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Swarthmore Recognized as Leader in Undergraduate Science Research


Swarthmore Recognized as
Leader in Undergraduate Science Research

by Stacey Kutish
2/8/2012

Swarthmore students meet as part of the cross-continential course, re-Envisioning Diasporas
In the last 10 years, 12.8 percent of Swarthmore graduates went on to earn a Ph.D. in science or engineering.

The Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA), a major funder of undergraduate research, recently recognized Swarthmore College as a leader in providing research opportunities to its students. Swarthmore is among the top 10 institutions nationally to receive research grants - 49 - from the RCSA since its founding.

According to RCSA President James Gentile in the Huffington Post, "Hands-on research opportunities for undergraduates, combined with personalized attention from inventive professors, is one of the reasons that liberal arts colleges have long played a disproportionately large role in the education of our nation's future scientists."

At Swarthmore, seven current faculty members - Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Alison Holliday, Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Liliya Yatsunyk, Provost and James H. Hammons Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Tom Stephenson, Edward Hicks Magill Professor of Mathematics and Natural Sciences Frank Moscatelli, Associate Professor of Astronomy David Cohen, Professor of Physics Michael Brown, and Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Paul Rablen - have been the beneficiaries of the RSCA's Cottrell College Science Awards, since 1995. These grants serve to promote basic research as a vital component of undergraduate education by facilitating meaningful collaborative work between researchers and students.