Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Our spring member drive has ended, but it's not too late to give. You have the power to help fund the essential journalism that keeps us all informed. Help us close the gap on our spring fundraising goal! GIVE NOW

Summer Research Programs For Out-Of-State Students Returning To USU

Domestic travel for Utah State University sponsored programs is returning, but international travel is still restricted. A Utah State University's Biological Engineering research project will be among the first since the COVID-19 Pandemic hit to welcome students from outside of Utah to study on the Logan campus. 

USU Biological Engineering researcher David Britt will oversee the National Science Foundation grant for undergraduate students studying Plants, soils, and microbes this summer. USU President Noelle Cockett participated in a virtual meet and greet with the group of research students Tuesday.

 

"They come from Georgia and Connecticut," Cockett said. "There is one student from Puerto Rico and one from Oklahoma. They were selected from a competitive process and now they get to stay in Logan for the summer and do research. It does feel good that things are started to be a little bit more normal."

 

In the 2020 summer, research programs were canceled, and faculty were unsure about the future of in-person lab training. USU is still being careful to ensure in-person campus programs are approved and meeting COVID-19 safety standards.

 

"International travel has been a bit more difficult," she said. "There is still a lot of concern about our students traveling to places like Jamaica, South America, or Asia."

 

University students hoping to participate in study abroad and international undergraduate programs are working with advisors at the USU Office of Global Engagement to monitor changes to policies that could allow for international travel in the coming months.

 

"They are looking at those on a regular basis," she said. "Hopefully by fall they may be able to travel."

 

Cockett said the group of biological engineering undergraduate students participating in this summer's research program at USU will arrive next week and will be in Logan until August.

 

At 14-years-old, Kerry began working as a reporter for KVEL “The Hot One” in Vernal, Utah. Her radio news interests led her to Logan where she became news director for KBLQ while attending Utah State University. She graduated USU with a degree in Broadcast Journalism and spent the next few years working for Utah Public Radio. Leaving UPR in 1993 she spent the next 14 years as the full time mother of four boys before returning in 2007. Kerry and her husband Boyd reside in Nibley.