Now, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has taken notice.

Deneé Lichtenberg was awarded the DOE’s Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship, giving her the opportunity to further her research at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. This premier multidisciplinary research institution is advancing breakthroughs in science and technology to address national security challenges.

The opportunity brings her closer to achieving one of her biggest goals: working at a national laboratory, where she’ll collaborate with experienced researchers and learn how large-scale scientific projects are conducted.

Raised in Titusville, less than an hour away from UCF’s main campus, Lichtenberg says she always knew she’d attend UCF, especially given the strength of its engineering programs. What she didn’t yet know was how far that decision would take her.

“The ability to design and improve materials that impact a variety of fields really motivated me to pursue this discipline.”

She found her path in materials science — a field where physics, chemistry and engineering intersect — which would allow her to study materials from the atomic level to real-world applications.

“Ultimately, everything is made up of materials,” she says. “By changing a material’s structure or composition, you can drastically alter its performance. The ability to design and improve materials that impact a variety of fields really motivated me to pursue this discipline.”

That curiosity has evolved into something bigger: tackling the challenge of sustainably recovering rare earth metals that are vital to the future of energy and technology.

Advancing Sustainable Extraction

Over the past year in the , led by Assistant Professor of Engineering Kausik Mukhopadhyay, Lichtenberg has focused on a breakthrough approach that uses a naturally occurring protein, lanmoudulin.

“The protein can capture rare earth elements from dilute waste streams, and then a small temperature change can trigger the protein to release them so they can be collected,” she says. “This could create a more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly way to recover valuable materials.”

Those materials are critical to everything from renewable energy systems to manufacturing; however, traditional extraction methods rely heavily on large amounts of energy and chemicals sourced from acid mine drainage, coal byproducts and electronic waste.

Lichtenberg’s work points to a sustainable future.

“By developing protein-based systems that selectively capture and release these elements, we could potentially reduce the reliance on traditional extraction,” she says.

At Los Alamos National Laboratory, Lichtenberg will take that work further, designing modified proteins, producing them in the lab and testing how effectively they bind and release rare earth elements.

“It is a very exciting interdisciplinary project that combines protein engineering, materials science and sustainability,” she says. “I hope to continue this research after the internship ends.”

It Takes a Lab — and a Team

But just as impactful as the research has been, the environment that’s shaped it has been.

“Dr. Mukhopadhyay is a fantastic mentor who creates a very supportive and positive environment that encourages learning [both] in and out of the lab,” Lichtenberg says. “The graduate students in the lab have [also] played a huge role in … helping me learn new techniques and [understand] the experiments and science itself.”

Next, she plans to continue her journey as a Knight by pursuing a doctoral degree at UCF, advancing her research as a graduate member of the KM Lab.

For Lichtenberg, this internship isn’t the finish line — it’s just the beginning of reimagining how the world sources its most essential materials.

Zaima Aline, Arlette Morcelo and Nicole Stevens, who all graduate with honors from UCF on May 2, say support from UCF faculty mentors and caring physicians inspired them to follow their dreams to improve healthcare for all.

“These three undergraduate students each have a remarkable story of academic achievement, resilience and scientific curiosity that drove them during their undergraduate careers,” says William Self, who leads undergraduate education at the Burnett School. “They benefited from outstanding faculty mentoring and an integrated student community to help them achieve their goals. We are so proud to support transfer students who help UCF stand for academic excellence while offering opportunities to ensure access in our community.”

Since 2006, UCF has increased opportunities for student success through the DirectConnect program, which guarantees admission to students who complete an associate degree in the Florida College System. More than 8,200 students transfer to UCF through this program each year. As of Fall 2024, the program has awarded 77,900 UCF degrees. DirectConnect students save more than $6,500 in tuition as they work toward their college degree.

Here’s a closer look at the graduating DirectConnect students and aspiring doctors’ stories:

Nicole Stevens

Stevens is the oldest daughter of 10 children in her family. Homeschooled, she finished high school, got married and had three children. She always loved science.

“One day I was thinking about my future and asked, ‘What do I know about myself?’” she says. “And it came to me that the science I loved could be used in medicine to alleviate suffering.”

She was 26 when she enrolled at Valencia College. Two years later, she transferred to UCF and pursued a major in biomedical sciences while maintaining a 4.0 grade point average. She volunteered at Nemours Children’s Health, where she was named Volunteer of the Month for being what she calls the “Santa Claus of the ER,” helping children and parents seeking emergency care at the hospital.

