Research is a creative endeavor pursued by faculty and staff at Penn State Harrisburg in a wide variety of fields and disciplines. Through this competition, students will discover the Penn State University Strategic Plan foundations and research ways to solve one of them. In partnership with Penn State Harrisburg Reads the Office of Research and Outreach is now receiving proposals for the Penn State University Grand Challenge competition.

Penn State Harrisburg Reads is a program designed to provide a shared experience among students who read the same book while also creating a campaign that fosters dialogue and engagement about the concepts introduced in the book for the campus at large. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot is the 2018-19 book selection.

Discovery and research do not happen in a vacuum. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks explores the interdisciplinary nature of research, highlighting not only the scientific aspects, but also the complex issues of socio-economics, ethics, history, family, and faith that surround it. Throughout the story, discovery is paramount: the Lacks family discovers more about their mother’s life and legacy beyond what is discovered clinically from the use of Henrietta’s cells. Moreover, the journalistic telling of the Lacks story has revealed ethical breaches in policy and practice in medical research. This year, the Penn State Harrisburg community will explore the themes and questions raised by the story of Henrietta Lacks to better understand the journey of discovery and research in our academic disciplines and in our lives.

Research Project: Output is a poster about the research presented during Research Week.

The focus of this research project is to explore the Grand Challenges in the Penn State University Strategic Plan. A Grand Challenge is a major problem in a discipline or society that may be addressed in multiple ways often involving many disciplines. The 6 Grand Challenges in the Penn State University Strategic Plan (https://strategicplan.psu.edu/foundations/) are:

• Students will select one of the grand challenges. During the Spring 2019 semester, the student will research [i.e. “discover”] how these challenges are addressed elsewhere or within Penn State University and propose strategies to implement these impactful concepts into Penn State University activities and/or programs for students, faculty and administration.
• Students are encouraged to discover more about the goals of each Grand Challenge listed through the Strategic Plan website (https://strategicplan.psu.edu/foundations/).

• Students will present their research and suggestions for future actions in a poster during Research Week in April 2019.
• Funds and guidance to support the short research projects selected will be available.
• Up to 10 projects will be supported.
  

  Research proposal application to include a short essay describing:

• The specific Grand Challenge from the strategic plan to be addressed by the researchincluding why that was chosen and the approach the student plans to use for the work
• A timeline for how the research will be done in 2-3 months of part-time work
• How the themes of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks will be incorporated into theresearch. Morality and research ethics must be addressed while other themes could be added.
• Resources needed for the research (i.e. websites, librarians, staff or faculty time, etc.)
• Essay will be one page, single spaced, 12pt font, with 1 inch margins on all sidesFor information to submit proposals at this link – https://sites.psu.edu/pshdiscoverresearch/
  

  Applications will be evaluated on:

• How well the initial concept for the research is developed
• The strength of the approach for answering the question
• The likely availability of the resources needed to do the work
• The clarity of how the book plays into the ideas for the researchFaculty in any research area can advise the student on the proposal or the research conducted, though the research planned should be independent of that currently conducted by the faculty.Research will be conducted during the Spring 2019 semester. Successful applicants will receive bi-weekly feedback from the Associate Dean of Research and Library Liaisons during one-on- one sessions and workshops. Students may also work with one or more other faculty as appropriate. Support for poster printing will be provided.Completed posters submitted by Monday, April 15th 9am for Research Week will be awarded a $25 recognition award per poster. Posters will be eligible for a $100 Research Discovery best poster award and for Information Literacy Awards with prizes ranging from $100-$25.
  

  Project Timeline

• Call for proposals announced: October 8th
• Competition Information sessions: Thursday October 11th at 11:30-1pm Olmsted C212and Wednesday October 17th 4:30-6pm in Olmsted W140.
• NEW information sessions Monday November 5th 4:30-5:30pm in Olmsted C212 and Tuesday November 6th 4:30-5:30pm in Olmsted W209
• Submission of application/proposal: Due November 13th
• Announcement of successful applicants: December 4th
• Research for the project will take place in Spring 2019

• Deadline for poster submission: Monday, April 15th 2019 at 9am EST.
• Posters displayed initially on Thursday, April 18, 2019 from 11:30am-1:30pm in the Morrison GalleryEligibility: The competition is open to all students who are enrolled at Penn State Harrisburg Fall 2018 AND Spring 2019. The Research Project can be done individually or in teams though the prizes and participation awards will be one per project. Each student can only apply and participate in one project (includes the video option).

PSHbg Reads research proposal competition-Click here