Undergrads Research Beavers, Probiotics, and AI

At CGS, student researchers are building a model of the human stomach to test the effectiveness of probiotics and poring over the films of Hollywood legends to help a professor write a book. They’re studying artificial intelligence and testing the antimicrobial properties of historical cures.

In fall 2018, 20 CGS students—a record number—partnered with faculty on undergraduate research projects, and each earned a $2,000 stipend from the Center for Interdisciplinary Teaching & Learning.

Kate Nash, lecturer of rhetoric, says partnering with an English major and an engineering major helped her to refine her book, provisionally titled Consuming War: Modernism and the Rhetoric of Austerity.

“Being able to work with both of them has helped me to see my project in different ways and speak more clearly to different audiences,” says Nash.

“By working with Professor Nash, I got more practice with compiling bibliographies and accessing databases for articles—but most importantly I was able to bring my background in STEM to help her bring her research onto technological mediums like a website,” says engineering major Rene Colato (’20). “This experience gave me a one-on-one work environment that encouraged exploration, academic growth, and innovative thinking to create something unique and profound.”

A gift from Mike Gould—the first $1 million donation in the history of CGS—has endowed the Center for Interdisciplinary Teaching & Learning’s fund for undergraduate research projects, more than doubling the number of research opportunities.

—Alisa Harris

At CGS, student researchers are testing the antimicrobial properties of historical cures. Video by BU Alumni Association