Redefining Research: Bass Connections Fair through the Eyes of a First-Year Student

I walked into the Bass Connections Fair with a set plan. Having looked over the project descriptions online, I knew the three I wanted to apply to and planned to only visit AI Global Health: Policy, Evidence and Financing for Responsible AI, Evaluating Debt-for-Nature Swaps and CHIPS Challenge: Technology, Policy and the Global Supply Chain.  

Navigating through the bustling atmosphere of students and faculty-manned booths, I headed for my choices only to get lost in the distracting displays of virtual reality headsets, football helmets and live wood carvings. Projects I had initially dismissed based on titles alone, suddenly became irresistibly fascinating as giant drones and posters of asteroids brought out my curiosity.   

Reexamining Nuclear Power in the Carolinas and Beyond caught my eye. While I had read the project description, I didn’t think I was knowledgeable enough in nuclear power to contribute anything to the team. Nonetheless, the Bass Connections Fair seemed like the perfect chance to ask exactly what the project was looking for and what training students would receive. I met Tom Cinq-Mars, the team lead and Nicholas Institute lecturing fellow and associate director for education and experiential learning.  

As he described the project’s initial bootcamp and emphasized the unique chance to hear from industry experts, it became clear that the project’s focus wasn’t only about completing research but also helping students gain a more comprehensive understanding of nuclear power. Cinq-Mars further explained how the project’s direction would be guided by areas in which students were interested. 

This was a response I heard again and again. Being a part of these Bass Connection projects would be more than gaining technical skills or access to outstanding mentorship from leaders in their field. It would also allow students to take ownership in what they produced.  

“Do you want to visit Kathmandu?” I was asked as I passed by another booth. To be completely honest, I wasn’t really sure where Kathmandu was, but I still answered yes — because who doesn’t love to travel?   

I stayed to learn more about the project: Integrated Natural Hazard Monitoring for the Kathmandu Valley. As someone interested in economics, I didn’t look into this project ahead of time because I believed it was irrelevant to my interests. However, talking with the project lead, I was reminded about the most important aspect to each Bass Connections project: interdisciplinary collaboration.  

The project lead emphasized the importance of student interests in influencing the research direction, just like in my previous conversations. But he also explained that although the project was looking for some engineering students, it also had spots reserved for those passionate about the social sciences and other qualitative areas. By the end of our chat, I not only wanted to visit Kathmandu but also realized that the number of projects I originally wanted to apply to may now have doubled.  

I also stopped at the AI Global Health: Policy, Evidence and Financing for Responsible AI table. I learned about the project through its Data+ component, so I walked into Penn Pavillion with this project already in the front of my mind. Speaking with Lisa Bourget, the project lead and senior director of Strategy, Management, and Partnerships at the Duke Global Health Institute, I learned more about what each of the three interconnected workstreams would focus on and explored how they catered to my interest.  

Near the end of our conversation, Bourget mentioned a very powerful point that reaffirmed why I am so interested in the project — and Bass Connections in general. Not only could the research we produce make a large difference in the field, but Bass Connections also allows undergraduates to form rare relationships with stakeholders and leaders across the world.  

Before the fair began, my friends and I questioned what made Bass Connections so special compared to other standard undergraduate research opportunities. While I had many questions answered at the fair, talking to project leaders at all the different booths indirectly answered the most important question: What differentiated Bass Connections from other research opportunities?  

Each project brings its own experiences, whether it’s learning more about a specific topic or building new skills. But all Bass Connections projects give students distinct ownership, room to explore their own interests and an ability to connect with people and ideas.