At UCF, Stevens has conducted and presented research on improving care for children with asthma, including those whose families don’t have reliable access to internet, through which they could learn more about the condition. Stevens has won numerous UCF research and academic awards, such as the Order of Pegasus — the university’s most prestigious student honor.

In August, she will join the UCF College of Medicine’s Class of 2029. She is considering becoming a pediatrician but is open to other specialties.

“As the oldest daughter, I took care of a lot of boo-boos and I always wanted to learn more about how to do it better,” she says. “As a mother I think I have a unique perspective to see parents and children where they are.”

Her children, who are 7, 10 and 11, accompanied Stevens to the Order of Pegasus celebration. Her husband is a store manager at Publix who says he is thrilled watching her fulfilling her dreams.

“I’m not a traditional student at all,” Stevens says. “But I want people to know they can do it. You just have to take that first step. Pursue your dreams and get the best out of life. I am living proof of the UCF [spirit of] unleashing the possible and reaching for the stars.”

Zaima Aline

Aline’s passion for medical research was sparked by a heartbreaking personal experience. During her senior year of high school, a cousin was diagnosed with synovial sarcoma, a rare type of cancer that attacks soft tissue.

“Before then I didn’t really study that much, I mainly played video games,” she says. “Witnessing his diagnosis and treatment made me realize what truly mattered to me and I completely changed the direction of my life.”

Before transferring to UCF, Aline began her studies at Valencia. The COVID-19 pandemic hit while she was at Valencia, and she saw the physical and mental health impacts that social distancing and isolation caused. So she conducted a research project, including a campus-wide survey to document the effects of the disease.

“COVID-19 took away a lot of what I had hoped to experience at Valencia,” she says. “So, when I got to UCF, I made a promise to myself — I wasn’t going to waste a single moment.”Aline immersed herself in opportunities at UCF, diving into research at the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences and quickly discovering a passion for scientific inquiry. Her honors undergraduate thesis explored the role of a protease (enzyme) called prostasin and its effects on angiogenesis — the process by which the body uses chemical signals to trigger the formation of new blood vessels.

Beyond the lab, she co-founded It Takes A Village, a student-led organization dedicated to helping transfer and nontraditional students build a stronger sense of community on campus. Aline also volunteered with Hearts for the Homeless, an initiative that offers health services, such as blood pressure screenings, to individuals receiving care at Orlando’s Christian Service Center.

Her academic and research accomplishments led to two Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix. There, she studied the genetic mutations that drive brain cancer and contribute to its resistance against therapies. She says she was inspired by how Mayo physicians balanced cutting-edge research with a deep compassion for their patients.

“What struck me most was that, at Mayo, the patient always came first, before anything else,” she says. “It made me realize that I don’t want to choose between science and people. I want to be the kind of physician-scientist who can do both — [one] who listens, who investigates and who shows up for their patients every step of the way.”

Another Order of Pegasus honoree, Aline will take a gap year after graduation to conduct cancer research at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center before applying to medical school to pursue an M.D./Ph.D.

“Everything I’ve done so far has been building toward this,” she says. “I don’t just want to study cancer — I want to find better ways to treat it. I just hope I can make a difference in my lifetime.”

Arlette Morcelo

Morcelo became fascinated with science, especially genetics, at age 16 after learning she was conceived through IVF. After completing her associate degree at Valencia, she transferred to UCF, where she met Ken Teter, a professor at the Burnett School.

“I didn’t even know what a Ph.D. was,” she says, “But I went into the lab and said, ‘Oh, my God, I love  this.’ ”

Morcelo says Teter encouraged her to “go for it,” when it came to scientific discovery and taught her that failure was just a learning experience.

She served on the board of UCF’s Undergraduate Research Council, working with students and faculty to increase research opportunities for students earlier in their college careers. Among her academic and research honors, she became a Ronald E. McNair Scholar, which is a prestigious federal program that prepares students for graduate school. She became a peer mentor to help other students achieve success and served on the executive board of Transfer Knights, which organizes programs for transfer students.

And through it all, she kept researching. In Teter’s lab, Morcelo focused on cholera, a potentially deadly disease caused by drinking contaminated water. The disease affects up to 4 million people a year worldwide. As she advanced in her undergraduate degree — with a major in biomedical sciences and a minor in genomics and bioinformatics — Morcelo says she became fascinated with the brain.

