WISE 187 Introduction to Research

WSE 187 is a required course for all WISE freshmen in the Spring Semester. In this class, students are divided into small groups of 6-10 members and participate in 4 different "hands-on" research experiences during the course of the semester. The research experiences are in diverse areas including engineering, mathematics, life sciences, physics, information technology, and social sciences. The projects are designed and implemented by faculty and/or graduate students.
Biochemistry "pipeting".	Examples of projects conducted include: "Let's Make Diamonds" (Geological Sciences, High Pressure Research), "Optics, Lenses, Microscopes and Telescopes"(Astronomy), "Long Island Vowels" (Linguistics).
A key component of the course is that students get to work in small groups. This provides a more personal interaction between students and the instructor, adding a more intense yet practical flavor in research.	Investigating on earthquakes.
Math Discussion: Strange geometry and topology.	WISE women continually and almost uniformly rank this course as one of the most beneficial they take at Stony Brook. As a result of taking this course, approximately one out of seven change their intended major, either because they develop an interest in the subject of one of the projects or they discover a methodological preference. Every semester, many students go on to work with faculty who have led projects, or pursue research in a field to which they were introduced in the course.
From the perspective of the faculty and graduate students who direct projects, the course is likewise valuable. With only two exceptions over the four years, the faculty who have offered projects have repeated them in subsequent years. Several faculty have volunteered to offer similar projects to girls in the high school component. The graduate students report anecdotally that their experience in this course adds a dimension to their professional training through its focus on cooperative and group learning. Many of the projects that have been done are documented by web pages. To view the web sites, please go to our page of related links.