Princeton Correspondents on Undergraduate Research

Classwork Meets Research Work: A Unique Field-Based Experience in Death Valley

Posted on April 9, 2025April 3, 2025 by Advik Eswaran

*The author and the rest of the GEO 372 field trip cohort at Dante’s View, Death Valley*

Many of us might think of classwork and research as two separate entities. Here at Princeton, we might think, we take classes to learn and to prepare ourselves for independent work, but the two are distinct concepts. But reality is, of course, much more complex: classes at Princeton can and do incorporate elements of independent research work. This spring break, I had the opportunity to conduct field research as part of one of my classes, GEO 372 (Rocks!). We flew down to Death Valley National Park for a week, collecting various rock samples and learning about the regional geology. For the rest of the semester, we’ll be analyzing the samples to answer our given research question.

Heads Up: You Might Need Study Approval from the Institutional Review Board

Posted on April 7, 2025April 3, 2025 by Alexis Wu

Image of a fountain in the foreground whose spray creates a rainbow. Background includes the School of Public and International Affairs — *A rainbow at the Fountain of Freedom (colloquially called the “SPIA Fountain”), taken during a break from working on my thesis*

Independent research at Princeton offers an incredible opportunity for students to explore their academic interests and gain experience in the research world. This year, I’m working on my Senior Thesis with Professor Aleksandra Korolova, conducting an audit of Google ad delivery optimization algorithms. Specifically, I am studying whether aspects of advertisements—the image, text, links, and so on—impact the demographics of the audience to whom the advertisement is delivered.

In the fall, many people were curious about how my thesis was progressing. The truth was, for a few weeks, I hadn’t started running any experiments, since I first needed my research to be approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB). Through this experience, I both gained insight into the IRB process and found that many students had never even heard of the IRB. In this article, I share my experience and offer advice for students who are planning to conduct independent research.

Office hours are weird. Here’s how to make the most of them.

Posted on April 4, 2025April 3, 2025 by Gabriel Ascoli

Sign showing office hours — *Office hours signage. Photo Credit: Weingarten Center, University of Pennsylvania*

If you’re like me, you’ve been here. Standing awkwardly outside your professor’s door, notes in hand, heart racing slightly as you rehearse your question for the tenth time. When I first got to Princeton, my professors felt larger than life – giants in their field, accomplished researchers and authors. As an undergraduate, I felt like an ant in comparison. I felt afraid to go to their office hours, because their time felt so much more valuable than mine.

Research is Better with the Right Mentor—How I Found Mine

Posted on April 2, 2025April 7, 2025 by Angel Toasakul

Glass brain plots from the data analysis of the project I’m working on with my mentor, who spends a couple hours every week going through the fundamentals of coding in neuroscience with me. When I started working with him, I didn’t even know I could make plots like these. Our weekly meetings paid off.

When I first came to Princeton, already interested in neuroscience research, I kept hearing about all the incredible opportunities available to undergraduates. Professors conducting groundbreaking neuroscience studies, cutting-edge labs filled with brilliant minds—it all sounded amazing. But as a first-year student, I had no idea how to actually get involved. Everyone seemed to know what they were doing, while I was stuck wondering: Where do I even start? Will a professor really take time to mentor someone like me? If I cold-email them, will they even read it?

Staying Connected

Posted on March 31, 2025March 12, 2025 by Stanley Stoutamire, Jr.

A blossoming cherry blossom tree towers over Joline courtyard in Spring as people work in the chairs below. — *Joline Courtyard during Spring*

Each spring semester, it feels like many of us find ourselves scrambling to find unique, competitive, and exciting research experiences. In these intense weeks full of interviews, rejections, and offers, it is also important to think ahead about what comes next. Although staying connected with your research team after a program or internship ends can present a unique set of challenges, it can just as easily open up a number of new opportunities. This was a dynamic I had to adjust to at the end of my research internship last summer. Through that personal experience, I have found that consistent and clear communication are key after any research experience.

Now & Next: Microsoft’s Quantum Computing Breakthrough—Revolution or Overstatement?

Posted on March 28, 2025March 19, 2025 by Shannon Yeow

The Majorana 1 Chip held in a person's hand against a black backdrop. — *The Majorana 1 Chip.* *Photo by John Brecher for Microsoft*.

