Research is one of the most enriching experiences that Hopkins students get to be a part of. It is amazing to be able to contribute to impactful work and get a deeper understanding of your field of study as an undergraduate. Even when I was a first-year student, I got many different forms of exposure to research.
I was first introduced to research at Hopkins before I had even set foot on campus. The summer before fall semester, I received an email from the Computer Science Department mailing list about a CS Faculty Research Panel. One of these panels takes place before the start of each semester, and 3–4 CS faculty members present their work. This is a great way to find out the work that different professors are doing and how you can potentially get involved. One of the presenters at the event was Professor Anton Dahbura. He spoke about how he was leading a student team working on disease modelling to predict (and hopefully curtail) the spread of infectious diseases. Immediately, this sounded like an amazing opportunity.
Later in my first semester, I spoke to my faculty advisor (a professor assigned to each student who will mentor and guide you throughout your time at Hopkins) about potentially joining a research group. He, too, recommended I approach Dr. Dahbura, given my interest in his work. Just a few days after sending a quick email, Dr. Dahbura invited me to attend a research team meeting. I loved the collaborative culture of the team and the opportunity to do really impactful work with partners like the World Health Organization and Ruvos. In my second semester, I also started working with the team for academic credit. This means that the research I am doing is kind of like a class. We have regular team meetings, evaluations, and get academic credit for it at the end.
During my first year, I also looked for summer research opportunities and chose to apply to the Bloomberg Distinguished Professor (BDP) Summer Research Program. This is a unique program offered by Hopkins in which students get to work with BDPs, who are world- renowned academic leaders in interdisciplinary fields. Throughout the application process, you can seek support from the Hopkins Office of Undergraduate Research (HOUR). They can review application documents (for this program and many others) or discuss available opportunities. They went over my application materials and helped me improve them. I was so excited when I came to know I was one of 30 undergraduate students selected for this program! Over the summer, I worked with Professor Paul Ferraro on interdisciplinary research involving environmental science, computational methods and behavioral economics. In addition to this program, Hopkins offers many other programs like Summer PURA (Provost’s Undergraduate Research Award) through which you can propose your own project and work on it with a mentor.
There are so many ways to get involved in research at Hopkins. You could reach out to professors whose work you are interested in or apply to a formal program through HOUR.
Research is a big part of the Hopkins undergraduate experience. In my case, it supports my professional goal of using technology for real-world impact. The work can sometimes be challenging as the process of “creating knowledge” is not straightforward. Every day, there is something new to learn, and I think that is truly the beauty of it.
