NDSU civil and environmental engineering associate professor Ying Huang has been selected to serve in a new RCA faculty fellow position. Huang will provide leadership for the development of a multi-year undergraduate research program with a focus on biotechnology research. The new position is supported by NIH grant funding through North Dakota INBRE (Idea Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence).

Huang puts a high value on undergraduate research and has many students involved in it in her program within engineering. "For undergraduates, research experiences are of great importance," she says. "I've noticed that undergrads with research experiences have higher interests for graduate school and career paths related to becoming future educators."

Huang has developed plans for various programs to facilitate undergraduate research. The major effort during this fellow position is the development of a campus-wide summer undergraduate research program. In addition, she will also work with the faculty to encourage campus-wide undergraduate research activities

Huang joins other faculty fellows Sam Markell and Rajani Ganesh Pillai in working with in the RCA office. She will work primarily with the Research Development team.