Finding a Research Director and Registration for Research Independent Study
Temperment for Research. Before getting into research it is important to understand that research requires a certain temperment - that you are able to accept failure and learn from it. Here is a short excerpt about failure in research quoted from an interview with Duke's first Nobel Lauerate, Dr. Robert Lefkowitz.
"Early on, research was hardly an obvious course for Lefkowitz. "When I came to the NIH, I had never failed at anything in my life. I mean, in general, I was a top student. Now, for the first time in my life, I didn't know what the hell I was doing. And so, the first six to nine months to a year-total failure. Total failure. Making no progress. I was given, in retrospect, a very difficult project, which might not have worked at all. And I just wasn't used to that. And I concluded, erroneously, that I had no talent for this at all. But in the second year, things began to really work. And by the time I left at the end of two years, things were in high gear.
"What I subsequently came to realize is that a year's failure is nothing - nothing. I remember one prominent scientist telling me, 'The difference between a really successful scientist and an average scientist is that for the average scientist, maybe 0.5 to 1 percent of his experiments work. For an absolutely fabulous scientist, it could be as high as 2 percent.' At the time, I kind of discounted that. But it's almost all failure, and accepting that didn't come naturally to me. So I try to teach my students and fellows that they are going to encounter almost nothing but failure. But the thing about failure is that each failure teaches you a little something, and you build on it. Success is, in a very real sense, just the product of repeated failure." (Bliwise, R.J., The Chemistry of Discovery, Duke Magazine, Nov-Dec 2012, 98, 6, p. 26)
Finding a Research Group. Participation in independent study usually involves joining an existing research group, which may be located in the chemistry department, or in a chemistry-related department elsewhere on campus, or in an approved nearby laboratory such as the Veterans Hospital or in Research Triangle Park. Majors who would like assistance in finding or joining a research group should see Dr. Roy in French Family Science Center room 1222 (in suite 1219).
To join a research group, you first have to decide what kind of research you find truly interesting. Your deep interest will be essential to your surviving failures you will surely experience on your way to success.
You next need to determine what local groups are doing research in your area(s) of interest. Go online and look up research interests of faculty in the appropriate departments. Look at faculty research interests as described on faculty and research group websites. Click here for a complete listing of chemistry faculty, and follow links to faculty and research group websites. Some faculty maintain web sites that specifically address undergraduate research opportunities. See, for example: Dr. Charbonneau.
In addition, a major can identify faculty who do research in areas of interest to them, by going to the descriptions of their research interests found on their web sites. These web sites can be accessed from their department's home pages. Links to the most common departments in which chemistry majors have done independent study are biochemistry, pharmacology, or environmental chemistry (Stapleton or Hsu-Kim)
Majors may also work with a researcher who is on the clinical staff of the Medical Center (such as someone in the Cancer Center or at the VA hospital). Frequently faculty web sites will also include links to recent publications that you will find helpful in determining a match for your interests.
Next you need to contact those faculty members whose research areas appeal to you to find out if they have openings in their research groups. If so, arrange to meet with them and discuss specific research problems that they have available. Notice that generally you will be asked consider problems that are already available rather than creating a research problem on your own. The reason for this is that research requires significant funding for supplies, instruments, etc. The process of obtaining funding is rather lengthy and you will not have enough time to write a full grant proposal and get it funded before graduation. The faculty member has likely already obtained funding for the specific projects that you will be asked to consider.
Joining a research group involves a two-way selection process. Just as you probably interviewed with several research directors, those research directors have probably interviewed several students. As soon as you make your decision, notify your first choice research director that you would like to undertake a specific research problem with him/her. The research director will then decide which of the applicants is the best fit and will notify all applicants of the decision. If you are not selected, repeat the process with another research director.
Enrolling in First Semester of Independent Study.
When you have found a research director, complete the independent study form that can be downloaded from http://www.chem.duke.edu/undergraduates/research/ISFormChem.doc. Bring it to suite 1219, room 1217 of FFSC and give it to the DUS assistant, Mrs. Rosenthal.
If your independent study is in the chemistry department, Mrs. Rosenthal will give you a permission number for the appropriate section of Chemistry 393. You can then register for independent study using ACES.
If your independent study is outside the chemistry department, Mrs. Rosenthal will give your form to Dr. Roy for approval that the project is sufficiently chemical/molecular oriented to count toward chemistry major requirements and requirements for Graduation with Distinction in Chemistry. When the project has been approved, you need to obtain a permission number in order to register.
If your research director has an independent study section listed in ACES, you must obtain from your research director the course number, section number, and a permission number for his/her independent study. You can then register for independent study using ACES.
If your research director does not have an independent study section listed in ACES, your approved research will need to be sponsored by Dr. Roy. Mrs. Rosenthal will give you a permission number for Dr. Roy's section of Chem 393. You can then register for independent study using ACES. As your sponsor, Dr. Roy will take care of the necessary paper work involved with registration, monitoring your progress during the semester, and turning in your grade at the end of the semester. Your research director (or designee) will supervise all of your day-to-day research activities. To fulfill the requirement that your sponsor monitor your progress, you will need to send to Dr. Roy brief progress reports on dates that he will set. At the end of the semester, your research director will assign and transmit your grade to Dr. Roy, who will then report the grade to the registrar.
Chemistry 295 (formerly 197), Introduction to Independent Study, 0.5 cc, is open to all majors, but is required for majors who are enrolling in their first semester of independent study in chemistry, Chemistry 393 (formerly 191B) or in a related area, and who intend to pursue graduation with distinction in chemistry, or who intend to pursue a BS degree that is certified by ACS.
Majors may take Chem 295 (197) for Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory or regular letter grades depending on their needs. Those taking it for letter grades will also earn 0.5 cc toward the writing requirement (W). The writing component will focus on writing a research proposal and on writing progress reports for the major's project. The course is recommended for all majors.
Requesting Writing Credit for Independent Study
The procedure for W-credit for Independent Study is as follows. Prior to the end of Drop/Add of your final semester of participation in independent study, you can go to the following URL: http://trinity.duke.edu/academic-requirements?p=independent-study-research-w-coding and print a form for requesting W-credit for one Independent Study course. Fill out the form, have your research mentor and DUS sign it, and deliver the completed form to room 011 Allen Building prior to the end of Drop/Add.
See http://www.chem.duke.edu/undergraduates/research/is_req.php for requirements for research.