The Schapiro Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) is once again underway on the campus of Randolph-Macon College this summer. Although COVID prevented the realization of SURF in 2020, this year’s SURF is held in person, with 37 students and 26 faculty from all disciplines in participation. This year, graduating students from the class of 2021 are among the participants as they had planned to research in 2020 when the program was cancelled.

This exceptional and highly competitive program allows students to do in-depth research working closely with their faculty mentor during a nine-week period. Students live and work on campus creating learning communities that encourage the productive exchange of ideas across all disciplines.

This year, the College will celebrate the 25th anniversary of this program. 

SURF officially launched on Monday, June 7 with a luncheon for student participants and their faculty mentors.

“SURF is special because it emphasizes RMC’s passion for research and scholarship, and the importance of really good ideas,” President Robert R. Lindgren told the assembled group. “That’s what each of you has already contributed to the SURF program, even before it begins: really good ideas that are borne from curiosity and good questions.”

“SURF has happened on our campus for a quarter century, and you are among more than 800+ RMC students to engage in this remarkable experience,” President Lindgren later said.

Dean Lauren Bell, Professor of Political Science, shared candid advice with the group as they embark on the journey. “There are many things I wish someone had told me about research before I had to do it,” she explained. Her five takeaways “What I Wish I had Known about Academic Research” are published on rmc.edu as well.

The Schapiro Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program was introduced in 1995 as an endowed fellowship to support scholarly undergraduate research by RMC students in all disciplines. Benjamin Schapiro ’64 and his wife Peggy made the initial gift for the program. The Schapiros and other generous donors continue to support this program, which provides students a generous stipend, free housing and additional support for supplies and other needed materials.

This summer’s projects include four STEM projects that are funded through the National Science Foundation Research in Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) grants.

Research projects include, the pandemic and political polarization, research on cancer, climate change, and food and water supply, female mortality in England in the 19th century, and the collecting and exhibiting Native American cultural artifacts in American museums.

Below is only a small sample of the diversity of the 2021 SURF projects:

• Jacob Baker, Professor Huff (Philosophy), “Humans and Nature: Redefining our Relationship”
• Elena Keeler, Professor Thomas Rose (Classics), “Penelope’s Empowerment through ‘Women’s Work’.”
• Dylan Lockwood, Professor Ramage (Biology), “The Effects of Light and Substrate in Cultivating Mushrooms as a Secondary Product of Managed Forests.”
• Aaron Marker, Professor McManus (Computer Science), “Using Generative Adversarial Networks to Perform Neutral Style Transfers of Impressionists Works to Photographs.”
• MacKenzie Phillips, Dean Bell (Political Science) “A Change will Do you Good: A Mixed-Methods Approach to Changing Climate Change Attitudes.”

The SURF program is led by co-directors Art History Professor Evie Terrono, and Serge Schreiner, the Dudley P. and Patricia C. Jackson Professor of Chemistry.

SURF projects will be highlighted on rmc.edu throughout the summer months. The program will conclude with a SURF symposium on August 6 during which students will share their research findings in oral and poster presentations.