West Virginia University senior Molly Simis wanted undergraduate students to have a place to publish their research; in 2009 she started the Mountaineer Undergraduate Research Review.

“Students invest so much time and effort into their research and there isn’t always a clear way for them to share that with the community,” said Simis, a biology and environmental geo science major from Fairmont. “This is a step beyond a poster presentation and is saved online permanently for the students to share.”

Simis applied for a grant to fund the journal, and a year later – the Honors College has published its second edition of the MURR. The journal is an online publication that publishes faculty-mentored research and literature reviews from WVU undergraduates.

It is the only journal that publishes solely undergraduate works in West Virginia.

The 2010 edition of the MURR includes a literature review, student highlights and short contributions from the editors and students about various aspects of research in addition to full-length research papers.

“I am continually impressed by the dedication and quality work of students that goes into the WVU Undergraduate Research Journal, MURR. This is yet another example of the many exceptional student-projects we have at West Virginia University,” said Lisa DeFrank-Cole, faculty advisor for the MURR.

All research articles published in the journal are reviewed by qualified faculty members, and only those that meet certain requirements are published – similar to a professional research journal, Simis said.

About 10 articles were submitted for consideration, and six were chosen for the final publication.

Currently the journal is open to all WVU undergraduates, however next year submissions will be open to any undergraduate student in West Virginia participating in faculty-mentored research.

Simis will be graduating in December. She has begun working with student Lea Bridi, who will take over as editor-in-chief. Bridi has been with the journal as managing editor since its inception.

“I really want this to be something that is sustained for years to come,” she said.

The journal is supported by the WVU Honors College.

The third annual edition will be published in spring 2011. Students from any research institution in the state of West Virginia are invited to apply.

To view the journal, visit http://www.honors.wvu.edu/murr/docs/MURR_Vol2_2010.pdf .

To view last year’s issue or for information on how to apply, visit http://honors.wvu.edu/murr/pages/archive.html.

-WVU-

cd/07/20/10

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