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By Kelsey Kendall

���ϲ�����’s Division of Research and Economic Development, in collaboration with Academic Affairs, has launched a new initiative to support the University’s mission to provide an experiential learning environment for undergraduate students.

The new Office for Undergraduate Research will serve as a hub for developing a strong undergraduate research system, working with faculty, staff and students already involved in this kind of work.

Orlando Ayala, a professor in the Department of Engineering Technology, and Anne Perrotti, an associate professor in the Department of Human Movement Studies and Special Education, form an interdisciplinary leadership team that will bolster and facilitate ���ϲ�����’s undergraduate research culture. The two will serve as the inaugural director and associate director of undergraduate research, respectively.

Incoming freshmen will have the chance to engage in research early on and learn how to navigate the academic research field – as well as build critical thinking skills.

“Another goal of this office is to support faculty who mentor undergraduate students in research,” Ayala said. “We will work closely with faculty to develop future initiatives that address their needs. These initiatives may include assisting with student training, providing support for proposal writing that incorporates undergraduate research, and covering travel expenses for undergraduate researchers.”

Together, Ayala and Perrotti will develop several key initiatives to drive the new office’s mission which includes; creating an award system; researching roundtable events to showcase research opportunities; making student-faculty connections; and building a community of undergraduate research ambassadors to promote research opportunities and provide peer support.

“The inaugural Office of Undergraduate Research at ���ϲ����� demonstrates the University’s commitment to student-focused initiatives,” Perrotti said. “By generating synergy across the University for undergraduate research activities, we are prioritizing the critical thinking and inquiry necessary to support learning and practical demonstration of content-specific knowledge. This benefits students, faculty and the broader community.”

Ayala joined the University faculty in 2013 and has since worked collaboratively to bring in over $6.4 million in external funding – some of which was used to support undergraduate research.

Further showing his commitment to undergraduate research, since 2015, about a third of his listed peer-reviewed conference papers were led by undergraduate researchers. He has also advised several student organizations, such as the ���ϲ����� Monarch Engineering and Invention Laboratory student board, the ���ϲ����� Engineers Without Borders student chapter and Baja SAE student competition team.

Ayala was recently a part of the team that helped the University pass the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges accreditation and has received several academic honors, including being named a Ray Ferrari Professor and receiving the ���ϲ����� A. Rufus Tonelson Faculty Award and the Outstanding Teacher Award from the American Society for Engineering Education – Southern Section.

As a certified speech-language pathologist with a doctorate in special education, Perrotti’s research is geared toward bringing together disciplinary perspectives to establish solutions promoting equity in academic-, behavioral-, occupational-, health- or justice-related outcomes for historically underserved youth and young adults.

She has served as a research mentor, which led to multiple undergraduate research publications and a student Provost’s award for Outstanding Undergraduate Research. Additionally, Perrotti has collaboratively secured more than $4.5 million in external funding and served as a faculty mentor and contributor to a National Science Foundation research experience for undergraduate students award. She was also named a Provost’s Fellow to support a faculty mentoring network and training at the University. Her work with undergraduate teaching has been recognized with a Kate Broderick Award for Excellence in Promoting Educational Accessibility and the Darden College of Education and Professional Studies Teaching Innovation and Excellence Award.