Navigating Uncertainty

Posted on by Stanley Stoutamire, Jr.
Photo of Nassau Hall during a winter snowstorm
Nassau Hall in the midst of a snowstorm

The start of 2025 has been an interesting one to say the least when it comes to research. New breakthroughs in Artificial Intelligence models are rapidly advancing our understanding of everything from ancient texts to protein structures. At the same time, they have complicated the publishing process by introducing a flood of junk to scientific journals. Turning to the federal level, years of biomedical research has culminated in the FDA approval of a new non-opioid pain medication. Developments like this are happening while major national pillars of our research structure face confusing directives amidst a clear priority shift in budget allocation. The degree of uncertainty researchers at the undergraduate level face today can feel overwhelming, but uncertainty is intrinsic to research across all disciplines. Whether that uncertainty is caused by human participants or dated lab equipment, it’s an aspect of research across the board. The unique large-scale uncertainties confronting researchers today can be faced using the same ways uncertainty is addressed during the research process.

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Looking Ahead to Spring (And Summer)

Posted on by Haya Elamir
This image is a picture of a pretty set of windows during the warmer months to hint towards the warming weather and provide some optimism to the stress that applying to internships can cause.
Rocky Common Room Window, taken by Haya Elamir

For Princeton students, it’s not premature to start thinking about summer. If anything, this post may be a little behind for some of those proactive students. Rest assured though, you are not behind if you have not started the search for summer internships (even though many students will say they’ve already applied). Opportunities are aplenty, and no, you are not behind if you didn’t start applying for research internships back in the womb. 

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Latin Revival: Some Approaches and Language Learning Tools

Posted on by Ignacio Arias Philippi
Dei Sub Numine Viget
Detail from the façade of East Pyne, Princeton’s shield and motto. “Dei Sub Numine Viget” (Under God’s Power She Flourishes.) Photo Credit: John Jameson.

From philosophy, theology, history, and politics to taxonomy and medicine, Latin is doubtless one of the most important academic languages in history. Unfortunately, its status as a ‘dead language’ tends to repel many, and myths of its arcane and difficult nature often discourage learners. Another problem is that this mystique is perpetuated in many Latin language classrooms: the ‘dead language’ is truly treated as such, with little to no emphasis placed on speaking or pronunciation and all stress (in both senses of the word) lying on the rote memorization of grammar tables.

However, learning Latin need not be cumbersome, nor strike fear into our hearts. Rather, noli timere (be not afraid). The Classics Department offers excellent instruction and tutoring. Moreover, since course prerequisites can and often do interfere with language study during the semester, there are also great alternatives for self-study. Online and print resources abound for this timeless language and are tailored to a variety of learning styles.

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A Case for Interdisciplinary Study at Princeton

Posted on by Gabriel Ascoli
Thetis in chariot with winged horses flying over the sea accompanied by the messenger gods, Iris and Hermes.
A Terracotta lekythos (oil flask) depicting Thetis in chariot with winged horses flying over the sea accompanied by the messenger gods, Iris and Hermes, as described in the last book of the Iliad. Photo credit: Sappho Painter, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

When asked about what courses I’m taking and I share the list, I’m often greeted with blank stares or curious expressions. The response I elicit is, “Why are you making life so hard on yourself?” And no, it’s not because I’m loading up on a truckload of courses like physics, math, chemistry, and computer science.

As a classics major-turned-premed, my schedule has me jumping from subject to subject across disciplines. My days consist of learning about synthesis reactions in organic chemistry in a massive lecture hall, and puzzling over Plato in ancient Greek with a circle of 7 classmates. My head spinning with Greek letters and grammatical constructions, I head for immunology, and then back again to read Latin literature. As STEM and humanities classes are often located on opposite sides of campus, I find myself trekking up and down Washington Road multiple times a day. Aside from getting my daily steps in, what exactly do I get for doing this?

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Inside the Neuroscience Lab: How Core Lab is Shaping My Research Journey

Posted on by Angel Toasakul
This picture depicts the setup of crayfish dissection with the microscope positioned on top of the dissection, light source attached to the headstage on the right, and electrode coming in from the left.
Extracellular recording of crayfish nerve

For most STEM majors at Princeton, one of the requirements is a course known informally as Core Lab. This class aims to equip students with laboratory skills required to succeed as a scientist in the field. It is usually composed of two 3-hour labs and one lecture per week. As a neuroscience major, I am currently taking NEU 350: Laboratory in Principles of Neuroscience, a class designed to introduce students to modern methods of analyzing neural activity—from the level of single neurons to large-scale networks underlying cognition. The course covers a range of techniques, including intracellular and extracellular recordings, optogenetics, EEG, and fMRI. After weeks of conducting designed experiments, it culminates in an independent research project where students design and conduct their own experiments based on knowledge and skills learned throughout the semester.

