Collins Unbound

Meet Jordan Carelli and Ayanna K. Drakos, winners of the Collins Memorial Library Undergraduate Research Award! The award recognizes undergraduate students who demonstrate exemplary skill and creativity in the application of library and information resources to original research and scholarship.

According to Jane Carlin, Library Director: “It has been a goal since arriving at Puget Sound to establish an award that recognizes the process of research. Many of our peer institutions have such awards and it is important to reinforce to students that how they conduct and approach research is just as important as the end result!  I worked with Sarah Moore to integrate the research award within the context of the summer undergraduate research projects. I also hope this award will help students understand the importance of conducting research and the importance of information literacy. We really appreciate the support from Associate Dean, Sarah Moore, who coordinates the university summer research grant program.”

Eligibility:

• Students were recipients of a university summer research grant
• Students participated in either the Humanities and Social sciences or the Science symposium

Students were required to answer a series of questions about the research process and librarian judges reviewed their work on the following criteria:

• Made extensive and creative use of library services, resources and collections in a variety of formats
• Clearly stated the research problem and situate it within a scholarly context
• Demonstrated enthusiasm, knowledge and competence in the subject area
• Completed a short one page form providing brief answers to the above questions and have available at the Symposium

Judges:

• Science: Rebecca Kuglitsch and Laura Schick.
• Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences: Lori Ricigliano, Peggy Burge and Andrea Kueter

Winners:

Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences: Ayanna K. Drakos
Project Title: “The Historiography of the Black Student Union at Puget Sound: Retrenchment as a Problem of Silencing”

According to the judges:
“Ms. Ayanna K. Drakos work on the historiography of the Black Student Union at Puget Sound demonstrated a sophisticated use of library resources, making extensive use of both primary and secondary sources. She also consulted with both faculty and librarian experts to further delineate the parameters of her research project. Her deep interest in research methodology allowed her to effectively engage with a complex topic, one in which silence in primary source materials was just as important as voiced sentiments. She successfully marshaled her growing expertise to illuminate an intricate research question through an interdisciplinary lens. Her thoughtful self-reflection on her growth as a researcher confirms a promising future as a scholar.”

Faculty advisor: Professor Grace Livingston (African American Studies)

Science: Jordan Carelli
Project Title: “Quantitation of underivatized sugars in solution by cesium attachment using online LC-ESI-MS, with applications to kinetic studies of the putative α-1,4-glycosaidase MalA from Bdellovibriobacteriovorus.

According to the Judges:
“Jordan Carelli stood out to us as displaying a grasp of key information literacy concepts in his reflective essay on the research process for his work on 1H-NMR and LC/MS assay development for the characterization of glycosidase and glycosyl transferase activities of MalA from Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus. He clearly determined what type of information he needed, and displayed an understanding of the value of different types of information, a canny eye to what types of information are published in what formats (turning, for instance, to books for research on topics he understood to be established, and articles for more current topics). He used background information to develop a familiarity with new topics and used the citations in this secondary and tertiary literature to follow up on and obtain primary sources. Jordan’s research question is interdisciplinary, and, conscious of that, he used databases from both chemistry and biology to find articles that reflected the field of chemical biology. By using forward citation through Google Scholar and citation chaining from each source he found, Jordan was able to efficiently develop a historical and current picture of his field. His exceptional awareness of research techniques and appropriate use of both current and older information lead us to suggest that he receive the Collins Memorial Undergraduate Award.”

Faculty advisors:
Professor Mark Martin (Biology) and John Hanson (Chemistry)

Library Undergraduate Research Award Form