Recently, four different professors at Ferris were awarded faculty research fellowships from the Office of Academic Research. These research fellowships are designed to allow professors to remain able to interact with their students and classrooms while still being able to devote time into academic research.
These research fellowships are awarded to professors of different academic pursuits including mathematics, philosophy, chemistry and art history.
“The breadth of programs available at Ferris has brought faculty here from a wide range of disciplines and research areas,” said Director of Academic Research and Grants Karen Strasser.
“We can often see the immediate benefits to Ferris through the student projects that stem from faculty research, but the long-term value is how faculty research affects the student experience in the classroom,” Strasser continued. “Faculty members use what they learn to strengthen their courses and help keep our programs relevant and on target with what is happening in today’s competitive environment.”
The first professor who has been awarded a research fellowship is Dan Adsmond, a professor of chemistry. His project is defined as “Determination and analysis of crystal packing in cocrystals incorporating the antibacterial drug, sulfamethazine and a carboxylic acid.”
Second is Rachel Foulk, an assistant professor of art history whose research topic is “A walk through the seasons: The esquiline landscape calendar and the representation of time in Imperial Rome.”
Third is Randy Groves, a professor of philosphy at Ferris. He will be researching “Comparative civilization and world history: A theory of cultural change.”
Last there is Bakhodirzhon Siddikov who is a professor of mathematics and whose project is described as “Magnetic refrigeration: Improved approximation function for the heat capacity of gadolinium.”
Certainly there are many students who have had classes with these various professors here at Ferris, and this is something students can take interest in.
Students are encouraged to apply for the 2013 Student Research Fellowship which is to take place over the 2013 summer. Applications can be found at ferris.edu/HTMLS/administration/academicaffairs/vpoffice/Academic_Research/intfund/SRF_prog_homepage.html.