Hum Ec undergrads forgo summer vacations for research projects

Astrid Atienza, left, a senior in human development, and Kara Joyner, assistant professor of policy analysis and management, look over research data about interracial dating relationships, June 25, in Joyner's office in Martha Van Rensselaer Hall. Robert Barker/University Photography

By Susan Lang

While most Cornell undergraduate students leave campus for various summer jobs and far-flung adventures, hundreds stay here to use the time to conduct research in collaboration with their professors. In the College of Human Ecology, for example, about 80 students are doing research this summer with faculty members, on topics ranging from studying complementary feeding of infants in Latin America to evaluating the New York State School-Age Care Credential program.

For instance, to research whether interracial dating leads to more positive racial attitudes, Astrid Atienza, a senior in human development from the island of Guam, is working with Kara Joyner, assistant professor of policy analysis and management. With a research stipend from the College of Human Ecology, Atienza is working full time, running statistical models and conducting literature reviews to get a handle on the longitudinal data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. She's finding that, although interracial romances have increased dramatically in recent decades, previous interracial social relationships may be necessary for an adolescent to have a willingness to enter into a committed romantic relationship with a person of a different race. She also is finding that having an interracial relationship does appear to have positive effects on racial attitudes, but that the effects are different for men and women of different races.

"Before I came to Cornell, getting involved in research never crossed my mind," said Atienza, "The opportunity to work on a project from its inception has been an invaluable experience. I never imagined that as an undergraduate I would have this type of intellectual interaction with a professor."

The experience also is giving her a true taste of what it would be like to go to graduate school and conduct research on her own. "It's amazing how many emotions I experience all in one day," Atienza said. "I go from elation, when I find significant figures, to frustration and serious doubts of my intelligence when I can't seem to get my model just right. Slowly, I am realizing this is all a part of the learning experience."

Also working full time on research this summer is Elizabeth Erin Dawson, a senior from Mexico, N.Y., majoring in human biology, health and society. Supported by a Barbara Kennedy Fund award, Dawson is working with David Levitksy, professor of nutritional sciences. She's following up on a study she conducted this past semester at NewYork Weill Cornell Medical Center on obesity prevalence among adolescent patients. This summer, she's evaluating a new methodology that Levitsky and his research group developed to help 8- to 12-year-olds maintain their weight over a six-month period.

"If they can maintain their weight as they grow, they will effectively grow out of obesity," explained Dawson, who says this topic will become her upcoming honors thesis. "This study is not only important because it is the pilot study for a larger collaboration with Weill Cornell Medical Center but also because child obesity has reached epidemic proportions."

She's compiling the information to give to study participants, developing the materials for interviews and beginning to interview participants and their families. "My work on the project will teach me the entire research process, from idea formation, to study implementation to writing up a paper on the project," added Dawson.

To determine how diets among lightweight rowers affect their performance, James Jimas, a senior from Huntington, N.Y., majoring in human biology, health and society, is working with Virginia Utermohlen, professor of nutritional sciences, and graduate student Thomas Brownlie this summer. This past spring, Jimas helped test the lightweight rowers at Cornell on rowing machines to calculate whether they stay fit as they lose weight. This summer, he is fine-tuning a new technique to calculate the percentage of body fat in the rowers. Jimas said he's learned a host of concepts -- from sports physiology, anthropometry and eating disorders to research methodology.

"Besides what I learned directly in the lab doing the study, I've also refined my skills in how to think critically," said Jimas, who noted that the most rewarding aspect of his undergraduate research, however, are the challenges from his supervisors. "Professor Utermohlen and Tom look at me as an equal and value my input as if it were coming from one of their colleagues," he said. "I'm faced with new and challenging questions from them on a daily basis and have to come up with answers."

During this past academic year, 320 undergraduates in the College of Human Ecology were engaged in research with faculty, said Brenda Bricker, director of undergraduate affairs in the college. "Some of these students just love research," she said. "They love that way of learning and knowing. Some students work three years with the same project, getting deeply involved in all aspects of a project with the same adviser. Others -- even some of our honors theses students -- work with several faculty at the same time."

Human Ecology faculty also supervised another 116 students from other colleges in undergraduate research projects during the school year, Bricker said.