As an undergraduate student at Smith College, Catherine Dignam got her first taste of the thrill of conducting scientific research.

She participated in two projects, including one in which she helped study samples of the varnish covering an African mask and determined that the wax was original.

“I really got the research bug,” she said of the experience.

Dignam is now a chemistry professor at Framingham State College and hopes to pass the bug on to her students.

This month, she earned a $40,000 grant from the Tucson, Ariz.-based Research Corporation, and she plans to use it to pay summer stipends to students who participate in her new research project.

“The most important thing is that I give the students at the college the opportunity to conduct original research,” Dignam said. “It’s been shown that when students participate in research at the undergraduate level, they become inspired.”

Dignam’s research into amino acid-functionalized chiral B-diketimine metal complexes for asymmetric catalysis is aimed at developing a more cost-effective way to produce molecules used in drugs.

She hopes to develop new catalysts that would help scientists distinguish between mirror-image versions of certain molecules.

Conducting research is often difficult at undergraduate, public universities because do they not have as many resources as larger, private institutions.

“I’m taking into account the cost of doing research,” Dignam said. “My catalysts should not be ridiculously expensive if they work.”

The grant will pay for two students to do research at the college each of the next two summers.

“Once you establish yourself you might go and apply for money from the National Science Foundation or the National Institutes of Health,” she said. “Those grants are much bigger and you would usually need to have preliminary results to show.”

Dignam said she is grateful that the Research Corporation is so dedicated to fostering research opportunities for undergraduate professors.

The grant she received — called the Cottrell College Science Award — is meant to help undergraduate professors inspire students into careers in the sciences.

“Research Corporation is particularly good because they have programs specifically to help new faculty start their research programs,” said Dignam, who is in her second year teaching at Framingham State. “They want to invest in young faculty.”

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 29th, 2006 at 9:37 pm and is filed under College Grant, Education. Tags: College, Grant, Student, Study. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.