Student Profiles
Student Interviews

How did the Eureka experience “change” you?
One of the biggest driving factors into why I chose to participate in the Eureka program this past summer was because I wanted to do research about Parkinson’s disease. My grandfather was diagnosed with PD a few years ago and I wanted to help him in any way I could. My experience with Eureka taught me that there is hope through research to not only patients diagnosed with PD but also for many other previously incurable diseases.
Matthew
Workshop
Independent Research Workshop - Biochemistry
Research Topic:
The Effects of Amino Acid Substitutions at Position 8 of the 3-11 α-Synuclein Helix

How did the Eureka experience “change” you?
I think participating in this workshop would forever change the way I think about science. Now, I understand that those moments are extremely rare; instead, most science (especially in biology and medicine) is gradually built up through the accumulation of meticulous research by many people. It is this building up of knowledge that is responsible for all that we know about the small but significant protein alpha-synuclein, as well as so many other structures in the human body. Although my research in this workshop would not shock the scientific community, I still feel very happy that I have contributed to the knowledge about alpha-synuclein which may one day be used to further the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases.
Betty
Workshop
Independent Research Workshop - Biochemistry
Research Topic:
The Effect of Cytosol-Exposed Lysine Residues on The Cytosol-Membrane Distribution and Serine-129 Phosphorylation of Alpha-Synuclein

Describe some interesting or memorable stories of working with your professor.
In the first couple of meetings, I am getting used to the background information of Catiline. Around halfway through, the Professor asks for my preference on the topics of the paper and provides me with several possible options. He helps me to narrow down and incorporate some sub-topics to make my argument more solid. When we talk about Caesar’s Gallic War, I am able to reflect on what I have learnt in the past. The atmosphere for us talking is relaxed and it does not sound like a ‘class’ at all.
Yina
Workshop
Independent Research Workshop – Classics Study
Research Topic:
Digging Deeper into Texts: The Mesh of Form and Content

What were some big challenges you encountered in the process? How did you overcome it?
One of the biggest challenges is the ideas. I have not formally researched Artificial intelligence before, and I was introduced to many new concepts in this workshop. I overcame it with my own research and with the help of my professor and others.
Kevin
Workshop
Artificial Intelligence: Theory, Methods, and Application
Research Topic:
Comparing Neural Network Pruning at Initialization Method

Describe some interesting or memorable stories of working with your professor.
One memorable story is that when I got my model down, which is a very small and easy model, I felt so excited. And on the next class, it WAS the initial mode of the famous Cobb-Douglas model, which really surprised me.
Shawn
Workshop
Financial Crises, Causes and Cures
Research Topic:
Ranking Of Data-Area’s FDI Prospects for China, South Korea, And Germany

Describe the whole cycle of completing your research project. What was your professor’s role in this process? What other supports have you received from Eureka?
Was able to figure out which research topic I wanted to do based on the research papers assigned by professor. Professor helped with the whole process, getting accustomed to research papers, learning about general artificial intelligence, finding an interesting topic to write about, structuring paper, conducting experiment, and paper edits.
Nancy
Workshop
Artificial Intelligence: Theory, Methods, and Application
Research Topic:
Comparing Performance of Machine Translation Models Between English and Chinese

How to make the most from participating in Eureka workshop and working with a college professor?
The process of communication is very important. The professor is friendly, insightful, and always willing to help. Trust shall be built between the student and the professor so that the professor can really help you improve. What is more important is to think independently and make the discussions with the professor more meaningful. It is a process where ideas are exchanged and improvements are made, not a process of waiting for the professor to decide everything for the student.
Maggie
Workshop
Independent Research Workshop – Gender Studies
Research Topic:
An Analysis of the Place of Feminism in Online Discussions of the Tangshan Attack

Do you have any advice for future Eureka students?
Choose a topic that you are passionate about or want to learn more about. If you are going to spend your holidays conducting research or writing about a topic, ensure that you are engaged and are enjoying the process; don’t condemn yourself to two months of mathematics if you hate numbers… However, have an open mind and be willing to learn about something new. Perhaps you will find something that will engage your interest.
In addition, DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK QUESTIONS. Professors are there to answer your questions and guide you. If you do not understand something, ask. If you need help during your writing, ask. Active communication will help you greatly throughout the researching, reading, and writing process
Caroline
Workshop
Independent Research Workshop - Anthropology
Research Topic:
Remember To Breathe

How did the Eureka experience “change” you?
Inspired me and enlightened my passion to pursue an engineering degree with a primary focus on Mars colonization and application of existing technologies on Mars. The Professor was very encouraging and helped guide me through the process as well as trouble shoot when issues occurred. The process of research is more engaging and rewarding than anything else.
Catherine
Workshop
Independent Research Workshop – Aerospace Engineering
Research Topic:
An Analysis of Solar Distillation Technology For Mars Colonization

