Christopher Rodriguez Memorial
We are the Center for Integration of STEM Research and Education, or CISER. We are an organization committed to research and education in STEM and the removal of barriers between education and research organizations, academic units, disciplines, scientists and non-scientists, and between the university and schools. Our goal is to provide a mechanism for assuring that the increasing research activity at Texas Tech will positively impact the educational experiences of undergraduate students in STEM at Texas Tech.
Christopher Rodriguez was a CISER research scholar studying the effect of drought on oak tree resprouts – the young stems that trees develop after a fire burns everything above ground. Just a few months into his project, Christopher suffered life-threatening injuries in a motorcycle accident, dying three days later. After his tragic death, his fellow friends and CISER classmates, Joshua Willms and Tailor Brown convinced Chris’s faculty mentor, Professor Dylan Schwilk, that the Research Scholars should continue his project. CISER research scholars contributed time to the project. Four names were listed as authors on the presentation of the study at a biology conference in Sacramento in August - Christopher was the third author.
CISER holds an annual research forum – which exists to give undergraduate researchers from a variety of disciplines an environment in which they can present the research they conduct at TTU. We are raising money for the Christopher Rodriguez Memorial Presentation Award fund - an award given in memory of the deceased CISER research scholar to the best presentations at our annual research forum.
More about CISER
“What is needed now is a new model of undergraduate education at research universities that makes the baccalaureate experience an inseparable part of an integrated whole. Universities need to take advantage of the immense resources of their graduate and research programs to strengthen the quality of undergraduate education, ... There needs to be a symbiotic relationship between all the participants in university learning that will provide a new kind of undergraduate experience available only at research universities.” Report of the Boyer Commission, 1998, pp 7-8
“Being part of the (CISER) program was absolutely the most important and impactful experience during my undergraduate career.” “We viewed the program as a family while we were at Texas Tech.” Bobbak Mansouri, M.D., Baylor University, Dallas, TX.
The results of university-led research— understanding of and protection against the Zika virus; grasping the cultural differences leading to conflict in the Middle East; understanding the historical and political roots of terrorism; developing cheaper, more efficient energy production; the fact that there is more computational power in your mobile phone than was available on the computers that took man to the moon—profoundly improve our lives. We take for granted the tremendous results produced by modern research universities and normalize those advances in our lives. The Boyer Commission report recognized that the university research-rich environment must become an inseparable part of the undergraduate experience. As the majority of American citizens will never work as academic researchers, it is reasonable to answer the question “Why?” There are a number of reasons. 1. For most Texas Tech students their undergraduate and graduate years will be the only time they are in close contact with a research rich environment. Tech has the opportunity and the responsibility to provide these future citizens with an appreciation for the tremendous challenges met and advances made in increasing human knowledge and to endow them with the intellectual tools, even as non-researchers, to evaluate the impact of these advances on our lives and our world. 2. The mode of inquiry that is fundamental to research and scholarship is a critical ingredient of life-long learning and innovation – the precise skills that will empower our students regardless of their vocation in life. 3. Undergraduates can be incredibly inventive and creative. They are not yet at the point in their lives where they are convinced that certain things can’t be done – and this can bring fresh approaches and insights that trained faculty might miss or dismiss. 4. Many undergraduates report their research to be a career changing experience.
“ As a double minority (Hispanic and female) entering college, I was not aware of other professions besides the medical profession, and planned to go to medical school.” Jaclyn Canas-Carrell’s experience as a (CISER) research scholar was eye-opening; she chose instead to pursue a Ph.D. Prof. Canas-Carrell now leads a research program in Environmental Toxicology at Texas Tech.
“I grew up in an underprivileged social environment as a first generation American. The people that I knew growing up worked hard but didn’t really e njoy their work. They worked to survive. The HHMI/CISER program changed the way that I viewed life. It had never crossed my mind that I could have a career where I enjoyed what I did for a living.” Xochitl Duarte Anderton (right), Dental Director of the Community Health Center of Lubbock.
In 1992, foreshadowing the Boyer Commission conclusions, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute began to fund undergraduate research initiatives. For 24 years Texas Tech’s HHMI program, now renamed the CISER program, has engaged undergraduates in faculty-led research. This is one of the most successful, long-term undergraduate research programs in the country. To date the program has produced over 500 Research Scholars. These Scholars have been authors on over 130 scientific publications (some in the leading journals in respective fields) and have presented their research at over 350 professional meetings.
We are very thankful for your support
For more information please visit:
https://www.depts.ttu.edu/honors/about/newsandevents/20150125ChrisRodriguez.php
http://ciser.ttu.edu/
https://www.depts.ttu.edu/artsandsciences/news/profile-CiserRodriguezAward2015.php
The person in charge of the monetary decisions during this campaign is Maksym Zhelyenyakov - the treasurer of CISER at Texas Tech University, in Lubbock Texas. The funds will be distributed among the top presenters at the CISER annual research form in order to commemorate Christopher Rodriguez. The father of Christopher Rodriguez - Chris (C-Rod) Rodriguez has made the decision about who will receive the "Christopher Rodriguez Memorial Presenation Awards."
