas of biology, chemistry, computer science, environmental studies, geology, physics and psychology, consult our Subject Guides or contact Wendy Shook, Science Data Librarian (802.443.5799, wshook@middlebury.edu).
As senior Alexa Warburton opens the door to the cephalopod lab, a pungent smell escapes into the third-floor hallway of Middlebury College’s McCardell Bicentennial Hall. “It smells like the ocean,” she comments. And it should. Warburton, a senior biology major from Hopkinton, N.H., is spending her summer studying a member of the cephalopod family, Octopus bimaculoides . Her goal is to study the way these saltwater creatures learn, thereby furthering the already-extensive body of research on invertebrate intelligence.
Maria Perille, Class of 2011, is blogging this summer on the intersection of economics and psychology. Her first post is on "The Bachelorette" TV show and choice availability.
Three Middlebury College seniors have received recognition for their research projects from the Center for Research on Vermont at the University of Vermont. Elizabeth Kelley is the recipient of the 2009 Andrew E. Nuquist Award for Outstanding Student Research on a Vermont Topic. Gregory McDermott received the 2009 George B. Bryan Award for Excellence in Vermont Research. Benjamin Robins received special mention from the Nuquist Award committee.
On Friday, April 17, from 1-7 p.m., more than 100 Middlebury College students will showcase the results of their recent research efforts as part of the third annual Middlebury College Spring Student Symposium. The symposium will highlight student work through a mix of lectures, performances, posters, artwork and readings.