Abstract
Dear Readers,
We are pleased to announce the 13th edition of the Columbia Undergraduate Science Journal. CUSJ’s dual mission is to publish high quality student research in our journals and to promote scientific research among students and introduce students into the scientific research community. In both regards, we have expanded and improved our efforts, and I am incredibly proud of all we’ve accomplished.
We grew a lot as an organization, doubling the size of our editorial board and creating a general body for all students at Columbia to be able to be involved with the CUSJ community. General body members participated in a mentorship program, journal club meetings, and other social events throughout the year. We focused our efforts on building community and providing resources for STEM students. We hosted events that focused on student and professor research, mental health, resume editing, graduate school, finding summer research opportunities, grant writing, science in the media, and much more. Over 30 student researchers presented their original research at our annual symposium and heard from keynote speakers on our faculty advisory board Hugh Ducklow, Gerard Parkin, Kyle Mandli, Marko Jovanovic, and Patricia Lindemann about the importance of undergraduate research.
On the editorial side, we started a blog for student-written articles that synthesize recent and novel research. We are accepting submissions for blog articles from everyone, so if you are interested please visit the submissions page. Both of our journals received more than twice as many submissions as the previous year, and after revamping our editing process, the research that we are publishing is impressive, rigorous, and advanced beyond what we’ve ever seen. The Columbia Junior Science Journal published original papers by advanced high school students across the country, and in this edition of the Columbia Undergraduate Science Journal, there are articles by undergraduate researchers from some of the top universities in North America.
Thank you for your support of CUSJ and the student research community, and we look forward to another great year next year.
Micah Gay
President, CUSJ