Ever wonder why so many undergrads stumble into research by complete accident or end up just doing the grunt work without ever understanding the bigger picture?

In this episode, we chat with Robert, a cognitive scientist and behavioral psychophysics researcher at NYIT (who studies X-rays in some seriously cool ways!). Robert is on a mission to completely change how undergraduate research works. He’s built a scalable, student-first lab system that gives undergrads and pre-med students real, meaningful experience without draining a PI's most precious resource: time.

By using a brilliant peer-to-peer training model, Robert frees himself up to focus on what actually matters, mentoring students on their career goals and helping them map out exactly what they need for their resumes and med school applications. From tracking skills on a "recommendation letter checklist" to securing funding for international conferences, Robert’s system is a massive win-win.

We discuss why real research is way more creative than standard science classes, how he tracks down graduated students to ensure they get the authorship credit they deserve, and how his lab is using social media to show the world what undergrads are truly capable of. Check out this cool episode to hear how we can lift students up without bringing faculty down!