JUMP Activites

Academic Year Program

The academic year program will serve as outreach to the wider community of chemistry undergraduates at JSU, provide a structure to strengthen UCSB and JSU faculty collaborations, and provide preparation for students participating in the summer research program.

The academic year program contains 4 components:

  1. Visits by UCSB faculty and one or more graduate students, twice a year to JSU. These visits will include seminars, meetings, and discussion groups. The seminar will focus on current research activities of the faculty member. These visits will strengthen collaborations and increase interest and awareness of the program amongst JSU students
  2. Monthly videoconference meetings between JSU scholars and their UCSB mentors. The mentors at UCSB will send background information about their research projects, introduce students to the scientific questions that they will investigate during summer research, and collaborate with JSU faculty to prepare the student’s with his/her coursework. We will also offer participation in selected UCSB classes, relevant to their project, using the Panopto software though the GauchSpace platform.
  3. A spring site visit of JSU students to Santa Barbara. The JSU students selected as summer research scholars and two JSU faculty will visit Santa Barbara during JSU spring break. The JSU undergraduate scholars will participate in laboratory meetings and reading groups, and gain a feel for graduate study and the Santa Barbara campus. Undergraduates will be housed with graduate students to introduce them to the UCSB graduate student community.
  4. Annual workshop in February at UCSB in which about 10 students and 2 faculty from JSU participate together with equal numbers from UCSB. We will work with promising JSU sophomores and possibly freshmen, selected by JSU faculty, by offering participation in the videoconferences, classes, and visits, and the opportunity to take part in the workshop.

Summer Research Program

Each year, our program will bring five JSU undergraduates to UCSB for eight weeks of summer research

  1. The students will perform research in a research lab of the student’s choice from the mentors listed below. The students will be expected to complete typically 30 hours of research per week under the close supervision of a graduate student or postdoctoral fellow with regular interactions with the research professor in the lab.
  2. The JUMP summer research program will connect with existing programs on campus, UC LEADS, the California Alliance for Minority Participation (CAMP), the UCSB Academic Research Consortium (ARC), the Graduate Mentorship Program, and the Sally Casanova Scholars program with CSU. Joint activities will create a larger professional and social network for the students of the multiple programs. Many of the JUMP mentors also host students from these other programs.
  3. A joint departmental BBQ, together with the other programs, will be held early on in the summer at Goleta Beach to encourage social interaction.
  4. Weekly meetings (2 hours per week) will take place with the group, coordinated by the PI, Mattanjah de Vries. These meetings will provide mutual support for the cohort of students, and include preparation of a PowerPoint seminar describing the summer research each student has worked on, and discussions of research related issues, such as scientific and professional ethics.
  5. The students will tour the research facilities at UCSB.
  6. At the end of the summer, the JSU scholars will present their research in a symposium of oral presentations. All of the research mentors that participate in the program and their graduate students will attend the symposium. The program will also be video conferenced so JSU faculty can watch the presentations.

In collaboration with UC Santa Barbara’s Graduate Division Summer programming, interns will have the opportunity to participate in the following workshops:

 

  • Campus Resources Workshop on campus resources that will assist prospective graduate students have a smooth transition to student life at UC Santa Barbara.
  • GRE Prep Workshop, weekly preparation workshops guided by a GRE instructor.
  • Graduate Application Workshop provides valuable information on the graduate school application process, such as how to obtain effective letters of recommendation and write a strong statement of purpose.
  • Funding Workshop, tools and resources to help students find funding.
  • Online and Social Media Presence Workshop provides information on building a digital reputation and developing a digital brand strategically and securely in the online community.
  • Presentation Skills Workshop with the basic tools in preparing for classroom or conference presentations.
  • Professional Development Workshop, tips and tools for navigating career and professional goals, and the resources for post-graduate job placements.
  • Mentoring Workshop on how to successfully obtain a successful mentoring relationship, as well as maintaining a strong relationship through and after the program.
  • Writing Workshop teaches how to write an effective Statement of Purpose and research proposal for fellowship applications.