Kickoff of ERC-RMB Journal Club at NCAT

Roman Blount IV, SLC Education and Outreach Committee Chair

Dr. Devdas Pai,P.E., Director, Education & Outreach

The ERC-RMB at NCAT launched its own Journal Club on June 11, 2014 with a kick-off meeting led by mechanical engineering faculty member Dr. Trisha Sain, and attended by about 30 ERC students and staff. This club, designed for ERC research students at all degree levels, is intended to initiate and growth strength in the critical evaluation of the past and current literature in one’s own area of research by modeling the best practices of experienced and accomplished researchers. These skills enable one to understand better how any particular field of research evolved, what the current state-of-the-art is, and what aspects have not been covered or have been inadequately covered in the past. This positions you to better identify your own niche area of research and ensure the novelty of your personal contributions to the advancement of knowledge, leading to higher impact of your papers, presentations and proposals. The Club launch fortuitously occurred during the first week of the 2014 batch of RMB REUs experience on our camps. Dr. Sain presented a truly informative presentation on "Introducing the Concept of Literature Review," where she walked us through her own article review practices. The other Journal Club organizer is bioengineering faculty member Dr. Narayan Bhattarai, assisted by his graduate student, Mr. Roman Blount IV.

Next week’s presentation (June 18, 2014) features an overview of EndNote (a reference management software package) by ERC Senior Research Scientist Dr. Sergey Yarmolenko.

Attendee Feedback:

Lidia DeBarros, 2014 REU participant: Something Dr. Sain said today that I'll try to always remember was that there isn't such thing as failure in research. Even if things do not go the way we planned, we've discovered a way in which things don't work, and that contribution to the field and to other researchers is in itself a success.

Thomas Campbell, 2014 REU participant: Dr. Sain's seminar expressed a clear and direct emphasis on the vital role of literature review in scientific research. In order for efficient progress in research to be made, an understanding of the current base of knowledge must be had. She provided an effective concise template for new researchers to follow as they begin to navigate the enormously complex world of scientific research.