Research is often the spark that ignites a student’s lifelong passion for their field. It’s where concepts stop being words in a textbook and start becoming something tangible and understandable—a space where curiosity, creativity, and discovery intersect.

At Dickinson, students don’t just learn from their professors; they learn alongside them, too. Research here isn’t a solo assignment, but a shared mission to explore the unknown and make discoveries together.

This is the message the Biology Department worked to convey during the department’s research open house on April 23, where faculty members shared the fascinating investigations they are undertaking across the biological sciences. 

Two weeks ago, the College held its 41st annual science symposium, which featured student projects across the sciences. Fittingly, this open house was held a week after, allowing students to revisit any content they had seen and wanted to learn more about. 

“An open house like this is kind of like a follow-up to that,” said Scott Shim ’26. “You found a cool poster, and maybe you saw the student but you want to see the professor…or you want to learn about the methods of introducing a figure you saw.”

Though not every lab was open during this time, there are a multitude of faculty engaging in research projects on campus. 

Undergraduate research can easily be a cornerstone of the academic experience, providing students with the essential opportunity to explore their intellectual passions. Whether as a bridge to advanced study or a platform for innovative problem-solving, research remains central to student development.

“It’s really cool to actually get to be so close to professors and do hands-on research as an undergrad, because it gives you a lot of experience…and [I’m] learning about a lot of stuff that I never thought I’d get to do,” said Sierra Phillipson ’27. 

Professors themselves benefit from the process of doing research with their students, despite the difference in length of engagement with the content. Following an example where he and a student spontaneously discovered a fascinating way that snakes drink water from their heads, Professor of Biology Scott Boback commended the uniqueness of student inquiry. 

“I think that sometimes the students were surprised that they have the ability and the insight to discover things, and that’s what gets people hooked,” he said. 

While there were many shared perspectives on the importance and benefits of student-faculty research on campus, one thing is clear: research doesn’t only impact the students, but also the professors, too. 

Professor Thomas Arnold expressed his excitement at being in the lab, saying that, “if [he] could, [he] would stay in [the lab] or be in the field all the time.” 

Annika Haagensen ’26 attributes her sophomore research experience for showing her what she wanted to do in college. Currently doing research with Arnold and peer Emi Ayala-Sekiguchi ’28, Haagensen is grateful to have gotten more insight into what she wanted to do during her time at Dickinson because of the opportunity to research. 

Ayala-Sekiguchi shared this sentiment, saying, “I’m really glad to be able to see the whole scientific process.” She mentioned the benefits of doing research in a small team, such as coming up with a good question, learning to search the literature, and the process of designing one’s own project. 

One of the primary benefits of doing research at Dickinson comes from recognizing the power of a small school. Professor Tiffany Frey shared this realization she had when she began at Dickinson. “When I work with students in the lab, that’s when I realized the power of a small college education. The research is special here because if you’re in a big lab at a big R1, you’re interacting usually with the PI, but  o in the same way that you’ll interact with us.” 

“I just realized that we’re training you, and you’re getting our time and our expertise and that’s very different from getting a grad student’s or a post-grad’s expertise who may or may not want a student working with them,” she said.

As we can tell, engaging in research is an incredible opportunity that all students should seek to make use of if they have an interest.

“One of the best ways to get a research opportunity is to just ask, because you won’t really get anything [otherwise],” said Phillipson.