An Early Start

An Early Start Innovation starts early at Carnegie Mellon.

Take Ran Liu (HS'09). Through the support of a Small Undergraduate Research Grant – or SURG grant – Liu studied the brain functions of people with autism, who often experience difficulties with inhibiting responses to certain situations. Liu looked at age differences among subjects and uncovered significant differences between the ways adults and children respond.

Or consider Galit Frydman (MCS'08), who used a SURG grant in her research at the Pittsburgh Zoo – analyzing the effect of human contact on elephant stress levels and learning more about how penguins use their sense of smell under water.

"Galit has actually received grants from the Undergraduate Research Office for several different projects, which is not uncommon for Carnegie Mellon students," said Jessie Ramey, founding director of Carnegie Mellon's Undergraduate Research Office.

As early as their first year, students can apply for SURG grants up to $500 to fund individual research projects. Group projects can receive up to $1,000.

"Research allowed me to balance my academics and extra-curricular activities by combining them into something I was really interested in," said Todd Camill (CIT'96), whose grant supported his project, "Development of a Dynamic Bi-Ped Robot." Camill now works at Walt Disney Imagineering, dreaming up new attractions for theme parks.