Dear Readers,

Our mission at UMURJ is to give students the opportunity to present and publish their research. You will find that, compared to previous years, this issue contains less entries and illustrates the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on our campus. Although the pandemic has posed challenges for student researchers, our publication received great manuscripts presenting original research done by undergraduates. This issue contains several social science and life science papers entries that have been reviewed by faculty members here at the University of Michigan. Our publication also features a student interview done by one of our editors that offers insight into an undergraduate’s research journey.

Our publication requires collaboration among authors, editors, faculty, and staff. This collaboration ensures that we can provide a platform for a variety of academic fields and support interdisciplinary explorations. Our staff works closely with the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program, the Michigan Library, and the Michigan Office of Research.

The three of us have had the privilege of editing for the journal for the past three years. Each of us are passionate about our respective fields and excited to share this platform with an amazing team. The past year has been challenging for members of the university community, and another challenging year awaits us as the Covid-19 pandemic continues. Despite the circumstances, we are committed to building a stronger research community at the University of Michigan and will continue moving forward in full force.

Sincerely,

Aniket Dagar, Ayse Eldes, Madhulika Shastry

UMURJ Co-Editors-in-Chief (2021–22)