Undergraduate Research at Brown University: A World of Discovery

Brown University distinguishes itself as a global leader in scientific progress and innovation, offering undergraduates unparalleled opportunities to engage in cutting-edge research across diverse fields. This commitment to undergraduate research provides students with meaningful hands-on experience, fosters intellectual curiosity, and allows them to assess various career options, making it a cornerstone of the Brown education.

The Allure of Undergraduate Research

Undergraduate research at Brown is not just about assisting with experiments; it's about actively participating in the excitement of discovery. Students collaborate with faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers, contributing to projects that push the boundaries of knowledge. This immersive experience allows students to apply classroom learning to real-world problems, develop critical thinking skills, and gain a deeper understanding of their chosen fields.

Research Opportunities Across Disciplines

The breadth of research opportunities available to Brown undergraduates is remarkable. From the Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences (DEEPS) to the Department of Computer Science, students can find projects that align with their interests and passions.

Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences (DEEPS)

The DEEPS faculty conduct internationally recognized research at the forefront of their fields. Undergraduate students participate actively in this research, experiencing the excitement of discovery with faculty and the grad students and postdocs in their research groups. Students in DEEPS explore a wide range of topics, including:

Missions to the Moon & Mars: Contributing to the exploration of our solar system.
Lake Sediments: Analyzing sediment cores to reconstruct past environmental conditions.
Climate Modeling: Developing and refining models to predict future climate scenarios.

Student Research Stories from DEEPS:

Jonah Bernstein-Schalet ’24 (Geology-Biology): Investigates chemical weathering and soil formation in the Oregon Cascades to understand more about wildfires in the area. He stresses the importance of fieldwork in kindling his passion for wildfire research.
Allison Cavallo ’25 (Geophysics): Coordinates science communications for the Scale-Aware Sea Ice Project based in France.
Ayushman Choudhury ’25 (Applied Mathematics-Computer Science and Music): Investigates ocean flux dynamics in the Southern Ocean, emphasizing his passion for using computer science and mathematical modeling to improve our understanding of climate change and help fight the climate crisis.
Celia Kong-Johnson ’25 (Geochemistry and Applied Mathematics): Studies past hydroclimate variability in the Philippines. She spoke of the friendliness of DEEPS faculty and the department’s welcoming, tight-knit community.
Gabriel Traietti ‘25 (Geochemistry): Investigates the terrestrial paleoclimate of the Congo River Basin to help anticipate the effects of climate change on a local level. He emphasizes how DEEPS gave him the tools to explore his passion for reconstructing ancient climate.

Examples of DEEPS Undergraduate Research Projects:

Isaiah Olds-Campanile: "I am exploring the geology of Rhode Island and the surrounding area to create a class focusing on New England Field Geology."
Marlena Brown: "I am analyzing oxygen isotopes in a fossil coral from 1810 to understand how temperature and salinity changed in the central tropical Pacific during the onset of climate change."
Luke Randall: "I am analyzing Ti/Al ratios in pyroxenes from Martian meteorites and experimental samples to understand magma crystallization on Mars."
Luke Fromm: "I am testing the efficacy of commercial satellites in detecting invasive Phragmites australis in RI freshwater marshes."

Computer Science

Since its inception in 1979, Brown’s Department of Computer Science has forged a path of innovative information technology research and teaching at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Research in the department crosses traditional boundaries, and projects spring from shared interests more than from established groups. Faculty work with post-doctoral students, graduate students, and undergraduates. Ideas and expertise are drawn from other disciplines and departments at the University. A long tradition of combining theory and practice is as strong and relevant today as it ever was. Brown CS has a grant from National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Site in Artificial Intelligence for Computational Creativity to fund 8 undergraduate students each summer in collaboration with the Leadership Alliance, SR-EIP program.

Read also: Undergraduate Programs at UNC

Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology (EEOB)

The Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology at Brown University comprises a dynamic group of researchers who study processes that sustain and create life on Earth. The faculty’s research on this topic is highly integrative and includes work that spans genes, individuals, populations, and ecosystems. One of the major research foci in EEOB is organismal movement. In particular, faculty investigate mechanical properties that guide how animals move through time and space, ways that animals leverage movement in their environment to find food or communicate with others, and consequences of organismal movement on the processes that fuel evolution. SR-EIP (REU) students will be invited to participate in a range of these on-going projects, working closely alongside faculty, graduate student, and postdoctoral mentors.

Other Departments and Institutes

Undergraduate research opportunities extend far beyond these departments. Students can also participate in research at:

The Robert J. and Nancy D. Carney Institute for Brain Science: Accelerating the pace of scientific discovery about the brain and helping to find treatments and therapies for some of the world’s most devastating diseases. Each year, the institute organizes the Carney Summer Scholars program, a nine-week program that offers hands-on training in computational brain science to students from historically underrepresented groups who are enrolled at universities across the United States.
The School of Public Health: Taking a “lifelong health” approach to improve people’s lives, from research on environmental exposures that affect fertility to prevention and treatment using a population perspective. Internship opportunities with the Brown SR-EIP are part of the VA Providence health care system and focus on training and research on key areas including evidence-based medicine, preventive medicine, community health, HIV/AIDS, statistical sciences, and primary care for Veteran health.
Brown Medical School’s National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), Short Term Training Program: Since 1992, this program has given students access to outstanding researchers in heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders research. Research experiences have primarily been based in the departments listed above, as well as in the clinical departments of medicine, neurosurgery, orthopedics, pediatrics, and surgery. Though students might be working in a clinical research setting, SR-EIP students are often placed in the Pathobiology Program, an interdisciplinary field devoted to basic research into the mechanisms of disease.
The Center for Philosophy, Politics and Economics: Blending old and new academic traditions to confront complex social problems facing the world in the 21st century.

