Undergraduate research should start as early as possible, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute official said Friday.
Peter Bruns, the vice president of grants and special programs for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, spoke to about 30 people in the University Auditorium about how institute grants fund science education.
According to the HHMI Web site, the institute has awarded ,1.5 billion in grants since 1988.
Last year, UF earned three grants totaling about ,3.2 million, according to a press release and a spokesman for UF's foundation for development and alumni affairs.
During his speech, Bruns said though the institute has taken big steps in science education, the results have usually remained at the universities where they were created.
He said the institute should spread those ideas around the country through good teaching, assessment of science education and encouraging undergraduate research.
"Undergraduate research should be like voting in Chicago: early and often," he said.
Chris Needles, a spokesman for UF's foundation for development and alumni affairs, said Bruns' speech was one of many events that led up to a Friday dinner gala. The dinner kicked off the public phase of the Florida Tomorrow fundraising campaign.
