Randolph-Macon College held its 19th annual SURF (Schapiro Undergraduate Research Fellowship) Symposium August 5, 2016. SURF offers students the opportunity to conduct 10 weeks of summer research under the guidance of a faculty mentor.

The Symposium, held in Copley Science Center and Brock Commons, showcased students’ research and offered them the opportunity to formally present the results of their research. In oral and poster presentations, students described their research methodology and how they determined their final conclusions. Provost William T. Franz welcomed students, parents, faculty and friends to the Symposium.

Engaging Presentations
Students researched a wide variety of topics. A sampling of this year’s projects follows:

Nicole Wood ’17 (psychology major; communication studies minor) researched Do Empathetic People Have Better Relationships? A Study of Empathetic Responses to Emotional Video Stimuli and Perceived Social Support; Anne Louden ’18 (art history and arts management major) researched Visual Arts Museums Online: The Effect of the Internet on User Engagement and Scholarship; and Jessica Hill ’18 (sociology major; political science minor) researched Perceptions of Immigrant Crime in Japan: A Possible Key to the Population Crisis?

Four SURF students who traveled to Japan this summer presented the results of their research at the Symposium. The generosity of the Taylor Anderson Memorial Fund and the TOMODACHI Initiative enabled Laura Peyton Ellis ’17, Rebecca Reidy ’17, Phillip Terrono ’17 and Eric Montag ’17, along with their SURF advisors, to travel to Japan to research various aspects of the aftermath of the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami.

SURF Directors
The SURF program is co-directed by Kelly Lambert, the Macon and Joan Brock Professor of Psychology, and Serge Schreiner, the Dudley P. and Patricia C. Jackson Professor of Chemistry.

“SURF is an excellent opportunity for students and professors,” says Lambert. “Students have an enriching, hands-on learning experience, and professors can fine-tune their research and scholarship skills as they work alongside students.”

“The one-on-one interaction is invaluable,” says Schreiner, “and faculty and students, unencumbered by other classes, can focus completely on the research.” Many students continue their research well beyond the 10 weeks of SURF, a testimony to the program.

Generous Support
The Schapiro Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program was introduced in 1995 as an endowment to support scholarly undergraduate research by RMC students in all disciplines. The initial gift for the program was made by Benjamin Schapiro ’64 and his wife Peggy.

The Schapiros’ generosity provides students with the opportunity to conduct original research under the guidance of a faculty member. The SURF program demands that students experience a professional research environment. Students submit a research proposal for funding to faculty reviewers, emulating a competitive external review process. If funded, the student receives a modest summer stipend, and it is understood that the research should result in presentation of the findings at professional meetings and submission for publication where appropriate.

The college also provides free housing so students can engage in a number of activities as a community. Among these activities are seminar presentations by faculty members and visiting scholars. Results of the research are presented at the annual SURF Symposium and on Research Day in the spring in a celebration of the summer’s activities.