Student Research at Duke

Our bloggers have gone a bit quiet in the last week as ‘crunch time’ descends on them and their experiments. The term-ending poster session is from 10:30 to Noon this Friday, July 27, in the LSRC building. If you have been reading these blogs from somewhere nearby and following their personal and scientific narrative arcs, you might consider stopping by to meet these young author/explorers. Kristin Knouse wrote a very thoughtful summation today that probably speaks for most of the group.

“I’m not sure I have ever learned so much in eight weeks, as this experience not only taught me about a particular subject in science, but also how to do science. I learned how to frame a scientific question, how to plan an experiment, how to control for variables, and how to make appropriate conclusions from data. I also learned the importance of never losing sight of the big picture. It is easy to become wrapped up in one small experiment, and easily frustrated if things are not working out as expected. However, taking a step back and looking at the big picture can help you to troubleshoot and simply to keep you sane! “