Morcelo leaves UCF as the 2025 Founders’ Day student honoree for the College of Medicine and will do a two-year postbaccalaureate research experience at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Next year, she will apply to medical school to become an M.D./Ph.D.

“My aspiration to pursue an M.D./Ph.D. reflects my commitment to merging scientific inquiry with clinical practice,” Morcelo says. “As a future surgeon-scientist, I aim to lead advancements in treating neurovascular malformations through pioneering surgical techniques and gene therapy. This path allows me to innovate treatments that directly enhance patient care and outcomes.”

The students work in the research lab of Amber Southwell, a College of Medicine expert on Huntington’s Disease (HD), who also helps run an interdisciplinary clinic for patients with the inherited disease.

HD causes brain cells to break down and die, causing patients to suffer involuntary movements, difficulty swallowing, cognitive decline, and behavioral and emotional control issues. Symptoms usually begin at the height of adulthood – ages 30 to 50. There is no cure or drug treatment that can slow down the disease although scientific studies show that an interdisciplinary clinical program like UCF’s can delay disease progression and improve quality of life for patients and their families.

UCF student scientists Alex De Almeida, Kaleigh Hanley and Sabrina “Shai” Lipkin will research a variety of HD topics, including the biological causes of aggression, depression, and OCD-like symptoms that impact Huntington patients and their families.

Such research by undergraduates is an important part of their scientific career path, Southwell says, noting that the three have dreams of becoming physicians, academic researchers and M.D./Ph.D.’s.

“UCF has very strong undergraduate programs that enroll excellent students,” she says. “The caliber of these students and their desire to do research is extraordinary. I am so proud of them.”

To compete for the fellowship, the students had to develop a research hypothesis, conduct initial research to design ways to test their hypothesis, and have a scientific plan for future studies.

“They had to show a passion for research and that their hypotheses have a strong rationale,” Southwell says. “Their studies have the potential of impacting the lives of patients with Huntington disease, their families and their caregivers.”

The psychological impact of HD is understudied, Southwell says, because it is so difficult to accurately measure and because HD causes unique behavioral symptoms in every patient. One of the most challenging symptoms for patients and their families is aggression, where a formerly mild-mannered person may suddenly face arrest for assault or road rage as the disease progresses.

De Almeida says he wants to research aggression in HD patients because of the stigma they face.

“I know that inside every person that is living with Huntington disease is the desire to be loved just like the rest of us,” he says. “Research into Huntington disease has opened my eyes to the reality that making this world a better place is a constant battle.”

Lipkin also has a personal reason behind her interested in HD research.

“As someone who has witnessed my family being plagued by dementia and Alzheimer’s, I have always harbored a personal vendetta against neurodegenerative diseases,” she says.

That passion led her to learn about neurodegenerative diseases to help her care for family members. Lipkin says working in Southwell’s lab and doing outreach with HD patients have inspired her to do translational research that will help improve the quality of life for patients and their families.

Hanley serves as a patient navigator at UCF’s Huntington disease clinic.

“This experience has given my research a sensitive and humanizing touch,” Hanley says. “I work closely with patients and their families, observing firsthand the life-altering effects of Huntington disease. The severity and abundance of symptoms of individuals affected by Huntington disease compared to other forms of neurodegenerative disease is striking and has increased my desire to contribute to their care.”

UCF’s clinic and its sister site at the AdventHealth Neuroscience Institute is a partner sites to the Huntington’s Disease Society of American Center of Excellence at the University of South Florida. Located inside the UCF College of Health Professions and Sciences Rehabilitation Innovation Center in Research Park, the clinic integrates neurologists, psychologists, speech language pathologists, physical therapists, social workers and researchers to provide comprehensive care to patients and their caregivers, and to help answer important questions that will advance the field of care. The clinic is located at 3280 Progress Drive, suite 500.

To learn more about the clinic, or to make an appointment, visit the hdsa.org or email chd@ucf.edu.

is a ��AV (UCF) non-profit research facility, with a STEAM-focused approach toward prosthetics. The philosophy has led to a program devoted to beautiful and functional electromyographic bionic limbs for children which are currently being evaluated through clinical trial research.

This semester 40 students are interning at Limbitless. They all bring their own talents based on their fields of study while learning to work as a team and gaining skills outside their area of study. The research environment blends engineering, art and communication with innovative tech, including the prosthetic arms for children. Part of the process of getting children ready for Limbitless prosthetics involves preparing their muscles for the kind of work required to use the prosthetics. That’s accomplished through using a video game controller and special EMG-based video games designed at Limbitless Solutions.

