2011-2012 SIR Student

Guide We surveyed current juniors and seniors to see what they had to say about their SIR experience(s). Here is a compilation of what we found.

Enjoy :)

Presented by: IMSA Student Council

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Dear rising juniors,

IMSA is known for a lot of things: being the home of “Illinois’ best

and brightest”, giving students a LOT of work, having no ceilings in

the classrooms, etc…But what IMSA is possibly most recognized for

is the Student Inquiry Research program (a.k.a. SIR). This unique

program offers students the chance to pursue an investigation in

any field of their choice. We strongly urge students to consider

pursuing a SIR, as this will most likely be a once in a life-time

opportunity.

With that being said, we thought we should help you out a little

with this decision process. So, we asked current juniors and

seniors what they thought about their SIR experiences. We have

compiled all of their responses for your viewing pleasure. Note

that the responses are the opinions of individual students, and we,

Student Council, simply want to share the opinions objectively.

Thus, we ask that you take into consideration all the various

opinions, but in the end, make an informed decision based on what

you believe is best for you.

We hope you enjoy and find this is helpful :)

With much love (and on behalf of StudCo),

Julianne Crawford

Jcrawford1@imsa.edu

Class of 2012

Brinda Gupta

Bgupta@imsa.edu

Class of 2012

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Here are some options:

Architecture

Biochemistry Bioengineering

Biology

Business

Chemistry

Computer Science:

Economics

Education

Engineering

English

Environmental Science

Fine arts

History

Law

Mathematics

Medicine

Physics

Psychology

Social Science

Space Science

Theology

What types

of SIR are

there to

pursue?

This year SIR ranged from being in the field

of architecture to focusing on theology.

Don’t hesitate to look outside the realm of

scientific research.

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ON-CAMPUS

vs.

OFF-CAMPUS

Some students prefer an on-campus

SIR, while others prefer an off-

campus SIR; it’s really up to you.

Whichever you choose, know that

there is no difference in the credit

that you will receive. Remember that

off-campus SIR buses leave about 7:00

a.m. and don’t arrive back at IMSA until

around 6:30 p.m. Make an informed decision

based on what you think you can handle.

Here are the major benefits of both:

Benefits of having an OFF-CAMPUS SIR:

“Being able to work with a well-known professor.”

“Exposure to the field of research and being able to conduct an investigation with more depth than an on-campus SIR.”

“I think that one major benefit was that my advisor explained to me what he was currently studying, and how that was relevant to research today. On-campus SIR's must choose their own focus, but my adviser had his focus, which obviously influenced the focus of my investigation.”

“I got to work with an actual architect, rather than just a staff member or faculty at IMSA.”

“The kinds of tests we were able to run along with the cell lines and lab resources available would not have been available to us on-campus. Additionally, the information given to us about our project by our advisor would not have been available on campus.”

“I got to work with professionals in the field. I had many resources available to me. I was able to pursue a very refined idea. I got to see a little bit how a college works, and I met some undergraduates.”

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Benefits of having an ON-CAMPUS SIR:

“I got to run the entire project from start to finish, gained some awesome lab skills, devoted much more time than would have been possible off-campus, and got to design my own project. I truly understood my project, in a way that not many off-campus students seemed to. I gained a TON of confidence in the lab and am now confident that I can go into a real research lab with enough experience to understand what's going on.”

“Less time spent in transportation. You know about your advisor going into it.”

“Flexibility of scheduling. I was able to meet with teachers on I-days and do an SIR.”

“Still having time to meet with teachers as you could when you were a sophomore.”

Some students may tell you that having an on-campus SIR requires

much less time, and that it is easier to slack off. However, with an on-

campus SIR, you are expected to commit a good amount of time to

your investigation, as you would do with an off-campus SIR. We

surveyed students with on-campus SIRs to see how much time they

invested each Wednesday to their investigation:

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My SIR was

OFF-Campus

this year and I

plan to…

Pursue another off-campus SIR next year:

“I would like to continue to research the investigation I am currently involved in.”

“I want to get the experience of working with professionals outside of the IMSA campus.”

“I want to do something different, but I really enjoyed my experience off campus. Leaving IMSA is always a good change of scenery.”

“I think that being able to go off campus and experience a professional work setting is one of the greatest benefits that the SIR program offers.”

