Cross Campus Collaboration
Our work at Baylor
We are dedicated bridging the gap between science and the community. This includes educating the posterity here at Baylor University. We launched our pilot undergraduate mentoring program Spring 2024.
About the Undergraduate Mentoring Program
Mission Statement
PYPhD aims to foster a sense of unity among undergraduates and graduate students within Baylor University’s R1 facility. Our primary goal is to encourage undergraduate students to continue in their pursuit of STEM learning, while emphasizing the importance of community involvement in their scientific endeavors.
Through this program, we aim to bridge the gap between academia and the public, providing a platform for students to share their exceptional research in an accessible manner. We believe in empowering our students to inform the public about their work, inviting community members to ask questions and learn about intricate research in a clear and understandable way.
Total Number of Participants
Average Collaboration Time Per Week (Minutes)
Participant Expectations
Undergraduates who wish to engage in the program should become good researchers as well as effective communicators. Maintaining activity tracking logs, research experiments, and safety training are a must, as well as demonstrating respect for peers, instrumentation, and Baylor as a whole.
General Timeline
January: Orientation and Portal to the Public Training
March: Introductions, pre-research Survey, background, wet lab, mid-research survey
April: Presentation at the Mayborn, post-research survey and essay, awards and feedback
Tips
Communicate with your mentor/mentee on a regular basis to ensure there is no confusion with expectations.
Spring 2024
As a kickoff to our mentorship program, we followed the journey of three pairs from introduction to presentation! Each group presented for 120 minutes and had a varying number of learners attend their presentation. These learners ranged in age and the total number to visit was 29!
Lauren and Katie explained CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindrome Repeats) with an interactive game to make it easier to understand.
Isaac and Kiera discussed adaptive manufacturing. The two highlighted tensile strength, distinguishing the difference between metal and plastic strength.
Josh and Jackson connected what seemed to be two different concepts: biological soil crusts and fats! They explained saturated and unsaturated fats and how these fats are vital in bio soil environments.
Data Analysis
Throughout the program, graduate and undergraduate students answer a series of surveys to test the efficacy of the program. These are the most significant results from our pilot program (Spring 2024).
Launch Team
Meet the people behind the program. Kayla Haberman, Director of Presenters, met with Baylor professors and current undergraduates, Lydia Allabaugh and Jenna Tobin, to design and initiate this program in 2024.