In 2016, Limbitless and UCF faculty members Matt Dombrowski ’08MFA with and Peter Smith ’05MS ’12PhD with created video games to train children’s muscles in anticipation of receiving bionic arms.

The student research team presenting evaluates the effectiveness and usability of a custom EMG video game controller and the game mode used by the children between pre- and post-tests. The study focuses on the mobile video game, Limbitless Runner, developed in-house and now available in app stores.

The findings of the study will assess the influence of using focused training games with the EMG controller to teach Limbitless’ bionic kids how to use their prosthetic.

“My time at Limbitless has been filled with a variety of different learning experiences, each of which has brought me closer to my peers and pushes me to become more and more passionate about our main goal: supporting our bionic kids,” says Calvin MacDonald, one of the team members presenting at Research Week. He is a 20-year-old sophomore from Melbourne Beach studying health sciences.

Other team members are Shea McLinden (health sciences), Devon Lynn (biomedical sciences), Katherine Tran (health sciences) and Kelsey Robinson (statistics).

“This experience has sparked my interest in pursuing a career which incorporates healthcare, as well as clinical research opportunities,” says McLinden who is in her junior year.

This same team also presented their work at the Florida Undergraduate Research Conference (FURC) in February.  is one of the nation’s largest multidisciplinary research conferences and is open to all Florida undergraduate students. This was the 11^th year of the conference and the first time held at UCF.

As part of NASA’s BIG Idea Challenge to conquer lunar dust, the project — titled Lunar Dust Mitigating Electrostatic micro-Textured Overlay, or LETO — provided an opportunity of a lifetime to design, form and test new innovations to get the researchers on NASA’s radar.

With the theme centered around lunar dust, the UCF team designed a space suit material overlay for astronauts performing space exploration. The moon’s surface is covered in sharp, hazardous lunar dust that could be a danger to people and equipment.

“Our group was familiar with creating polymer-based composite materials, so we saw it as a great opportunity to further expand our knowledge in the field and contribute to the space industry,” says team member Yuen Yee Li Sip ’17’19MS, a Ph.D. student studying materials science and engineering. “I greatly appreciate the research that I do, to be able to combine two or more components in one and create new materials with various properties.”

Their new design uses the microstructure of bee hair, hoping to simulate the capture and release of pollen. These hair-like fibers work similarly to remove lunar dust via electric field signals.

“This project required tremendous innovation to solve unexpected issues and predict the expectations of the review panel of accomplished experts in the field,” says team member Adam Rozman, an undergraduate researcher in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering;. “I am honored that I had the opportunity to work with the brilliant, devoted, and creative team at Dr. Zhai’s lab to bring this project to fruition.”

The team also included Nilab Azim ’20MS ’21PhD, a recent graduate with a doctorate in chemistry; Alex Burnstine-Townley ’16, a doctoral student in the Department of Chemistry; Trisha Joseph ’20, a recent graduate with her bachelor’s in physics; Nicholas Alban, undergraduate researcher in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The team is led by advisor Lei Zhai, a professor of the Nanoscience Technology Center and the Department of Chemistry in the College of Sciences.

In the future, the team hopes to study these materials in high vacuum and further their design. The plan is to build another team with some original team members interested in this area of research, and some new members with a background in working under these constraints.

The Lunar Dust Challenge is just one of NASA’s annual themes from their Breakthrough, Innovative, and Game-changing (BIG) Idea Challenge. The goal is to support NASA in their efforts to rapidly advance high-impact technologies for infusion in a broad range of future NASA expeditions.

Seeing this honeybee space suit design in the great unknown someday might just become a reality thanks to this group of student researchers.

Megan Rizer, a fourth-year biomedical sciences student, wanted to find out for herself. Rizer is studying the alternative compounds used in BPA-free plastics to find out whether they contain the same harmful properties as BPA.

Her research recently earned her a Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher Award, which recognizes outstanding academic research by UCF undergraduates. Winners receive a $200 scholarship.

Rizer’s research focuses on bisphenols, a group of chemicals that has been used to make plastics and other products since the 1960s. Typically found in containers that store food and beverages, such as water bottles, BPA or bisphenol-A is the most well-known of the group, as exposure to it has been associated with cancer, genetic mutation and reproductive issues.

Many countries, including the United States, have banned the use of BPA in baby bottles, prompting manufacturers to find alternate compounds to make plastics. But many BPA-free labeled plastics still contain derivatives or analogs of bisphenols that Rizer says are structurally similar to BPA and can be just as harmful.

