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International Multidisciplinary Undergraduate Research: A Three-Year Project of US and Sakartvelo–Georgian Public Universities

Saturday, November 5, 2022

8:00 AM – 8:30 AM

Location: Potomac III&IV

Co-Presenter(s)

Polina Sabinin (she/her/hers)

Associate Professor
Bridgewater State University
Bridgewater, Massachusetts, United States
NG

Nicole J. Glen

Professor
Bridgewater State University
Bridgewater, Massachusetts, United States
JA

Jennifer Aizenman

Director, Center for the Advancement of STEM Education
Bridgewater State University, United States
CB

Christine Brandon

Associate Professor
Bridgewater State University, United States
Mikheil Elashvili (he/him/his)

Professor
Bridgewater State University
Hopkinton, Massachusetts, United States
Michael S. Zimmerman (he/him/his)

Assistant Professor
Bridgewater State University
Bridgewater, Massachusetts, United States

Program Abstract: The Shiraki International Multidisciplinary Undergraduate Research (SIMuR) project is a National Science Foundation-funded three-year collaborative project between faculty and students at three US public universities and the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Sakartvelo–Georgia. SIMuR projects use interdisciplinary research methods to explore the depopulation of the Shiraki Plateau in the Caucasus region of eastern Sakartvelo–Georgia during the Bronze Age, the site of a recently discovered early civilization. Through SIMuR, undergraduate students participate in yearlong research (including fieldwork in Shiraki, Sakartvelo–Georgia) resulting in a final presentation and/or report. Students also engage in service learning to develop leadership skills in STEM and promote STEM engagement and scientific literacy in underserved communities in Sakartvelo–Georgia and the United States. Researchers use surveys and written reflections to assess the impact on attitudes and beliefs toward science and on skills such as communicating verbally, managing time, and taking responsibility as a scientist.