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This is the Communication Portal for the Freshman Research Initiative.

Contents

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Introduction

Course Website

The College of Natural Sciences is proud to present the Freshman Research Initiative (FRI), a pilot program offering first year students the opportunity to initiate and engage in authentic research experiences in biochemistry, nanotechnology and molecular biology. While being supported and mentored by faculty and graduate students, freshmen will gain education through research in three different research streams. Forty-four students have been accepted to the program this year (2005-2006 school year). These students will experience research over one full year in a newly renovated, dedicated research lab. The program will expand to six streams and 30 students per stream in 2006-2007. The new research streams are being developed in biochemistry, molecular biology and computer sciences to accommodate student demand and faculty interest. We were also funded by both a Howard Hughes Grant and an National Science Foundation grant to help expand this new and unique way of teaching.

Most teaching lab classes explain a method a week that the students rarely apply, then the class is set up to grade primarily on reports without knowing if the students fully understand the topics. We have taken a different approach. We teach a few fundamental methods (agarose gels, UV spectrophotometry, Buffers, PCR, Transcription, etc) to help the students begin a semester long research project where they learn to collaborate and teach each other in new and exciting ways. As the semester progresses, new methods are taught in conjunction with the research involved. The students have reports, but the reports resemble research updates and the weekly classroom becomes a laboratory group meeting.

The students are evaluated on a few basic principals that all good researchers (and workers in general) should possess: Enthusiasm, Follow-Through, Absorptiveness, Synthesis, and Writing/Organizational Ability.

  1. Enthusiasm: How much desire the student has to learn the topics and apply them.
  2. Initiative: How often a student proceeds independently on an experiment.
  3. Follow-through: How well the student can complete an experiment in a timely manner, once asked to.
  4. Absorptiveness: How well the student understands the methods and can interpret data.
  5. Synthesis: How well the student can develop new ideas and apply the methods to new problems, then design relevant experiments to test those ideas.
  6. Organizational Ability: How well the student can explain or present ideas, describe the data and its meanings, manage time, and express themselves.
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Core Knowlege Base

Others

  • Excel - Management and Manipulation of Data
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FRI Streams

Stream Background

Standard Operating Procedures

  • Molecular Biology - Aptamers: Ellington. Selection of Aptamer Sequences against biomedically relevant targets
  • Molecular Cloning - Biobricks: Browning. Using Biobricks to analyze mechanisms and regulation of eukaryotic protein synthesis
  • Cellular Biology - Interactomes: Stevens. Building vertebrate and mammalian interactome maps
  • Nano Chemistry - Nanoparticles: Stevenson. Template assisted synthesis of nanomaterials with catalysis applications
  • Computational Chemistry - Nanoparticles: Henkelman. Calculations of the structure and catalytic properties of nanoparticles
  • Plant Science - Plant Responses: Roux. Environmental stimuli of light and gravity alter patterns of growth and development in plants.
  • Supramolecular and Organic Chemistry - Supramolecular Sensors: Ansyln. Synthesis of a library of peptidic receptors for the analysis of wine; indicator displacement assay.
  • Neural Networks - NERO: Miikkulainen. Biologically-inspired computation such as neural networks and genetic algorithms.
  • Evolutionary Biology - Viral Evolution: Bull. Experimental evolution of viruses on genotypic and phenotypic levels.
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Other Information

  • Keys - Requests must be made through Rhonda Lucius
  • Key fobs should also, but they can be picked up (or delivered) from BSCSF. Contact Frederick J Jeziorkowski, fred@mail.utexas.edu. The key fobs are activated through BSCSF.
  • For repairs or problems to PAI and possibly BIO or WEL, call Zone 1 Maintenance at 471-7728. You could also e-mail Sharon Lohse <lohsess@mail.utexas.edu>. Zone 1 folks ARE fantastic, they always come through. This includes leaks, room temperature, electrical, replacing lights, ceiling tiles--they are the "first responders" for routine maintenance and know where to go if more work is needed. If you have other questions, the default building manager is Katherine Reynolds <katereyn@mail.utexas.edu> or Ann Harasimowitz <aharasimowitz@mail.utexas.edu>.
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Safety and Waste Disposal in FRI Laboratories

Alona Umali is responsible for this area of the FRI.

All laboratories are and will be (for starting labs) subjected to the standards set by the UT Austin Office of Environmental Health and Safety (EHS). Contact EHS at 471-3511.

The required responsibilities for researchers at UT Austin are stated in the memorandum given the UT Austin VP for Research, Required Responsibilities for Researchers at UT Austin.

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Instruction and Enforcement

Students in FRI are introduced to and instructed lab safety by taking required courses according to the time line below. Trainings are recorded via TXclass and are reviewable by Research Educators. You can find these courses by going to the UT EHS website http://www.utexas.edu/safety/ehs/train/

Semester 1 (Research Methods)

  • OH 101 (Hazards Communication, online training)
  • OH 202 (Hazardous Waste Management) (Starting Fall 2008)

Semester 2 (Freshman Research Experience)

Depending on the type of research lab they are involved in, students take the following:

  • OH 102 (Site-specific safety training) given by laboratory heads (RE and/or TA), required for all students. Record for this training is done by submitting "Training Record Form" to EHS.
  • OH 201 (General Laboratory Safety) - required for all students
  • OH 207 (Biological Safety, will be online soon)
  • RC 301 (Recombinant DNA, not given by EHS) Online version is CW 512.

Semester 3 (Advanced Research Experience, Independent Study)

  • Fire Safety Training FF205
  • Refresher OH 102
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Reporting Lab Incidents

All supervisors responsible for their respective streams must report incidents (exposure, injuries, failed containment or spills) to EHS.

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Lab Requirements

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Required Courses

All Laboratory Personnel including TAs and mentors must take:

The requirements and to find out what you've taken go here: http://www.utexas.edu/safety/ehs/train/requirements.html

Hazard Communication (OH101) is now available on-line through Blackboard, an integrated web course development tool. This recently developed course is an alternative to stand up instruction. This course is required for any UT employee who works with or around hazardous chemicals. For a more complete description of course content, click here. Remember, if you work with or around hazardous chemicals, you must also take Site-Specific Hazard Communication (OH102), which is provided by your supervisor.

The objective of this course is to provide a general awareness of the hazards and safety rules in laboratories. Course contents include: safe work practices, safety equipment, emergency response, chemical storage, waste management, and other topics This course is required for each person working in a University Laboratory.

Fire extinguishers are only valuable safety devices when you know how to use them.

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Optional Courses

The following may be required by some but not all streams:

This class is the online version of RC 301, which may be required by labs that work with recombinant DNA.

This 8 hour (2 four hour days) class is required for those labs working with radioactive materials.

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FRI Support Group

FRI Support_Group meetings are designed for students who have already spent a year in the FRI research labs. For Spring 2007, they are intended for any member of the pilot group of FRI students.

The purpose of these meetings is to provide continued support and community, a way of disseminating information to you about research-related opportunities, to help you prepare for the research forum, apply for scholarships or internships, look for other research positions, make career decisions, etc. We are also keen to use your feedback on ways to improve the program.

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Getting Started with Mediawiki

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Help

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Mediawiki

Consult the User's Guide for information on using the wiki software.

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