Undergraduate Research Spotlights
The Undergraduate Research and Creative Collaborations Office highlights students who have engaged in research and creative projects. We share their experiences through our website, newsletter and other Brandeis channels.
The latest undergraduate spotlight is provided below, or you can read about other research experiences on our Past Spotlights page.
Undergraduate Spotlights
- MJ Ibrahim, ’23
Majors: Health, science, society and policy (HSSP) and biology majors
Minor: Arabic
Accomplishments: MLK Fellow Board Member | Arabic Department UDR | Admissions Diversity Coordinator | URCC Peer Research Mentor | Network of Arab Students Vice President and Secretary -
Srishti Nautiyal, ’23
Majors: Physics, mathematics
Accomplishments: URCC Peer Research Mentor 2022-23
Image: MJ Ibrahim, ’23
MJ Ibrahim, ’23
He/Him/His
- Majors: Health, science, society and policy (HSSP) and biology majors
- Minor: Arabic
- Accomplishments: MLK Fellow Board Member | Arabic Department UDR | Admissions Diversity Coordinator | URCC Peer Research Mentor | Network of Arab Students Vice President and Secretary
The responses have been edited for clarity and length.
URCC: What is/was your creative or research project topic or area? What research or creative questions are you exploring?
MJ: My research project was based on the experiences of undocumented students in higher education in the U.S., specifically outlining policy recommendations for post-secondary institutions to implement to make their campuses more “undocu-friendly” to support their out-of-status students academically, socially and financially. I’m exploring questions on problems undocumented students face during their studies that many people aren’t aware of and ways we can bring awareness and address these unique obstacles.
URCC: What sparked your interest in your chosen academic research area? Did you engage in any creative or research projects prior to your current project? If so, can you tell us about them?
MJ: As an immigrant on a liminal legal status, I experienced obstacles in attaining a college education and the lack of knowledge among professionals on how to handle my specific situation. It’s unfair and unfortunate that students with similar backgrounds as mine have to jump through massive hoops on their own. Reflecting on experiences, both mine and my peers, sparked a need to address these injustices. The barriers are high and the awareness is low, and I aim to switch these narratives on our own campus.
URCC: What research skills did you need to get started? How did you get training or acquire those skills?
MJ: I needed to know how to structure my research project, conduct relevant literature reviews, set up interviews and formulate an analysis that addresses the academic outcome disparities seen among undocumented students. I was a research assistant at Boston Children’s Hospital and an intern at the Schneider Institute for Social Policy, where both research projects were related to health disparities. Within these two opportunities, I was introduced to these skills that were further supplemented by my faculty mentor’s (Dr. Kristen Lucken) guidance and advice.
URCC: What type of funding have you received for your project, including grants, fellowships and paid research assistant positions?
MJ: I applied for and received funding from the Provost’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship and the Jerome A. Schiff Undergraduate Research Fellowship (for academic year research).
URCC: Did you enroll in research for credit? If so, which course(s)?
MJ: Yes, for HSSP 89A (Internship & Analysis) for the HSSP Hands-On Experience requirement.
URCC: Are you/did you experience any unexpected benefits from engaging in your project? Are you doing research now?
MJ: Yes! After conducting my research project, it confirmed my postgraduate plans to pursue a PhD in sociology specializing in liminal status immigrants and the sociopolitical issues that hinder life outcome success. It felt very validating and “right” throughout the entire process, and I couldn't thank the opportunity from the URCC and my amazing faculty mentor Dr. Lucken for making my independent research experience an amazing one! I am currently undertaking another project building off this research project. I am aiming at creating an interdepartmental resource database within Brandeis for out-of-status Brandeis undergraduate students to highlight resources available to them, as well as increase awareness among several departments about what they can do to further support undocumented students on our campus.
URCC: What advice do you have for students who want to participate in research?