Pursue an on-Campus SIR next year:

“I did not enjoy my off campus experience and often found myself too drained to fully understand what was being done. An on campus SIR in a more interesting field will make the SIR process much more enjoyable.”

“Losing the I day was too hard.”

I think I still would like to do SIR, but I would also like to have free time on Wednesdays during my senior year.

Not Pursue another SIR:

“I Plan to take applied engineering rather than SIR.”

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My SIR was

ON-Campus

this year and I

plan to…

Pursue another on-campus SIR next

year:

“My advisor asked for me to work with

him again on a similar project.”

“I'm going off campus this summer,

because there's less stress involved, so I'll

do a more manageable project on campus

come time for college apps.”

Pursue an off-Campus SIR next year:

“I ended up with an on-campus SIR because 16 off-campus advisors turned me

down (start early---I started in July). I ended up working with Don Dosch, which

has been a phenomenal experience. I definitely learned a ton and wouldn't trade

it for anything. However, he does not want as many SIR students next year and

has encouraged me to pursue an off-campus SIR next year to get true lab

experience. I would like to see how true cancer research is conducted.”

“I want to be able to work with someone researching in medicine for my SIR.”

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WAS YOUR

SIR

EXPERIENCE

BENEFICIAL?

*As you can see, the

vast majority of

people agree that yes,

SIR was a beneficial

experience.

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DID YOU

ENJOY YOUR

SIR

EXPERIENCE?

*As you can see, the

vast majority of people

agree that yes, they

enjoyed their SIR

experience.

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DID SIR GIVE

YOU THE

OPPORTUNITY

TO PURSUE AN

INVESTIGATION

THAT YOU

WERE

INTERESTED

IN?

*As you can see, the vast

majority of people agree

that yes, SIR gave them

this opportunity.

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WAS GOING

FROM HAVING

ALL DAY

WEDNESDAY AS

A SOPHOMORE

TO HAVING TO

GIVE UP TIME

TO PURSUE AN

SIR WAS A HARD

TRANSITION?

*Though some may agree

that SIR was a hard

transition, we can say

from personal experience

that it is easy to adjust

quickly and having an

SIR helps you manage

your time accordingly.

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SIR REQUIRES A

LOT OF TIME

AND EFFORT,

BUT IT’S

MANAGEABLE.

*As you can see, the vast

majority of people agree

that yes, SIR is

manageable with all of

your other work.

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WOULD YOU

RECOMMEND

THAT THE

RISING JUNIORS

PURSUE AN

OFF-CAMPUS

SIR?

*This is a wonderful

opportunity, and you

should take it while you

have the chance!

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Finding an SIR Advisor

The first step of the SIR program is to find an advisor and an investigation or research

topic. As with research, the SIR student is expected to independently accomplish this

task, with guidance from the SIR staff. Here are some basic steps and things you should

do that will help you in this process.

1. Don’t Procrastinate! The deadline for signing on with an advisor is in mid-September,

and this process takes time. Start early and be persistent in pursuing options and

interests.

2. Choose an area of interest that you want to study; don’t just choose a topic because

you think it’s “impressive.”

3. Find potential advisors at IMSA or in the Chicago-land area that have a current

project in your area of interest. You can find ideas of investigations by searching past

SIR abstracts on the SIR website:

https://www3.imsa.edu/learning/inquiry/Outcomes/SIR/Abstracts. Once you have

identified a few names, find the potential advisor’s institution website. Do a literature

search to see what this investigator has recently studied.

4. Write your biography and introductory email. In this document you should a)

introduce yourself briefly; b) indicate what specific skills you have obtained, and how

you obtained them (IMSA class, science fair, and so forth); c) indicate (demonstrate

knowledge) that you know some specific information about what the research

investigation is that you are applying for; d) tie these two things together, stating how

your skills would be a benefit to this project. The SIR staff will be happy to review your

emails and provide feedback before you send them. Biography examples are included

in this document.

5. Proof your emails! No one is impressed by typographical errors and grammatical

errors!

6. Send out the email, to one investigator at a time. Give the investigator 24 to 48 hours

to respond. If there is no response, then you can either follow up with another email

or a phone call. Be persistent but polite. Remember that these investigators (potential

advisors) would be investing a significant amount of their time if they agree to take

you on as an advisee.

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7. If the investigator says “yes,” you should most certainly also say “yes.” It is not

appropriate to tell the advisor that you have changed your mind, or that you will get

back to him/her after you follow up on some other leads. At this point, you should get

all of the contact information for the advisor (name, address, phone, email) to Dr.