Programs Supporting Undergraduate Research

Brown University offers a range of programs designed to support undergraduate research endeavors:

Advanced Undergraduate Research Fellowships: Support undergraduate students’ engagement in independent, student-developed, original research projects.
The John Hay Library Undergraduate Fellowship Program: Supports original research using the special collections at the John Hay Library.
Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program: Each spring, four to six Brown sophomores are selected as Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellows.
Presidential Scholars Program: Attracts high-achieving and creative students to Brown.
Research at Brown (RAB) Grants: Support student-initiated research projects and travel to present their research at conferences. Students may submit proposals for up to $500 of funding at any time.
The Summer Research Early Identification Program (SR-EIP): Funds summer internships for rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors who plan to pursue a Ph.D. For students interested in a career as a physician-scientist, the Brown SR-EIP offers an MD-PhD track. Part of the Brown SR-EIP, the MD-PhD track is a paid research internship with a faculty member.
Undergraduate Teaching and Research Awards (UTRAs): Support Brown students collaborating with Brown faculty on research and teaching projects during the summer or the academic year. Karen T. Romer Undergraduate Teaching and Research Awards (UTRAs) support Brown students collaborating with Brown faculty on research and teaching projects during the summer or the academic year. Named for the dean who launched the program in the 1980s, UTRAs provide students with valuable academic experience that prepares them for graduate study and that contributes directly to course development at Brown.
The Sarah LaMendola Undergraduate Research Award: Provides support for undergraduate research in the Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences at Brown University.
The Meenakshi Narain Excellence in Research Mentoring (ERM) Award: Recognizes faculty members for their excellence in mentoring undergraduate researchers, as well as for their promotion, encouragement and training of diverse students in undergraduate research.

Getting Involved in Research

Brown University provides numerous avenues for undergraduates to get involved in research:

Coursework: First-year students have the opportunity to experience research through the BIOL 0190 Phage Hunters. Our course BIOL 0100, Living Biology at Brown & Beyond, introduces students to the breadth of research underway across The Division and arms students with a suite of skills to help them secure positions in faculty member labs. Sophomore seminars such as Life in a Shell, Viral Epidemics, and Rhode Island Flora offer active learning opportunities that help students practice the critical thinking necessary for independent research. Inquiry based courses such as Inquiry in Biochemistry and Inquiry in Plant Biology use group work to orient students to the development of novel scientific questions and accompanying methods.
Workshops: Annually (even year fall semesters), the BUE Office offers the Finding, Securing and Succeeding at Research Workshop for undergraduates. This is especially ideal for first year and sophomore students. At the start of each semester the Multidisciplinary Teaching Laboratories (MDL) offers a Foundations of Lab Techniques Workshop for undergrads. The workshop is designed to introduce basic laboratory skills and techniques to undergraduate students before they begin working in a faculty member’s lab, in preparation for independent study, or for summer UTRA opportunities.
Online Resources: Students are encouraged to pursue BEARCORE training at the onset of research in a faculty member’s lab. Biology students find research opportunities in a number of ways.
Networking: Sophomores and Juniors forge connections with campus-based and clinical faculty to begin exploring and experiencing research in their field of interest. Juniors and Seniors pursue more independent research with campus and clinical faculty. Students intending to develop a senior thesis will typically commit the final summer and last two academic semesters to the research project.
Departmental Events: The Department of Cognitive, Linguistic & Psychological Sciences regularly hosts brown bag discussions, seminar series, and invited colloquium talks. These events are open to undergraduates and offer the chance to learn about new discoveries, hear from leading researchers, and connect with the broader scholarly community.

To explore research opportunities in Cognitive, Linguistic & Psychological Sciences, see the updated spreadsheet below, browse UTRA postings, check job opportunities in Workday, and visit individual faculty webpages (which are often the most up-to-date).

Tips for Finding Research Opportunities

Be Proactive: Reach out to faculty members whose research aligns with your interests.
Explore Different Departments: Don't limit yourself to your declared major.
Attend Departmental Events: Network with faculty and graduate students.
Utilize Online Resources: Check university websites and job boards for research postings.

The Impact of Undergraduate Research

Undergraduate research at Brown University has a profound impact on students' academic and professional trajectories. It:

Enhances Critical Thinking Skills: Students learn to analyze data, solve problems, and think independently.
Develops Research Skills: Students gain hands-on experience with research methodologies and techniques.
Prepares Students for Graduate Study: Research experience is highly valued by graduate programs. Students who are accepted to a research program at Brown University will work with a mentor on a specific research project.
Opens Doors to Career Opportunities: Research experience can lead to internships, jobs, and other career opportunities.
Contributes to Scientific Progress: Undergraduate research contributes to the advancement of knowledge and innovation.

The Broader Context: Research and Innovation

Brown University's commitment to undergraduate research is part of a broader ecosystem of research and innovation that benefits society as a whole. Research at universities is the global leader in scientific progress and innovation. When that partnership is threatened, it’s not just the science that is impacted: The ripple effect means the public loses access to cutting-edge medical treatments. People lose jobs. Regional economies decline.

Brown University fosters a culture of innovation and collaboration, encouraging students and faculty to pursue groundbreaking research that addresses critical challenges facing the world. This commitment to research and innovation is essential for driving economic growth, improving public health, and enhancing our understanding of the world around us.

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