In light of recent discussions in the scientific and engineering community, I wanted to take a closer look at Microsoft’s latest announcement in quantum computing. As someone deeply interested in the intersection of research and innovation, I was curious about what this means for the field. Is this truly a turning point in quantum computing, or is there still more work to be done? As part of Now & Next, a new series dedicated to exploring current events, groundbreaking research, and forward-looking trends in engineering, this post delves into Microsoft’s research, the promise of topological qubits, and how the research community is responding. This could be the dawning age for quantum computing, or another step in a long journey. Let’s dive into what’s going on now and what’s coming next with Microsoft’s quantum computing announcement.

The Art of Cartography: Creating Maps for your Research

Posted on March 24, 2025March 11, 2025 by Advik Eswaran

*A figure of national research stations in Antarctica, which I recently created for my research using the Python library Cartopy.*

Ever since I was a child, I’ve always loved maps—I was a major geography nerd growing up. Jumping forward to today, my like-minded roommates are just as obsessed as I am: the walls of our dorm are literally covered floor to ceiling with maps. These include (but are not limited to) a glaciological map of Antarctica, public transport maps of numerous cities (Toulouse, Christchurch, and New York are just some examples), and a road map of my home state of Washington!

Maps aren’t just a fun hobby: They’re also enormously important in numerous research fields (in addition, of course, to just being plain useful). Whether your research field of interest is history or meteorology or epidemiology, there’s a good chance that you’ll be reading—and making!—some maps. In my own field of glaciology, maps are of paramount importance, whether it’s a map of glacier melt contribution from southeast Alaska or a map of Antarctic ice core sites. I’ve written this guide to provide some helpful resources and tools for making maps for your research, so hopefully it will serve as a good starting point! I should note that this isn’t a tutorial, but plenty of great tutorials should exist on the Internet for all of these tools.

Insights and Interests: An Interview with Cevina Hwang

Posted on March 21, 2025March 7, 2025 by Rebecca Cho

Hailing from Saipan and South Korea, Cevina Hwang is a junior in the Ecology & Evolutionary Biology department. With a longstanding interest in the field of dentistry, she chose to expand upon this passion through her junior work, where she will be exploring the evolution of the human jaw and teeth.

Join me below to read about Cevina’s journey in the junior work process.

Cevina Hwang, Princeton University ’26

Research Insights Series: An Interview with James Raymond Vreeland

Posted on March 19, 2025March 7, 2025 by Shannon Yeow

Book Cover of The IMF and Economic Development featuring a photo of a protesting group with a magenta color overlaid — *Book Cover of The IMF and Economic Development by James Raymond Vreeland* *(Cambridge University Press)*

James Raymond Vreeland, a Ph.D. graduate from New York University, holds the position of Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and the Department of Politics. His research focuses on international political economy, particularly in the realm of international institutions, and serves on the editorial board of International Organization. His publications span various scholarly journals, such as American Political Science Review, International Organization, and Journal of Politics, showcasing his extensive contributions to academia.

As a former student in POL 396: International Organizations, I was introduced to a wide range of research on international organizations, including works by academic scholars and Professor Vreeland himself. While continuing my Research Insights Series from last spring, a series of blog posts to provide glimpses into the current research landscape at Princeton, I knew I wanted to interview Professor Vreeland. As my first politics course at Princeton, it sparked my curiosity about political science research, and more broadly, research in the social sciences.

The Point of the Lab Component: It’s not Just Three Hours of Misery for the Sake of it

Posted on March 17, 2025February 19, 2025 by Haya Elamir

The image depicts an image of one of the more intensive lab components: organic chemistry. It's a depiction of my own experiment halfway through the procedure. — *Organic Chemistry Lab Procedure in Frick, taken by Haya Elamir*

For STEM majors, lab components of classes can be cumbersome. They can add stress to the classroom experience–not to mention the long hours. Unlike research in a lab as part of a thesis or independent work, these labs may not allow for self-direction, and can feel very methodical. Sure, they apply what we are taught in class, but for me personally, the rates at which lab and lecture move can be quite different, and I do not fee the benefits of the lab experience until later on in the semester when it finally clicks for me.

What’s the point of lab work then?

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: