Princeton Correspondents on Undergraduate Research

Who Guides the Guardrails?

Posted on November 6, 2025November 3, 2025 by Stanley Stoutamire, Jr.

Image of interview subject, Katya Grygorenko in front a stone wall with artictic carvings. — *ORFE major Katya Grygorenko (’27) over the summer*. *Photo credit; Katya Grygorenko.*

There’s no doubt that the summer is one of the most promising times to experiment with your research interests, and the International Internship Program (IIP) can provide awesome opportunities for Princeton students to explore those curiosities. From creating theoretical frameworks to engaging with lab-based experimentation, there’s a wide range of ways to explore research through the summer program.

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Katya Grygorenko (‘27), who spent her summer doing research on artificial intelligence (AI) for the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD), a public policy institute based in Sofia, Bulgaria. The rise of Large Language Learning Models (LLMs) like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and other AI systems has inspired uncertainty, and even fear. The idea of a “black box where people don’t really know what’s going on”, as Grygorenko put it, can feel daunting to think about. But the idea of tackling the ethical challenges of implementing these complex digital systems didn’t scare Grygorenko at all— it excited her.

Expect the Unexpected: Exploration in Archival Research

Posted on November 4, 2025November 3, 2025 by Alison Fortenberry

A picture of the art installation "Rivers," which depicts river lines flowing out of a blue oval and intersecting with various words and symbols. — *This cosmogram, “Rivers,” is in the Schomburg Center’s lobby, and contains the poet Langston Hughes’ ashes.* *Photo credit: Candace Wegner.*

This summer, I had the opportunity to do a fellowship at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem. The Schomburg is one of the largest archives of Black History in the world, and as part of my fellowship, I got to use their collections to craft an independent research project. Coming into the program, I had a very specific idea of what I wanted to find in the collections. I had found a disagreement in the scholarly literature about the historical relationship between two church denominations. Some scholars argued that the two denominations were historically one, while others argued that they had always been separate organizations. In the Schomburg’s research catalogue, I saw that there was a collection of personal papers belonging to one of the denominations’ founders, which I saw as an opportunity to add a new perspective to this debate.

In Defense of Core Lab

Posted on October 30, 2025October 30, 2025 by Haya Elamir

this image is to represent the kind of group environment that core lab represents, even if this isn't an actual core lab class depicted — *A classroom of students reading at Princeton (not core lab)*. *Photo credit: Ryan Halbe.*

Many STEM majors here have the same rite of passage: core lab. For non-lab majors, core lab is a class that is purely to teach you about lab techniques and critical thinking skills that are useful for writing our theses. They usually involve a bit of a simulated lab experience where you discover new findings while the teachers guide you through the motions of a lab research experience.

Molecular biology’s core lab meets twice a week for 3 hours and then a small 50 minute lecture/precept on Fridays for half the semester. Other majors have similar constraints. However, while at first it may seem a bit overwhelming and even redundant if you’ve already done these procedures in a lab or are in a lab that definitely will not be using any procedures you learn, core lab goes beyond just teaching you technical skills.

I too was confused as to why I was here and why this mattered, but over time, I began to internalize one of the real skills this class is meant to teach you, something that pipetting will never give you: asking the right questions.

Facilitating a Research Discussion in COS 436

Posted on October 23, 2025October 13, 2025 by Shannon Yeow

An example of human computer interaction — *A student writes on a tablet using a stylus, an everyday example of human-computer interaction*

Having facilitated a precept discussion in COS 436: Human-Computer Interaction, I was able to reflect on what it means not just to thoroughly read a research paper, but also to guide my peers through a structured discussion based on common threads reflecting their thoughts and insights. COS 436 explores how technology and design shape human behavior and counts towards computer science degree progress as a fulfillment of the breadth category. Engagement with foundational research papers in the field and a semester-long research project are the core components of the course. Each week, students are responsible for writing discussion posts on assigned research papers and take turns facilitating precept discussions.

Jumping Back In!

Posted on October 21, 2025October 13, 2025 by Stanley Stoutamire, Jr.