Working with College of Medicine faculty researchers Emily Bradshaw and Alicia Hawthorne, Rizer is investigating two most commonly used analogs – BPF and BPS – to see whether they have the same potential mutagenicity, the ability to cause genetic mutations as BPA.

“These analogs have never really been thoroughly tested as to whether they are mutagenic,” Rizer says. “So we’re looking at these most common analogs to make sure that they are safe.”

For the study, Rizer treated cells from mice with various concentrations of BPA, BPF and BPS and incubated them for 24 hours. She then measured a gene—GADD45 alpha that increases when DNA mutations are occurring within a cell.

“So far, our preliminary data indicates that the analogs are very similar in terms of their levels of mutagenicity compared to BPA,” she said. “We found BPS to be the safest option but it is still harmful. However, these are still preliminary findings and we have a long ways to go and will do further studies before we can prove that.”

Rizer has presented her preliminary findings at three local conferences including the Florida Undergraduate Research Conference and is currently preparing a submission for the Experimental Biology 2020 conference.

“People tend to take anything someone says as the truth. So to be able to actually discover what the truth is, and the scientific reasoning behind it is something that has always been very appealing to me,” says Rizer. “I’ve always loved the idea of being able to actually figure something out or discover something for myself.”

Hawthorne who has been mentoring Rizer since her first year at UCF, says research comes naturally to Rizer.

“She is quite intellectual and is able to understand the project, task, or what needs to be done,” Hawthorne says. “She always thinks ahead and has great ideas for future projects.”

After graduating from UCF on Dec. 13, Rizer will continue her work as a research assistant in Hawthorne’s lab while applying for medical school.

“I have always known that I want to be a doctor,” says Rizer, who lost her mother to cancer when Rizer was 11. “When my mom was diagnosed I would go to her doctor’s appointments. The doctors could tell I was interested in learning about medicine so they would try to explain everything to me and I was always intrigued. I also want to be able to have a direct impact, possibly helping to save lives.”

“When I attended the CUR institute UCF’s Undergraduate Research office was in its infancy,” said Schneider. “Participating in the conference provided insights, best practices and practical advice that helped to shape undergraduate research at the university.”

Today, Ů��AV is nationally recognized for its undergraduate research that engages more than 600 faculty members and more than 1700 students.

In recognition of the value of the CUR institute, UCF last week hosted the organization’s 2018 institute. Thirty universities with 80 attendees from across the country participated in the three-day event focused on establishing new undergraduate research programs, developing centralized undergraduate research offices and expanding undergraduate research opportunities from a single department to a campuswide program.

President John C. Hitt provided opening remarks and underscored the importance of the institute and the connection between robust undergraduate research programs and exceptional student academic experiences. He said: “Regardless of how your institution seeks to grow its excellence and opportunities in undergraduate research, you are in the right place for pursuing results.”

Action-oriented sessions focused on strategic planning, assessment, budget and marketing. Speakers included Schneider; Michael Aldarondo-Jeffries, director of Academic Advancement Programs in UCF’s Division of Teaching and Learning; psychology Professor Gerry Gonzalez of California State University San Marcos; Sandy Gregerman, special counsel, Undergraduate Research and Student Access Initiatives at the University of Michigan; and Mary Crowe, assistant provost of experiential learning at Florida Southern College.

Elizabeth A. Dooley, vice provost of teaching and learning and dean of the College of Undergraduate Studies, stressed the importance of the institute. “We know that high impact practices play a key role in creating an environment that fosters student success. Programs, like CUR, spark the ideas that enhance teaching and learning and professional and academic development for faculty members and students.”

The council and its affiliated colleges, universities and individuals share a focus on providing undergraduate research opportunities for faculty and students at all institutions serving undergraduate students. For more information about CUR visit .

If you are interested in getting involved in undergraduate research at UCF, email our@ucf.edu.

“This year, people took it to a whole other level,” said Pryia Persaud, SURF Club president and organizer for the Showcase. “Instead of just posters, they created binders and brought all of their research, all of their questions, and everything they found with them to accompany their presentations. (CEDHP) has never really had enough posters and presentations to participate in the University-wide showcase, but now we do and we have our own category for the College of Education and Human Performance. That’s something we have wanted to do since last year and we were able to accomplish that goal this year.”

