YSU Giving students a shot at research

The student research is expected to draw tech-based industries to the area.
By JoANNE VIVIANO
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- On Wednesday, Dr. Peter Kasvinsky was the dean of the School of Graduate Studies at Youngstown State University.
On Thursday, he became the dean of the School of Graduate Studies and Research.
The change was approved by the academic and student affairs committee of the YSU board of trustees.
It may seem minor, but administrators and staff members said it could have great implications for the future of YSU.
"One of our key priorities over the next several years will be to ramp up our efforts here at YSU for all students to have an undergraduate research experience," said Dr. Tony Atwater, provost and vice president for academic affairs.
"We want to make students realize, when they come here, there are going to be things for them to choose from," he said. "... With a number of professors, the kinds of things they're working on with undergraduate students is truly amazing."
Listing opportunities
Starting in the fall, Atwater said, the university will begin a push in the undergraduate research area. One plan is to start a directory or catalog of research opportunities on campus, so students can tap into programs that suit their interests.
While undergraduate students are often forgotten when it comes to research projects, Atwater said YSU will use research to add value to undergraduate programs and degrees.
Such opportunities, he said, will prepare students for future academic careers and draw technology-based industries to the area.
Dr. Chester R. Cooper Jr., an assistant biology professor, presented committee members Thursday with an example of what can be done with research opportunities.
He told of conducting proteomics research projects with Dr. Thomas Kim of the chemistry department, Dr. Gary Walker of the biology department and Dr. Robert Bolla, dean of arts and sciences.
The group collaborates with researchers in Cincinnati, Missouri, Australia and Thailand.
Proteomics research involves the study of proteins, which are critical to all cell function, as well as to the development of disease, Cooper explained.
Understanding them could lead to the creation of medications and other processes to prevent and control disease.
Other research
YSU researchers are studying skeletal muscle disease, infectious diseases, immune system responses, antibiotic resistance, probiotics, agricultural vaccines and homeland security.
This could earn YSU intellectual property rights to various research projects, but it could also have a positive economic effect on Youngstown and northeast Ohio, by attracting business and technology, Cooper said. A trained work force, he said, would feed into the community and attract others to the university.
Kasvinsky said that YSU has no specific research budget but that funds for research come through research assistant programs for students, a University Research Council that makes grants to faculty members and the Presidential Academic Centers for Excellence in Research that awards professors eight hours of release from course-teaching time to pursue research.
Atwater said there are also plans for a Student Enrichment Fund that would award competitive grants, ranging from $100 to $500, to students. He said tentative plans are to award 20 such grants per year.
Among other changes, Atwater said he would like to expand the university's QUEST research symposium and participate in regional symposia with an alliance of northeast Ohio and western Pennsylvania universities.
Compensation
Students who partake in research are paid as assistants, receive course credit or both, Kasvinsky said. All research professors also teach courses.
Other funding comes from outside the university, including government, nonprofit, private and business sources.
Though final numbers aren't in, Kasvinsky said he expects that YSU researchers have been granted well above $5 million in external funds this fiscal year, compared with about $200,000 a decade ago.