Stanley Stoutamire standing in front of a university sign. — *A picture from the end of my internship!*

The summer is always a great time to get involved in research, whether on campus or off campus. One common challenge, however, is figuring out how to actually become a part of those research opportunities. At the end of this summer, I was fortunate enough to be able to return to the research team I worked with last year. While it was exciting to once again be working on the study (an investigation into the effectiveness of peer coaching on high blood pressure) it was a different experience the second time around. Jumping back into any project can introduce new challenges, and research is no different.

“My Summer in Kuala Lumpur”: Iman’s Internship Journey

Posted on October 16, 2025October 13, 2025 by Aishah Shahid

This summer, Iman Bedru ’28 traveled from Woodbury, Minnesota, to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for an internship with Chumbaka, an organization dedicated to empowering youth through technology and education. As a rising sophomore in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Iman went to Malaysia through Princeton’s International Internship Program (IIP), drawn by the opportunity to connect her technical background with her passion for education and community engagement.

When browsing through IIP’s opportunities, Chumbaka stood out immediately. Its mission, which is to equip students and teachers with the tools to explore and innovate through STEM, aligned perfectly with Iman’s vision of using engineering knowledge to create meaningful social impact. The fact that the internship was based in Malaysia only added to the appeal. A country rich in cultural and ethnic diversity, Malaysia promised not just professional growth, but also immersion in a vibrant new environment.

Picture of Iman Bedru at Kuala Lumpur temple. — *Picture of Iman at a Kuala Lumpur temple*.

Finding Your Focus: 5 Tips on How to Narrow Down Your Topic

Posted on October 14, 2025October 8, 2025 by Alison Fortenberry

A brainstorming man looks at a wall covered with notes and ideas — *Brainstorming Ideas. Photo Credit: Per Lööv*

As someone in the social sciences and humanities, I had a broad idea of what I was interested in when going into my independent research. But once it came time to propose a specific topic, I was overwhelmed by how many possibilities there were. I was drawing on a massive archive of documents that dated back to the 1890s, so trying to decide on just one moment or figure to focus on made me feel like I was leaving a lot of important stories out. The best research projects are the ones that you’re genuinely excited about, but what do you do when you’re excited by a lot of different topics? Here are five tips that have helped me narrow down a broad research interest to a specific research topic.

Patient Stories, Clinical Data and Children’s Lives: My Experience with Pediatric Oncology Research

Posted on October 9, 2025October 8, 2025 by Gabriel Ascoli

Picture of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia — *The main building of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA.*

The nine-year-old patient sat in his bed, nose buried in a book, his peach-fuzz hair just visible over the book he held close to his face. As my mentor quietly began explaining the next steps of his treatment to his family, I crouched next to the bedside to ask him about his book, which I had loved dearly in elementary school. Neither the patient’s beeping machines nor his swollen body slowed him down as he began excitedly chattering to me about the story. A few minutes later, we thanked the family and moved onto the next room.* This child was just one of many leukemia patients whose story and data I had pored over in my clinical research experience this summer.

Research, Friends, Mountains, and Everything in Between

Posted on October 7, 2025October 6, 2025 by Angel Toasakul

*The view of the Neuschwanstein Castle on the way back from a 5-hour hike*.

When I boarded my flight to Munich this summer, I thought I knew exactly what awaited me: labs buzzing with experiments and discoveries, even a big “Aha!” moment that would shape my research career. After spending over a month home in Thailand, beach hopping and exploring the underwater world with my scuba diving gear, I was ready to slip back into my academic shoes and make the most out of my time in a new country.

What I found was… not quite what I expected.

While I had overestimated how sparkly the research world would be, I didn’t even come close to imagining how many lessons I would learn or how many memories I would make.

Welcome to the 2025-2026 Academic Year

Posted on October 2, 2025October 1, 2025 by Rebecca Cho

Welcome back to PCUR! We are very excited to start the new year with some great posts starting this week, so check your email Tuesday morning for the first post of the academic year.

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