Undergraduate Students
Volunteering as an undergraduate research assistant is an excellent way to gain hands-on experience and build an understanding of the research process for future graduate studies. Undergraduate students from Engineering (Biomedical, Mechanical, Material Science), Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Biomedical Science, Anthropology, Neuroscience, etc. have all been involved in IBRC research. In the IBRC, interested undergraduate students start as volunteers. If this is your first time doing research, we want to allow you to test out the waters at your own pace in order to determine if research is for you and if you enjoy the type of research we do. Volunteers are encouraged to spend as much time in the IBRC as their schedule allows in order to learn as much as they can and become fully immersed in all aspects of injury biomechanics research.
What to expect:
The Injury Biomechanics Research Center typically has around 10-20 undergraduate volunteers at any time. The IBRC prides itself on teamwork and readily welcomes student participation in all research and testing activities. Undergraduate students who are willing to dedicate time every week to work in the IBRC will gain knowledge of research equipment and processes that far exceed what is taught in the classroom environment.
- Volunteers should be interested in and willing to learning about all functions of the IBRC testing process including but not limited to: preparing and acquiring data, setting up high speed cameras and recording videos, maintaining instrumentation, screening subjects for testing, etc.
- Regular emails will be sent out to all laboratory members regarding any help needed. Volunteers should be on the lookout for these emails as they are great opportunities to learn and gain experience.
- We encourage volunteers to gain experience in all areas of testing so that they gain knowledge of multiple projects and types of equipment. We do not assign volunteers to specific projects until they have helped with multiple projects and developed an interest for a specific research area.
Interested undergraduate students should email ibrc@osu.edu, contact the IBRC Administrator (Michelle Whitmer michelle.whitmer@osumc.edu), or any other faculty member whom they are interested in working with to discuss volunteering. We are always interviewing and accepting new volunteers.
Volunteers who have demonstrated exceptional work ethic and a dedicated interest in the IBRC will be considered for a paid Undergraduate Research Assistant position.