<p>This Friday and Saturday (today) is the Gemstone Senior Thesis Conference. It was an amazing experience to watch my friends present on what amounts to 3 years of a lot of work. The lecture halls were packed with family, friends, and freshman (who have to watch presentations for thier GEMS104 class). I was very impressed by the projects that were proposed, designed, and implemented by my friends, many of who had never done a large team research project before.</p>
<p>I think Maryland is unique in that it really stressed knowledge and project creation on the part of its students, and I think it definitely gives MD students who participate in these programs a leg up over their peers at other schools. I don’t know of any other school that has as many programs that consist of undergraduates proposing, designing, and performing research and other projects. Gemstone, QUEST, Hinman CEOs, Honors Humanities, the new Honors Entrepreneurship Program all involve undergraduate students (most working in teams) creating either research, business, or problem-solving projects. </p>
<p>Example projects:
–My girlfriend’s team was studying the efficacy and safety of black cohosh, an herbal dietary supplement used by breast cancer patients; they also studied general cancer survivor attitudes towards HDS.
–My other friend’s team studied the presence or non-presence of MRSA in meat bought at the supermarket.
–Another team studied the effects of pollution in the Potomac River on the reproductive capabilities on fish.</p>