Research universities provide an unmatched opportunity for undergraduates to experience hands-on learning and close mentorship through involvement in research projects. The University of Minnesota supports undergraduate research through several channels, including Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) grants, research scholarships funded by corporate and individual donors, and external research funds from government agencies, corporations, and foundations.

Undergraduate research is quite literally a win-win-win situation. The students complement their classroom education with hands-on experience, surrounded and mentored by more experienced students and faculty. The faculty sponsoring the projects get to work with motivated students who often make surprisingly significant contributions. The sponsor, whether philanthropic or commercial, reaps the dividends of improved education for the student and more rapid progress on research.

The GroupLens research group has had very fruitful experiences with undergraduate researchers. Over the past six years Professors John Riedl and Joseph Konstan have worked with three to five undergraduates at a time, helping them develop the ability to carry out research projects and expanding their research capacity.

Three students were asked to comment on their experiences as undergraduate research-ers. Each of them has been supported by a combination of UROP awards, National Science Foundation awards for Research Experiences for Undergraduates, and other University-administered scholarships.

Nathan Good

Before I left my old job and went to the University of Minnesota, my employers urged me to find a research group I was interested in and get involved. The moment I got here I did, and have loved it ever since. My research group is a small, tightly knit group of talented undergrads, grad students, and professors at the University. We share common goals and direction, are very helpful and supportive of one another, and have a lot of fun together. In the two years that I have been involved, I've had the opportunity to travel to conferences and workshops, meet the top researchers in computer science, and make contact with many people in the field. I've also been able to work closely with grad students and faculty, something that I would not be able to do if I weren't in a research group.

I've learned about the rigors of scientific exploration, experimental methodology, and the importance of criticism and peer review. I've learned that no matter what one's status is in the "outside world," science requires one to present strong evidence to defend one's ideas. I've learned how to take an idea, research previous work on it, create experiments and publish for review and critique. The most important thing that I have learned though is that science is a creative process. Research is the perfect avenue for both technical and creative exploration.

I've learnedlearned that to be a good researcher, you need to have three traits: ability to communicate, technical skill, and drive. The most important trait is drive. If you have the drive, then a research university, your group and your professors can teach you the first two, and you will be on your way to a successful research career.

Being in a research group has changed my view about what I would like to do in the future. Before I was content to get a BS degree, get a job and move up the ladder. Now, I would like to go to grad school and eventually work with the top researchers in developing the future of computing.

Tim Lee

I was hired last summer to maintain, improve and upgrade MovieLens. MovieLens is a web site maintained by Grouplens to showcase its collaborative filtering technology and to provide a platform upon which to do further research. I participated in several projects, including adding features, moving the system to a new server, and rewriting code to make it faster and more efficient.

I initially saw it simply as a summer job, but I've discovered it to be much more than that. Not only have I gained valuable skills, but I've had the opportunity to see first-hand how research is done, and to work with a group of talented people working to advance the frontiers of knowledge in the computer field. Participating in research as an undergraduate helps me better understand life in academia, and will be a valuable experience when I have to choose my course after graduation. And working for GroupLens has been fun--I'm given more flexibility in choosing tasks and setting my own schedule than I would in most jobs.

Shyong (Tony) Lam

I became involved in undergraduate research during my freshman year as a part of the Undergraduate Assistant Scholarship, an award which gave me the opportunity to assist a faculty member (or research group) with their research. While the research aspect of the scholarship was not explicitly mandatory, it seemed quite the opportunity to me, so I decided to find a suitable project to work on.

All my work so far has been done with GroupLens, a research group which works with collaborative filtering, information filtering, and online communities. My work has primarily involved improving MovieLens, a movie recommender run by GroupLens used to conduct experiments. My contributions have made the system easier to use for other researchers to set up and conduct experiments with MovieLens.

Being involved in undergraduate research has given me first-hand experience in the research process. In addition, it has allowed me to see what types of things I might be doing in graduate school or a future career. Both of these factors have enriched my college experience by a great deal and can be quite beneficial to me in the future.

-Joseph A. Konstan & John Riedl