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Demystifying Big Data: An Introduction to Some Useful Data Operation Tools

Posted on by Advik Eswaran
A sample image of computer code that works with data
A sample image of computer code that works with data. Photo credit: Markus Spiske.

“Big data” and “data science” are some of the buzzwords of our era, perhaps second only to “machine learning” or “artificial intelligence.” In our globalized, Internet-ized society of plentiful information galore, data has become perhaps the most important commodity of all. Across all kinds of academic disciplines, working with large amounts of data has become a necessity: universities and corporations advertise positions for “data scientists,” and media outlets warn ominously of the privacy risks associated with the rise of “big data.”

This isn’t an article that discusses the broader, societal implications of “big data,” although I highly encourage all readers to learn more about this important topic. Instead, I’m here purely to provide you some (hopefully) broadly applicable tips to working with large amounts of data in any academic context.

In my own field of climate science, data is paramount: researchers work with gigantic databases and arrays containing millions of elements (e.g., how different climate variables, such as temperature or precipitation, change over both space and time). But data, and opportunities for working with data, are present in every field, from operations research to history. Below is an overview of some existing data operation tools that can hopefully assist you on your budding data science career!

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A Guide to Poster-Making

Posted on by Rebecca Cho

You’ve finished a research project and now you’re on to the final step: presenting your work! It’s time to share the incredible work you’ve done with the general public, and one of the best ways to do so is to create a poster conveying the significance and conclusions of your research. This will be an essential skill during your time at Princeton whether for a course or as a part of your junior and senior independent work. If this is your first time creating a poster presentation, check this blog out! ​​

A student presenting her junior work as a poster presentation.
Sara Akiba ‘26 with her poster presentation on “Foraminifera-bound δ13C as a Paleo CO2 Proxy: Methods Testing” for the Geosciences Junior Poster Presentations! If you want a poster as great as hers, continue reading below for some advice.
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Presenting at Academic Conferences: Tips and Tricks

Posted on by Advik Eswaran
The author presenting at the American Geophysical Union 2023 Fall Meeting

The author presenting at the American Geophysical Union 2023 Fall Meeting.

Imagine the following scenario: after months of committed, in-depth research on the academic topic of your choice, you’ve finally obtained some pretty cool and novel results. Your adviser is excited, and their reaction is enthusiastic—“Hey, what if we submit an abstract to an academic conference?” This was the situation I found myself in last year, when my advisers suggested I present my research on reconstructing past Antarctic snowfall patterns at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting in San Francisco. I felt honored and excited, but also a bit nervous. How was I, a lowly undergraduate, going to present my work to a massive academic conference the size of a midsized town? 

Luckily, I was fortunate enough to receive a lot of great advice from mentors and peers, and in the end it turned out great! Now, I’ll try and share some of that advice with you all—I hope you’ll find it useful!

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The Skills for the Job

Posted on by Stanley Stoutamire, Jr.
Image of East Pyne Courtyard facing the the arch that exits towards Cannon Green. Evening sunlight streams in through the archway.
An evening in East Pyne Courtyard

Research is always top of mind here. Princeton is a research university. Princeton faculty are engaged in research. Princeton students complete independent research to graduate. These are just some of the ways that we collectively understand what research is as Princeton. Yet, the images that can come to mind when thinking about “research” are quite limited. The idea of research conjures up images of bubbling chemicals and expensive technical equipment. That picture of grueling lab work is illustrative of some disciplines, but it’s largely immaterial to the work of many researchers. This can lead to a misunderstanding of what skills are necessary to succeed in research environments. Getting involved with research is daunting enough without confusion about the skill set required. This past summer, when I worked in public health research, I identified core skills that are critical, no matter what your research experience looks like.

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Crafting Your Ideal Princeton Summer

Posted on by Angel Toasakul
Yellow/orange fireworks against a black night sky on Princeton's campus in summer 2024.
Fireworks on the 4th of July, taken at the closest firework show to campus this past summer

As a Princeton student, the possibilities for summer are exciting but can also feel overwhelming. Between research opportunities, internships, volunteering, and even traveling, it’s easy to feel like everyone around you is planning something impressive. But the key to a fulfilling summer isn’t about packing in as much as possible—it’s about finding what fits your personal goals and needs, whether that’s academic growth or much-needed rest.

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