First-year Research Immersion (FRI) students conduct research in what are known as Research Streams, research courses dedicated to a specific field in sciences and engineering, led by a Research Educator and team of three to five faculty collaborators. Each Research Stream has a dedicated laboratory designed and equipped for its specific type of research.
The course sequence for each Research Stream begins with a Research Methods seminar taken in the fall of the first year. The Methods seminar focuses on how to identify and develop a good research question.
In the spring of the first year, students begin their laboratory work in their specific Research Stream. Some students continue their research during the summer, as volunteers or with fellowships. In the fall of the second year, FRI students continue their research project in their Research Stream.
A key component of the FRI program is that students learn to work in teams -- because that is how researchers tackle understanding the complexity of these problems and then developing solutions. The students create a research proposal, based on the protocols and equipment they have learned to use. Subsequently, they conduct the research they have proposed. This process develops interpersonal and communication skills and critical thinking, along with an array of advanced technical skills.
After FRI, students have a wide variety of opportunities for additional research and internship experience at Binghamton and beyond.