MJ: I say go for every opportunity you see! Apply to all the research positions and funding that interest you! Make appointments with the Undergraduate Research and Creative Collaborations (URCC) and Academic Fellowships departments! There are so many resources out there for you to grab. All you have to do is go for it. I owe it to all the advisors and professors I spoke to about different research opportunities. Having a supportive and wide network of professionals rooting for your success is an amazing thing, and you should take advantage of every single opportunity you see.
Image: Srishti at SACNAS Conference, Brown University, June 2022
Srishti Nautiyal, ’23
- Majors: Physics, mathematics
- Accomplishments: URCC Peer Research Mentor 2022-23
The responses have been edited for clarity and length. URCC: How did you find out about opportunities for undergraduates to do research or creative scholarship?
Srishti: While taking quantum mechanics with Professor Brian Swingle in spring 2021, we learned that unlike space, time is not a measurable quantity but a parameter that is described by a function called as time evolution operator. This operator is reversible, i.e., theoretically, we can go back in time. I sent an email to Professor Swingle asking about the applicability of this concept in macroscopic systems like reversing milk and tea. Our discussion led to a potential summer research project idea that in fact, came to fruition.
Additionally, I have subscribed to various listservs for DivSci, URCC and Department of Physics to follow on research and scholarship opportunities.
URCC: What is your creative or research project topic or area? What research or creative questions are you exploring?
Srishti: I currently work on quantum chaotic dynamics. As a many-body quantum system evolves in time, it explores an immense Hilbert space whose volume grows exponentially with the number of particles. I am interested in generating random quantum states that explore this gigantic space as efficiently as possible. My research is guided by two broad questions: how far we can go on the Hilbert Space (randomness) and how fast we can get there (complexity).
URCC: What sparked your interest in your chosen academic research area? Did you engage in any creative or research projects prior to your current project? If so, can you tell us about them?
Srishti: Growing up, I wanted to be Morgan Freeman from "Through the Wormhole" because I thought he was a physicist. I didn't realize he was an actor until high school and I had already decided to be a theoretical physicist by then. At Brandeis, my interest in physics has grown from being a student to being an active researcher. The most influential of my classes was quantum mechanics with Professor Swingle. It was like learning a new language to describe things we didn't know existed or could exist.
URCC: What research skills did you need to get started? How did you get training or acquire those skills
Srishti: I read various textbooks and research papers on angular momentum, measurement and entanglement in Spring 2021 to prepare for my summer research project. In spring, I attended weekly meetings with my PI Gregory Bentsen, a postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Physics to discuss the lessons and papers. I also met with some graduate students in the Physics department to learn more about their research experience and their advice for starting out my own research journey.
URCC: What type of funding have you received for your project, including grants, fellowships, and paid research assistant positions?
Srishti: I had a paid summer research job that also extended to a part-time assistantship for fall 2021. I was a recipient of the Blavatnik Research Fellowship for summer 2022.
URCC: What are/were some challenges or obstacles you faced during this process and how did you overcome them?
Image: Srishti at Brandeis SciFest, August 2022
Srishti: When I first started academic papers, I would find myself struggling to understand what questions they are trying to answer let alone the answers themselves. This was discouraging and filled me with imposter syndrome and my credibility to do research. I tried to steer myself to rely more on the resources available to me — my supervisor, research group, other professors and peers, etc. Unsurprisingly, the most effective source of encouragement proved to be my mother even when she was oceans away from me in India. She shared with me a quote from Confucius when I shared my worries with her. The quote read, "The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life... " I was hesitant to ask questions because I was afraid it reflected my ignorance on the subject area … so persisting through papers, asking more questions and not giving up seemed to be the most rational approach to overcome the challenges of learning. One year hence, I was discussing my senior thesis project with my supervisor and realized that I had in fact made progress as a researcher. Now, I could read multiple papers, make connections and even build on to the questions asked in a conducive manner.
URCC: What advice do you have for students who want to participate in research?
Srishti: Research experience must not be treated as another section to be checked off of your resume checklist. You should engage in research that interests you — things that inspire in you a sense of intrigue and curiosity. This way, the process of research itself holds value and satisfaction regardless of the end results.