BP awarded $50,000 to the Nicholls State University Biological Sciences Department as part of an initiative to engage freshmen and sophomore students in research projects and one-on-one mentoring sessions.
 Ramaraj Boopathy, distinguished service professor of biological sciences, proposed the BP Sponsored Research Experience for Undergraduates program.
“The goal of the project is to enhance one-on-one mentoring for students and faculty members,” Boopathy said.  “It will help foster meaningful scientific discussion and foster a faculty mentoring culture.”
The program is designed to increase student interest in science with increased laboratory instruction and mentoring.  It is also meant to improve the retention rate of students who wish to study science. According to numbers from Boopathy’s proposal, more than 150 students per year enter the Department of Biological Sciences as freshmen, but some lose interest after their first few semesters.  
“Through hands-on laboratory experiences, students develop new study habits and independent-thinking skills, and gain confidence at an early stage of their college career,” Boopathy said.  He added, as a result, the overall retention of students in the biological sciences department would increase from the confidence students would build.  
The implementation of this program will expose undergraduate freshmen and sophomore students to work similar to that of juniors and seniors who are completing research work with professors.
Al Ledet, manager of the BP Preservation and Maintenance Facility on La. 311 in Schriever, said, “Programs like this help keep students interested in the sciences and gets new students interested in the program.”  
Ledet said the new program is one of many examples of how BP plans to expand the interest of science education in Southeast Louisiana at a time when many higher education institutions are faced with budget cuts.    
“BP hopes this type of investment and our long relationship with Nicholls State will help build our next generation of mathematicians, engineers and scientists,” he said.  
A minimum of 15 to 20 students will be allowed into the program in the beginning.  Boopathy hopes to engage students from unrepresented groups in science such as first-generation college students, minorities and women.  
Those students will have the opportunity to receive one-on-one mentorship with subjects that include environmental biology, coastal restoration, marine biology, microbiology, infectious diseases, molecular biology, genetics, toxicology, ecology and more.  He said it would give students the opportunity to receive experience in each field.   
In addition to engaging more students in the department, the research experience program will help build a stronger foundation for science research at Nicholls.   The proposal presented by Boopathy will take advantage of the natural resources that warrant study in parts of Southern Louisiana.
Senator Norby Chabert,said the partnership with Nicholls, Fletcher and BP is something students should take full advantage of, along with the variety of ecosystems that exist in this area.   
Chabert said, “Our location allows our students to move forward with our unique ecosystem and get some real hands-on training.”  
President Stephen Hulbert said this program is a great addition to Nicholls along with the continued efforts of professors who motivate students to pursue their master’s and doctoral degrees.  
“As a regional university, our goal is first and foremost teaching at the undergraduate and master’s level,” Hulbert said.  “In this day and age, the type of research we do is designed to facilitate the needs in the immediate region we serve.”