By Dee Richardson//
Six students worked with faculty members to complete research over the summer for the annual Summer Research Institute (SRI).
This program offers research projects each summer to Hood students to work alongside faculty members. It is an eight-week-long project provided with a $2,500 stipend and free housing on campus. This program is available to any undergraduate student regardless of major.
The SRI program supports and encourages collaboration and communication between research groups through informal discussions of the research projects, according to Hood’s website.
The research projects from the summer of 2022 were an array of different studies from different departments, ranging from education to chemistry.
One student named Victoria Aghamalian studied with Janak Joshi on a project titled “Lighting up Rural Nepal with Off-Grid Solar Energy: An Economic Analysis on Combating Energy.” Aghamalian was asked by Joshi if she would be interested in studying alongside him for the SRI program, to which Aghamalian quickly agreed.
“I have a good relationship with him and the other economics professors and it was a great opportunity, especially because I want to apply to law school,” Aghamalian said.
Aghamalian and Joshi researched how Nepal would benefit from increased availability of renewable energy sources. Historically, the country of Nepal has not had access to cleaner energy sources due to economic disadvantages. However, through government and international assistance, the country has acquired cleaner energy sources such as solar and hydropower energy.
The purpose of the study was to observe the difficulties Nepal faced when dealing with inadequate energy sources, how the country has overcome this large obstacle over the past 50 years and, lastly, how the country should continue to maintain the progress that has been made.
Working on the project together helped form a stronger professional relationship between Aghamalian and Joshi, as he guided her and provided suggestions for her research.
Through this opportunity, Aghamalian was able to learn more about Nepal and the challenges that people face all around the world.
“Completing the SRI program permitted me to improve my writing, data collection, and research skills. I now have more experience with completing independent projects and know that the skills I have gained from this experience will help me perform better in law school,” Aghamalian said.
SRI projects are presented at a poster session at the end of the summer to encourage the entire Hood community to learn what research is being done.
Admission is very competitive, according to Hood’s website. The application deadline for next summer’s program is Jan. 31, 2023.
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