How did the Eureka experience “change” you?
I gained research skills, more knowledge on Semantic Segmentation and a good experience of writing a paper. The Eureka experience gave me greater insight into how research is conducted in the scientific field and gave me greater clarity on my future career goals.
Johnson
Workshop
Independent Research Workshop – Artificial Intelligence
Research Topic:
Performances Of Object Detection Models in Identifying Abstract Art Indicate Different Features of Salience Considered in Object Detection Models

How did the Eureka experience “change” you?
I was able to conduct my own behavioral economics research, which helped me learn a lot not only about the topic, but also how to read existing literature and how to conclude statistical data. Going forward, these skills will be important for me in college as I pursue more independent work.
Cindy
Workshop
Behavioral Economics Belief-Based Utility
Research Topic:
Effect Of Generosity and Vulnerability on Conditional Cooperation

What were some big challenges you encountered in the process? How did you overcome it?
I actually didn’t know what I should explore at the start, so my professor helped me to narrow the range down by selecting papers from various ranges for me to read. Through massive search through data and research I finally settled on researching “nudge”, the science of promoting decision making. Then professor guide me through some vital and fundamental papers in the field of behavioral economics and help me to build up an essential knowledge base for my research. Then we would meet once a week to discuss my progress and the problems that I met during the research. The Professor also instructed me how to select useful data from various charts and gave me important advice for the direction of my research.
Hanson
Workshop
Independent Research Workshop – Behavioral Economics
Research Topic:
Review For Category of Nudges and Proposals on Hypothetical Researches

What were some big challenges you encountered in the process? How did you overcome it?
I struggled with finding sources relevant to my topic, gendered architecture, because it was so niche; this deprivation, in turn, made it hard to come up with a cohesive topic to write about. In the end, I overcame this problem by finding much more well-explored fields to talk about and paralleling it with my paper at hand. This approach allowed me to develop a narrative much faster.
Maggie
Workshop
Independent Research Workshop – Gender Studies
Research Topic:
Empowerment and not Victimization: A Qualitative Analysis on How to Include More Women in Architecture

Describe some interesting or memorable stories of working with your professor.
I think one interesting story was when we finished with that day’s lecture, we started talking about some really rare undeciphered language, and he told me a lot from a researcher’s perspective about those languages which provides me a different point of view other than watching YouTube videos to learn about them.
Bella
Workshop
Independent Research Workshop – Linguistics
Research Topic:
The Use of Gendered Pronouns by Mandarin Speakers Studying English

What is your favorite part of studying in Eureka workshop and why is it your favorite part?
My favorite part studying in Eureka was learning about the different research methods like Framing and Priming. They were methods that I had not heard about before and they helped me to eliminate different factors to find causation. Implementing these methods into my questionnaires was also an intellectually stimulating process.
Scott
Workshop
Behavioral Economics Belief-Based Utility
Research Topic:
The Effect of Familial Bonds on Risk Tolerance Among East Asians

Describe the whole cycle of completing your research project. What was your professor’s role in this process? What other supports have you received from Eureka?
In our brainstorming, we laid out multiple ideas before settling on 3. These 3 were the ones we had a vague setup of how to do it. In the end, we decided to do spacing and massing. My professor had done something similar to it, so he was able to guide me through it. We finalized our experiment and use Prolific to send out paid forms. When we got back the results, my professor used a software to show me different way to interpret the information. He explained statics and how to interpret it. I began writing the essay and had multiple meetings with my professor about.
Fiona
Workshop
Cognitive Psychology: Self-Regulated Learning
Research Topic:
Do Massed Presentations Make People Like Paintings More Than Spaced Presentations?
Eureka Alumni

Scott
Admitted to:
Washington University
Research Topic:
The influence of Portuguese slavery on itself and its colonies
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"My time at Eureka was the first deep research I have ever conducted on a European topic. Utilizing these new methods to find sources and analyze them helped me to learn how to conduct research. I also became a more careful author with my words, syntax, and citations. In turn, this would help me conduct quality-level research and become a better scholar in college."

Nathan
Admitted to:
Boston University
Research Topic:
Hallucinations: An everyday phenomenon or a brain disorder? - Visualizing and understanding the effects of cocaine on serotonin
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"Really get to know your professor - I was able to visit my professor’s lab when I visited Boston, as well as talk to undergrad students majoring in things I want to major in. Also, they are a phenomenal resource on topics you wish to learn about. Do not be afraid to ask questions, even if you may think they’re simplistic or dumb. Obviously I am speaking from what happened personally, but my professor often was able to give simple questions a rich and insightful response. Also, the writing tutors are really helpful with wording and phrasing."

Eric
Admitted to:
Columbia University
Research Topic:
The Colosseum and Rome: A Brief Investigation
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“There was once when my professor and I discussed Roman monumentality, the colosseum especially, for over an hour nonstop! I learned so much, including the density of monumental architecture in the city of Rome and how they are dispersed. The Eureka experience is reflected in every part of my college application! I first included the program in my common application. Also, the program refined my critical thinking and writing skills to benefit my progression in my senior year (with class and college application)! Definitely apply to Eureka!”

Linda
Admitted to:
Stanford University
Research Topic:
The Possessed: Dostoevsky’s Conscientious Monarchy