A partnership between the Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station and the Oklahoma State University College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Undergraduate Research Scholar (CASNR) program is enabling 31 students the opportunity to perform undergraduate research for a full year.One of the students selected is Cassidy Ward, a plant and soil sciences sophomore major from Marthasville. Her project is “Testing of candidate gene function for developmental process in winter wheat.”“This program is an opportunity for research scientists to include undergraduates in their research,” said Steve Damron, CASNR assistant dean of academic programs. “This also allows undergraduates the opportunity to generate new knowledge about a topic or topics.”Participating in undergraduate research allows students the opportunity to better understand areas they are interested in and decide if it is something they will pursue as a career, Damron said. It also can provide students a taste of what graduate school would be like.“The great value of it from our perspective is that it is a way for young people who are involved in an undergraduate educational experience to see quite specifically what it’s like to be part of the discovery of new knowledge.”To qualify, students must be enrolled in CASNR and included on the research proposals submitted by a faculty mentor with a detailed outline of their role in the research.Participants began working with their faculty mentors this past fall semester.Oklahoma State University