Through a National Science Foundation program called Research Experiences for Undergraduates, 10 students from colleges across the country spent 10 weeks studying suburban ecology and invasive species at or nearby UK's Ecological Research Facility.

This video appears courtesy of Reveal: University of Kentucky Research Media research.uky.edu/reveal/index.shtml

If you are an undergraduate doing a research project at the University of Kentucky, you can register for the Showcase of Undergraduate Scholars online at uky.edu/UGResearch/showcase.html by April 6, 2012.

The Society for the Promotion of Undergraduate Research (SPUR) hosts the Showcase of Undergraduate Scholars each spring. On April 25 from 4-7 p.m., the showcase will feature poster, oral and table presentations at the UK Student Center.

Gareth ("Gary") Voss came to the University of Kentucky to do research on the regenerative abilities of salamanders as a sophomore in high school. Now a freshman at UK, Gary has conducted research that resulted in two papers. "They're very good papers," says his UK mentor Dr. Randal Voss. "We're not just talking about a couple of throw-away papers to 'Ranger Rick' journal. We're sending these papers to the top journals in the United States.

Zaheen Rabbani graduated from the University of Kentucky in May 2012 with dual degrees in biology and psychology. Zaheen credits his undergraduate research experience with developing critical thinking skills and prepping him to apply to medical school this fall.

At any given time, hundreds of salamanders are being bred at the University of Kentucky. "We have the only captive-bred salamander population in the world where people can call us up, and we can do the breedings, make those resources and ship them out nationally and internationally," says Randal Voss, a professor of biology and faculty associate of the Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center (SCoBIRC).