The spring showcase, held in room 117 in the Teaching Academy this time around, had expanded space available for presenters, and there were more than enough students participating to fill the space.

“We have around 34 presenters this time, and the majority of our presenters come from a research class that has started in the College,” Morgan Futch, graduate assistant for the CEDHP Office of Research tells us. “During the class they learn about research and are then asked as one of their final projects to present here at this poster presentation. And if they are really dedicated or get pretty excited about research, we encourage them to apply for SURE. In the end we’re hoping that we get more of our students involved there because they haven’t necessarily been in the past.”

Posters and projects once again covered a wide range of topics and research areas, from teacher retention and professional development to the benefits and impacts of recess on student success.

“My research project investigates the correlation between free, unstructured recess during the school day and development of leadership abilities or qualities,” student and presenter Meridith Doerstling tells us. “I really appreciated all the time we took in class to share with each other and Dr. Wise, and I got a lot of feedback and was able to refine a lot of what I had. So I felt a lot more confident about what I was able to put on my board and present today at the Showcase.”

The CEDHP Showcase of Undergraduate Research Findings takes place twice a year and provides students with opportunities to refine and improve their research before participating in the University’s , a part of the  at UCF.

The , a semi-annual event in the College, offers undergraduates in every track the opportunity to present current research findings and academic projects related to the field. From school uniforms to teacher training to educational access and more, students explore their particular areas of interest, review current literature, and present their findings to their fellow students as well as a panel of faculty judges.

Pryia Persaud, junior in mathematics, was the organizer for this fall’s showcase, and was overly impressed with the work that her fellow students brought forward.

“The event on the whole came about because we need to start introducing research to the undergraduate students,” Pryia tells us about this year’s event. “What we’re trying to do is bring people in and help them understand both what research is and why it is important, especially in the field of education. Ů��AV is all about research, and we want to make sure our college is on track with that focus. We want to make sure that we have more participants attending the Showcase of Undergraduate Research Excellence, and we want to make sure we’re promoting research possibilities as much as we can within the College of Education and Human Performance.”

As for her experience running this fall’s event, she said “When it is all complete it’s extremely rewarding to see what everyone has put together and the different ideas they have regarding what needs to be researched or what problems need to be looked into.”

Future opportunities for undergraduate CEDHP students include presenting education research at regional conferences and continuing to explore current topics in numerous education fields. Learn more about the Showcase of Undergraduate Research Findings at the link above, and visit the to learn more about campus-wide opportunities for students.

The (L.E.A.R. N.) will provide a living and learning community where students will live in a residence hall and take three courses together– a freshman seminar, English and an introduction to research course tailored specifically for the program.

The National Science Foundation funded LEARN to increase retention in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) disciplines for first generation and minority students at UCF.

The program’s structure will offer a small learning environment in a large research university setting. Studies suggest this approach leads to higher grade point averages, increased interaction with faculty and peers, and increased campus involvement.

Participants also will work three hours a week with graduate students and faculty mentors as part of a research apprenticeship. They will obtain hands-on experience while learning laboratory techniques, helping process data and assisting with experiments.

Associate Professor Kenneth Teter, one of the mentors in the program, said the program will give students a chance to apply what they learn in the classroom in the real world setting of a research lab.

“There is an excitement and energy in the research environment that needs to be experienced to be appreciated,” said Teter who works in the Burnett School for Biomedical Sciences in the area of infectious disease. “If we can expose our students to the culture of research early in their college careers, we will be more likely to capture their imaginations and retain them in the major.”

Participants will work with mentors throughout their undergraduate experience. Successful completion of the program will make the students outstanding candidates for more intense research programs during their junior and senior years, said Kimberly Schneider, director for the Office of Undergraduate Research which houses LEARN. The Research and Mentoring Program (RAMP) and McNair Scholars are among the upper level undergraduate programs available at UCF.

RAMP is a four-semester opportunity for juniors to become progressively more involved in a faculty member’s research agenda. The McNair Program provides an educational experience for students from underrepresented groups, first generation and low income students to excel as undergraduates, prepare for graduate school and ultimately enter faculty positions.

Applications are currently being accepted for LEARN’s inaugural class this coming fall. Prospective students must plan to major in a STEM discipline and live on campus.  To apply for one of the 28 spots available, visit and register for on-campus housing through . The program will begin reviewing applications on May 1, 2011. 

About LEARN: Schneider designed the program to address the need for research opportunities for freshmen. The program is modeled after the , a living and learning community at The University of Michigan.