Undergraduate researchers go ‘Back to Basics’
Three Carolina students describe their foundational projects on sustainable chemistry, Dutch history and quantum physics.
Foundational research, also known as basic or fundamental research, uncovers the core concepts for a field of study. Findings from this work often provide the groundwork for future applied research, which seeks to solve specific problems or create new products and technologies.
UNC-Chapel Hill biologist Bob Duronio said it best in a 2018 article: “It begins with curiosity. Curiosity about a process. And then a question about that process. And then a hypothesis that will lead to an experiment that will provide results and data to interpret. What I love about this process is that my hypotheses are often wrong. And that’s really exciting.”
The excitement of foundational research is fueling this year’s University Research Week (Oct. 21-25), a campus-wide celebration of Carolina’s research prowess and an effort to engage undergraduate students in research. Themed “Back to Basics,” this week-long series of events will highlight the power of fundamental research and its real-world impact across many disciplines.
Three undergraduate students working on foundational research projects share how that drive for discovery fuels their inspirations, failures and lessons learned.
Anna Vu is a senior majoring in chemistry within the UNC College of Arts and Sciences.
(Megan Mendenhall / Office of Research Communications)
Anna Vu
Vu is a senior majoring in chemistry within the College of Arts and Sciences.
Describe your research in five words: Changing micro-environments for sustainable solutions.
How did you get involved in research? As a first-year student, I came across an email on the chemistry major’s listserv from Matthew Lockett, who was looking for undergraduate students interested in researching renewable energy via surface analysis, a technique for discovering the chemical structure of a material’s surface. This helps us understand a material’s function and improves how we use it going forward.
This opportunity piqued my interest because I wanted to conduct sustainability research but wasn’t sure how chemistry could be used in renewable energy projects. I started working in the lab as an undergraduate research assistant at the beginning of my sophomore year and have been ever since.
Sophie van Duin is a senior doubling-majoring in peace, war, and defense and communication studies within the UNC College of Arts and Sciences.
(Megan Mendenhall / Office of Research Communications)
Sophie van Duin
Van Duin is a senior doubling-majoring in peace, war and defense and communication studies within the UNC College of Arts and Sciences.
Describe your research in five words: Illuminating Dutch independence and sovereignty.
How did you get involved in research? My family is Dutch, and so I’ve always been fascinated with Dutch history. After searching for research opportunities, I found the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship program, which provides funding for students to design and carry out a research project on a topic of their choice. This program immediately grabbed my attention because it allowed me to study an interest of mine: the Eighty Years War (1568–1648). This is when the Netherlands fought for independence from Spain, which led to the formation of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the Dutch Republic.
Advaith Cheruvu is a sophomore majoring in computer science within the UNC College of Arts and Sciences.
(Megan Mendenhall / Office of Research Communications)
Advaith Cheruvu
Cheruvu is a sophomore majoring in computer science within the UNC College of Arts and Sciences.
Describe your research in five words: Exploring properties of quantum particles.
How did you get involved in research? I developed my interest in physics from my dad, who introduced me to the basic physics principles from an early age. When I was in high school, I made the transition to try to understand quantum physics — how nature behaves at an atomic level. Quantum particles have very strange properties. And that’s what drew me in. There’s a property called superposition, where a particle can be in multiple states at once. It felt a lot like magic to me when I was first learning about it. Objects can pass through walls and can be in two places at once.