Scheppler (quella@imsa.edu).

8. If the investigator says “no,” respond with a brief “thank you for your consideration”

e-mail and move on to the next person on your list.

9. Investigation openings (advisors seeking SIR students) are posted regularly on the

window outside the Grainger Center in the fall. Check these postings daily to see if

there are any in your area of interest.

10. Argonne National Laboratory and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory have very

specific application procedures that you must follow. Do not directly contact staff at

these facilities. Information about applying to ANL or FNAL is e-mailed to current

sophomores and juniors. Application does not assure placement, and if you apply to

either of these places you are expected to accept that placement if offered. You may

not apply elsewhere until you have a response. If you are not placed, the SIR staff will

do its best to assist you with finding another placement.

11. Begin approaching potential advisors in May and June. Make an appointment to visit

them over the summer, and perhaps spend a week (or more) working with them

during the summer to increase your familiarity with their work. This can be especially

important with lab-based investigations, as one day each week is not optimal when

some experiments require multiple days to complete. Summer SIR credit is available,

providing you meet SIR standards and program requirements. Additionally, if you one

of your peers has an adviser that you would be interested in working with, be sure to

get his or her contact information as soon as possible.

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SIR Recommendation

If you are seeking an off-campus SIR placement, it may be beneficial for you to have one

recommendation on file in the SIR office. There is a simple form that IMSA teachers can

complete and email to Dr. Scheppler. Do not wait until May, when your teachers are very

busy, to ask them to complete this. You can ask the SIR office/Dr. J to send this

recommendation along with some SIR information to potential advisors.

Brief Biography

Write about yourself and your skills and abilities. What did you learn in your MSI

investigation? In your classes at IMSA? Other relevant experiences? What are your

objectives in obtaining an investigation with this specific advisor? What career path are

you interested in pursuing? How can a placement with this advisor assist you with this?

Remember: Demonstrate, don’t tell.

Sample Biography

My name is Joe Smith (jsmith@imsa.edu) and I am a junior at IMSA. I am

inquiring about a Student Inquiry and Research investigation related to physics,

electronics, and/or engineering. I am very interested in all types of physics and math and

am open to many areas. Last year, I took my first physics class and I thoroughly enjoyed

it. The mix of math and science was very fun to me. I am very interested in exploring

many new areas in physics as I am creative and love to learn about new things. This year I

am taking an Advanced Physics class and an Electronics class. I am also planning on

taking an engineering class my senior year. I work fairly well with computers and I learn

quickly when it comes to using new programs. I have some experience in Java

programming and wouldn't mind doing something that involved programming. I am

looking forward to working diligently this year, too.

Email tips

• Use your IMSA email address, and use a good email subject line

Working with an SIR advisor is a tremendous gift. They want serious and hard-working

students, but they really do want to support you and encourage your interests in their

field. Occasionally you may find that the experience is not what you expected. Maybe

it’s much better than expected, or maybe it’s not. In any case, you should accept it for a

learning experience and try to make the best opportunity from it that you can. Many

things have a way of coming back and rewarding you when you least expect it.

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NEED SOME ADVICE? TAKE IT FROM US…

Having a partner might

make the SIR experience

easier, but if you prefer

working alone, do that.

Have fun

:)

“Bring a

blanket and

pillow for

those bus

rides.”

“I would really

encourage the

rising juniors to take part in SIR

(whether on-

campus or off-campus). SIR is

unique to IMSA

and you will most likely not

find an

opportunity like this anywhere

else.”

“Work hard.”

“I spent around 2 months waiting for IRB approval. Get those forms

turned as early as possible.”

“Make sure to manage time

wisely.”

“Send out emails early!”

“Do your best to ensure you

get a good mentor. Whether

that means asking

upperclassmen which

mentors are good, or doing

research from past abstract

books, do whatever it takes.

And then make sure you don't

slack off. For the most part,

mentors are pretty iffy about

taking high school kids and it

doesn't take much for them to

conclude that you're not

going to be useful to them

and that you don't have the

background to learn much.

However, if they feel you are

capable, they can give some

cool responsibilities and you

can learn a lot.”

“Pick one in a subject area that you

enjoy. Don't pick one just because you think you will get awards if you do

something in that subject area. If you are

passionate about your topic, you will definitely be able to go farther with it.”