Stony Brook University - Undergraduate Research & Creative Activities (URECA)

Researcher of the Month:

Ramon Cabrera, Biology major, Chhabra-URECA & MARC fellow '13. Research area: Regulation of dopamine in the pro-frontal cortex. (Mentor: Dr. Mary Kritzer, Neurobiology).

Useful Links

On-campus programs
URECA Celebration
URECA Grants/Fellowships

* Photos on URECA website provided courtesy of Media Services; photo of T. Feldman (at Brookhaven National Laboratory) on home page provided courtesy of Roger Stoutenburgh, BNL.

History

Stony Brook University is a trailblazer in integrating research and undergraduate education: it was one of the first research universities in the country to establish an office for the specific purpose of promoting undergraduate research and creative activity, and offers many programs that support undergraduate research efforts. These include the Battelle Summer Research Program, the Beckman Scholars Program, Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site Programs, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Undergraduate Research Programs, and the URECA Summer Research and Small Grant/Travel Grant Programs.

The URECA Program is administered through the office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs (UAA). URECA collaborates with the staff of Center for Science and Mathematics Education /CESAME (formerly Long Island Group Advancing Science Education / LIGASE) which in 2007 and 2008 sponsored the campus-wide research symposium event, the Celebration of Undergraduate Research & Creative Activity--a tradition inaugurated in 1997 when the university recieved the Recognition Award for the Integration of Research and Education (RAIRE) from the National Science Foundation.

Stony Brook undergraduates are introduced to the world of research through introductory research-oriented courses, encouraged to participate in independent supervised research projects, and offered useful support services on writing abstracts, giving presentations, and finding research mentors.

2011; 2005-2008	SBU's outstanding undergraduate research & creative projects program cited in U.S. News & World Report’s America’s Best Colleges under "Programs to Look For."
2006	SBU again selected as a site for the Beckman Scholars Program.
2001	Stony Brook admitted to Association of American Universities.
2000	Designated by the Association of American Colleges and Universities as a Leadership Institution, for "substantially reforming curricula in disciplines as diverse as biological sciences and music; introducing courses in such new fields as biomedical engineering; involving undergraduates in research. . . ."
	Honored with Theodore Hesburgh Certificate of Excellence for "Faculty Development to Enhance Undergraduate Teaching and Learning.
1999	SBU awarded institutional funding from the Arnold & Mabel Beckman Foundation for the Beckman Scholars Program.
	Launched the first Celebration of Undergraduate Achievements. The Celebration, which now takes place every spring, is a university-wide event that showcases the accomplishments of Stony Brook students working with faculty mentors in virtually every discipline. Students display their work through research posters, art exhibits, talks/symposia and performances. Many undergraduates are published for the first time in the URECA-sponsored Collection of Undergraduate Research Abstracts and Creative Project Descriptions. "Concept of Discovery" Cartoon contributed by George Booth, The New Yorker, for URECA 1999 publication
1998	Established The Reinvention Center at Stony Brook, a national center whose mission is to promote an approach to undergraduate education at research universities that emphasizes inquiry, investigation and discovery. President Shirley Strum Kenny launched and chaired the Boyer Commission on Educating Undergraduates in the Research University with funding from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The result was the Commission's landmark report, Reinventing Undergraduate Education: A Blueprint for America’s Research Universities (1998).
1997	One of ten research universities nationwide to receive a Recognition Award for the Integration of Research and Education (RAIRE) from the National Science Foundation (NSF). This Award was unique in its emphasis on universities' records of past achievement in promoting the synergy between research and classroom learning.
1994	Dr. Shirley Strum Kenny, well known as a leader in undergraduate education, is appointed President of the University.
1987	Established the URECA Office to promote student participation in undergraduate research and creative activity and help students find placements. With funds contributed by the Simons Foundation, created the first URECA scholarship and grant program.