First-year students conduct STEM research

Binghamton University’s First-year Research Immersion (FRI) program empowers students to pursue meaningful research in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (commonly called STEM).

This invite-only program is just one of four in the United States, and places academically talented students in various research streams. Over the course of three semesters, students conduct research with faculty and peers as they build valuable skills to prepare them for future research opportunities and, eventually, the workplace.

Just like Binghamton, the FRI program attracts minds from all over the world, like Neha Shaikh and Dokyu Lee.

Shaikh, a student from India studying biology, says FRI was one of the top reasons she chose to attend Binghamton.

“When I applied to Binghamton I already knew that it was one of the top universities for research; and, since that’s what I want to do, it made sense. But, when I received an invitation to participate in FRI, I knew it was the right school for me,” said Shaikh.

Shaikh says FRI is not only academically rewarding, but has also helped her to be more connected with her fellow students. “When you do research you always work in teams. I’m still writing a paper with the same team on the research we did. I definitely feel more connected and obviously involved because it was a big part of my first year at Binghamton.”

Dokyu Lee, an FRI student from South Korea studying mechanical engineering, explains what drew him in.

“I’ve been told that at many schools only upperclassmen get to be involved in research, so I knew this was a special opportunity I wouldn’t be able to have at every university,” he said.

Once students enroll in FRI, they are placed into one of several research streams such as biogeochemistry, neuroscience, and community and global public health, Engineering majors, like Lee, have a choice of being placed into the Image and Acoustic Signal Analysis (IASA) or clean energy stream.

“I’m a mechanical engineering student but I’m also interested in coding. The IASA stream is basically computer science. I now want to become a programmer.”

To anyone accepted into the program, Lee offers this piece of advice: “Take this opportunity! Being able to do research as a first-year student is huge!”