GC students participate in summer research projects

By LISA IVORY
Goshen News Staff Writer
A group of Maple Scholars branched out and showed off their findings Thursday in the conclusion to a summer-long research event at Goshen College.
“It’s an undergraduate program in creative activity that promotes the scientific research idea,” Carl Helrich, director, said. The eight-week program begins in June and typically ends the first week of August. The goal is to get students from various disciplines.
“I’m trying to get people from across the campus,” Helrich said, adding that non-scientific majors are almost “guaranteed to get the funding.”
Students are paired with staff to do ongoing research, such as John Ross Buschert’s handbell project, promoting the use of physics in music, or explorations of biophysics.
“It’s really linking up a student to work on a faculty member’s project,” Helrich said. 
Students do most of the work, relying on their advisers for expertise only.
“Here, they’re very involved in the work and my students understand very much what is going on,” Helrich said.
Projects ranged from cooperative gaming effects on the ecosystem, with linguistics and neuroscience running the gamut in between.
“The basic problem of this is inheritance and how to go about dividing it,” Ulises Martinez, an upcoming senior from Goshen, said of his fair division problem to find ways to divide an inheritance equally and without envy. “At the beginning of the program, David (Housman, adviser) exposed us to fair division problems and how to do research about it.”
Participants said the lineup gives them a first-hand look into scientific method.
“I’ve learned a lot about the scientific process and that you can’t always control nature, no matter how hard you try,” said Zeb Holsopple, a senior environmental sciences major from Goshen.
Holsopple, who did his research on species richness and the effects on the ecosystem, worked in state parks, not in the college’s labs, for his findings. 
“I’ve really enjoyed it. It’s been a learning experience. It was nice to see how research happens first hand,” said Andrew Weber, who was studying the effects of different habitats on the bird population.
Maple Scholars is also a way to help students chart their future plans.
“This has helped me to figure out more about researching projects and whether or not going to graduate school for research is something I would want to do,” said senior Katie Beck, who wants to be a physician’s assistant. 
The program emphasized techniques and gave participants experience with public speaking.
 “I was making connections with other students that I hadn’t known before, as well as with the faculty,” Beck said.
Housman, who has worked with more than 60 students since 1985, said he had a hand in four presentations this year, and is looking forward to more.
“It’s to give students an understanding of research,” Housman said. “That’s somewhat different from most courses where you have a certain body of knowledge that’s already known. Here, all you have are questions.”