Undergraduate research prize will honor the memory of late SU professor Norma Slepecky

Undergraduate research prize will honor the memory of late SU professor Norma SlepeckyMay 06, 2003Kelly Homan Rodoskikahoman@syr.edu

As professor of bioengineering and neuroscience in Syracuse University’s L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science and member of the Institute for Sensory Research, the late Norma Slepecky was a passionate researcher and mentor for undergraduate students seeking research experience.

Slepecky died in 2001, and to honor her memory, her family, friends and colleagues have joined together to endow the Norma Slepecky Prize for Undergraduate Research. The $750 prize will be awarded in the spring semester of each academic year, beginning in April 2004, to a female SU undergraduate student who is excited about her research and has mentors who advocate and supervise undergraduate research experiences. The award is sponsored by the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) initiative.

“Norma knew about the prize before she died and was very pleased, since it represents what she stood for-passionate science, women in science and undergraduate research experiences,” says Karen Hiiemae, professor of bioengineering and neuroscience and a colleague and friend of Slepecky.

Students wishing to compete for the prize must submit documentary evidence of their research as undergraduates, such as an Honors or senior thesis; the text of a paper submitted to an archival journal or accepted for publication by such a journal (the student must be the senior author), or an abstract (published or in press) for a scientific society meeting with the draft text of the paper to be submitted to a related archival journal. For fields where presentations at meetings are followed by electronic publication, the appropriate texts should be submitted.

Candidates should have spent at least the summer between their junior and senior years working on a research project with faculty at SU or in other institutions/research laboratories. Students will be eligible to compete if their research projects are based in one of the following:

• the biological and applied biological sciences, including audiology, bioengineering, communication disorders, neuroscience and psychology, including their clinical applications;
• the natural sciences, including biology, chemistry and physics; or
• computer science and engineering where the project has a strong focus on engineering applications for biological problems.

Final submissions must be received by mid-March 2004 (final date to be announced). A pre-submission form must be submitted to the Prize Committee by Feb. 15, 2004. Pre-submissions will be reviewed by the Slepecky Prize Committee to determine which faculty from SU (or from another institution) should be invited to serve as ad hoc members of the Prize Committee to assist in the review of final submissions to ensure appropriate committee expertise.

Further information on the prize may be obtained from Hiiemae at 443-9709 or Karen_hiiemae@isr.syr.edu