Boston University announced the launch of a new website Monday that focuses on presenting professor’s research to the general public.
“We are very excited to launch this new showcase website for Research at BU, which was developed in partnership with the Office of Marketing & Communications and highlights the extraordinary research taking place by our faculty,” said Vice President and Associate Provost for Research Gloria Waters in an email statement.
The website features articles and videos that cover over two dozen research topics, as well as information for students who want to get involved. It also showcases events and news related to research in the BU academic community.
“We look forward to feedback from the BU community to further improve it and best represent our research and scholarship in a way that is easily accessible to visitors to the site,” Waters said. “We are continuing our work with Marketing & Communications to develop an internally focused centralized research support website.”
The website also highlights different BU professors conducting research, such as Hyeouk Chris Hahm, an associate professor in the School of Social Work, who focuses on clinical social research specifically for Asian Americans.
“Graphically, it’s very beautiful and very appealing, and it’s not too much information in one feature,” she said. “I love its simplicity, and I love the fact that they create a lot of video because now people really want to watch a video, instead of reading a lot of text.”
More importantly, Hahm said, the website will enable professors and researchers to spread their work to students and colleagues in a convenient and innovative fashion.
“It’s very important because we don’t necessarily talk about [our research]. There’s no forum to introduce what I’m doing, what the BU researchers are doing on a daily basis,” she said. “This way, we can disseminate the ideas and what we are doing in the BU community. It’s a really important avenue to learn more about what we are doing as researchers.”
While its rollout has attracted the attention of many thus far, Waters emphasized that the website still has room for improvement.
“We look forward to feedback from the BU community to further improve it and best represent our research and scholarship in a way that is easily accessible to visitors to the site,” she said.
Several BU students anticipate the website will be helpful when it comes to gathering information about research on campus.
“This will be more helpful than the research library,” said Basmah Binshihon, a graduate student in the School of Education studying special education. “It’s less than the library. The library gives me more topics and confuses me. This will be very helpful for me.”
Farah Fidai, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, said the website will provide a greater link for undergraduate students to get involved in exploring their passions.
“It’s a great idea. It brings BU together,” she said. “A lot of kids now are focusing on research because getting a job nowadays, they like to see research, and this is a nice channel to show everybody what’s going on. It makes BU feel more accessible.”
Angelica Chan, a sophomore in CAS, said the website will help her examine career options for the future.
“I am definitely looking to get involved with research at some point during my undergrad at BU,” she said. “This website is definitely easy to navigate and very helpful in searching for a research opportunity that best fits my interests and concentration.”
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