e-infrastructure Roadmap for Open Science in Agriculture

A bibliometric study

The e-ROSA project seeks to build a shared vision of a future sustainable e-infrastructure for research and education in agriculture in order to promote Open Science in this field and as such contribute to addressing related societal challenges. In order to achieve this goal, e-ROSA’s first objective is to bring together the relevant scientific communities and stakeholders and engage them in the process of coelaboration of an ambitious, practical roadmap that provides the basis for the design and implementation of such an e-infrastructure in the years to come.

This website highlights the results of a bibliometric analysis conducted at a global scale in order to identify key scientists and associated research performing organisations (e.g. public research institutes, universities, Research & Development departments of private companies) that work in the field of agricultural data sources and services. If you have any comment or feedback on the bibliometric study, please use the online form.

You can access and play with the graphs:

Discover all records
Home page

Title

BIOLOGICALMATERIALS AND PROCESSES (BIOMAP) RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR UNDERGRADUATE

en
Abstract

The goal of this study is to understand the experiences of undergraduate students at Iowa State University (ISU) in Biological Engineering REU, specifically in the areas of Biological Materials and Processes (BioMap). The integration of new techniques and knowledge is opening the door to the solution of biological questions (e.g. functioning of the immune system) deemed intractable only a few years ago. This new information, together with the deciphering of human, animal and plant genomes, has sparked a revolution, the result of which is an explosion of entirely new industries in medicine, food and nutrition, chemical synthesis, materials, and agriculture. Chemical and biological engineers are now making key research contributions at the interface of biology, chemistry and engineering. In fact, biology has become as much of an enabling science for chemical engineering as mathematics, physics, and chemistry. This new paradigm shift in the engineering field demands that undergraduate students should be exposed to biological engineering at an early stage of their career via research and discovery experiences. This will provide them with a better understanding about the importance of interdisciplinary research and science innovation. There is a need for an increase in the representation of individuals in the areas of chemical and biological engineering. In this ever-increasing technology-driven and globalized society, we need more individuals who are trained in interdisciplinary sciences to address today's societal needs. According to the review of the literature, research experience for undergraduate students is an important educational tool to expose them to research, to increase their interest in graduate school, and to help them to develop their technical and communications skills. Additionally, Zydney, et al. found the interaction between undergraduate researchers and graduate students not only benefits undergraduates but also provides an important teaching experience for graduate students 3. All these different factors have served as the greatest motivation to explore the student experience of participating in REU programs in chemical and biological engineering. This study demonstrates the benefits of REUs and how they can be improved in order to attract more undergraduate students to research careers and graduate school in the areas of chemical and biological engineering. To assess the overall experience of the REU BioMaP students in relation to their interest in chemical and biological engineering, quantitative (pre-and post-surveys) and qualitative methods (interviews and focus groups) were performed. An analysis of the results revealed, that undergraduate students value research and the potential to continue their education journey in graduate school. When students were asked to rank the reasons why they chose to participate in the summer research program, 60% of them ranked as their first choice "opportunity to conduct research." While 30% of the students ranked as their first choice "opportunity to determine if interested in graduate school." However, 10% of the students ranked as their first choice "good summer job" as their primary reason for participating in the REU BioMaP Summer Research Program. Additionally, students reported that they felt the program improved their computational and laboratory research skills as well as provide them with a better understanding of the research process. They believed the program helped them to clarify their goals regarding their majors and future career choices; the program also demonstrated to students the importance of networking with other colleagues in their field of study. Similarly, students stated that their projects were not only interesting; but also challenging, and that they were able to learn more about managing time and accomplishing different tasks in a short period of time. Moreover, students expressed that all workshops and activities during the REU BioMaP research program helped them to better develop their ability to write effectively, to think critically, to interact with others and to openly contribute to group discussions. In addition to the quantitative data, a qualitative component will provide a rich, in depth-description of student experiences. Specifically, this component of the analysis will portray the experiences of students; their role in the labs and different tasks during the 10 weeks doing research. Findings will also address how students describe the factors that facilitate their success as engineering students.

en
Year
2011
en
Country
  • US
Organization
  • Iowa_State_Univ (US)
Data keywords
  • knowledge
en
Agriculture keywords
  • agriculture
en
Data topic
  • information systems
  • knowledge transfer
en
SO
2011 ASEE ANNUAL CONFERENCE & EXPOSITION
Document type

Inappropriate format for Document type, expected simple value but got array, please use list format

Institutions 10 co-publis
  • Iowa_State_Univ (US)
uid:/S48XTD1Z
Powered by Lodex 8.20.3
logo commission europeenne
e-ROSA - e-infrastructure Roadmap for Open Science in Agriculture has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 730988.
Disclaimer: The sole responsibility of the material published in this website lies with the authors. The European Union is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.