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Home / Publications UG Research Celebration Days |  |
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Undergraduate Research Celebration Days
Agnes Scott College
AGNES SCOTT COLLEGE Agnes Scott College recognizes undergraduate research through our Spring Annual Research Conference (SPARC). We have a one-day conference that begins with an awards convocation. Classes are dismissed for the day and students are encouraged to attend talks and poster sessions (and they do). We also publish a booklet with Titles, Authors and Abstracts. Last year we had approximately 70 presentations across many different disciplines including the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Specific information is attached. ALBION COLLEGE Albion College's Elkin R. Isaac Undergraduate Research Symposium is a day-long event, held each April in conjunction with the College's Honors Convocation. Classes are cancelled so that all students, faculty and staff can attend student presentations. The Symposium has been held annually since 1990. Student participants are nominated by their faculty sponsors after having performed significant original research under the direct supervision of an Albion College faculty member, or in a College-approved off-campus program. Students may present a description of their research project and results in the form of a platform presentation or a poster session. Projects may be in any field of study in the arts, sciences, or humanities, but must involve significant synthesis of new knowledge. In April 2001, the Isaac Symposium featured 61 platform presentations and 22 poster sessions involving more than 100 students. These projects were mentored by 46 faculty members. Each year, the Elkin Isaac Endowed Lectureship allows us to invite an Albion alumnus back to campus to describe his or her research/creative activity by presenting the Isaac Lecture, and by visiting with classes. The Symposium concludes with a lecture by a noted scholar. ALBRIGHT COLLEGE Albright College holds a one-day (Saturday) undergraduate research conference that is open to all students in our county (Berks). This includes five colleges, all of which are primarily undergraduate. Two are four-year private liberal arts schools, one is a Penn State branch that is primarily two-year but now has some four-year programs, a two-year community college, and one state university that does have some graduate programs. The conference is open to all disciplines, although psychology and the natural sciences seem to dominate. The students can either present a poster or do a presentation. There is always an invited speaker for the lunch. There is a one-day poster session for psychology students only here at Albright. This is held in our campus center. There is also an honors week at Albright in which students present their honors research project as either a poster or oral presentation. These can be from any discipline on campus. APPALACHIAN STATE
UNIVERSITY At Appalachian State University, the 5th Annual "Celebration of Student Research and Creative Endeavors" was held on a Monday afternoon and all day Tuesday. Our event is open to both M.A. and undergraduate students from all disciplines. The event is hosted jointly by the College of Arts & Sciences and the Graduate School. Last year at the 4th, there were 100 presentations with 130-140 students. Students do poster and oral presentations as well as performances. An abstract book is produced with welcoming remarks and comments from several administrators. A barbecue dinner is held on the first evening for presenters and mentors. AUGSBURG COLLEGE Augsburg College holds an annual Research and Scholarship Fair. The event lasts for one afternoon, includes a reception and a sit-down dinner. Both students and faculty may present their research/scholarship and we make an effort to include all disciplines. AUSTIN COLLEGE Austin College began holding a Science Division Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium in 2005 with participation from the biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and computer science departments. It is held during the time block for college-wide convocations in the campus center to encourage attendance from all departments on campus. Each year over 25 undergraduate authors have presented posters at the symposium. The timing for this event is important for two reasons. First, it coincides with a Science Preview Day so that student research posters are viewed by visiting high school students and their parents, drawing attention to research opportunities at Austin College. Secondly, it is held shortly before applications are due for on-campus research programs to encourage student interest in summer research. BARNARD COLLEGE At Barnard College, individual departments have senior honor theses presented orally to an open audience at the end of each academic year. Depending on the department size, the time allotted to student presentations varies from 20-50 minutes. Chemistry and biology participate in this way, as well as students sponsored by our HHMI grant, which can include psychology, environmental science, and other disciplines. BIRMINGHAM SOUTHERN
COLLEGE This year, Birmingham-Southern College will present its 9th Annual Honoring Scholarship Day. All disciplines are included. It is a full day, with the morning dedicated to a convocation, awarding of disciplinary and college honorary awards, and the afternoon to student presentations of scholarship. There are approximately 70 presentations each year. BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY
We have a fairly regularly scheduled annual science fair within our college (Biology and Agriculture). Students (both graduate and undergraduate) usually provide poster presentations. Faculty members are encouraged to visit the location (usually one floor of the biological sciences building) and visit with participating students. This usually coincides with refreshments and lasts for a single afternoon. The themes of individual presentations reflect the research interests of our faculty and range from systematics and ecology to human physiology. BUFFALO STATE COLLEGE
Buffalo State College's annual Student Research and Creativity Celebration is in its fourth year. The Celebration takes place the last Friday and Saturday in April and most events are scheduled in the College Library. The event is open to students in all academic disciplines and applications are welcomed from individuals, group, and class projects. Applications request basic information about the presentation and include a 200-word abstract describing the presentation. In an effort to accommodate all disciplines, presentation formats include visual art exhibits, performances (music and theater), posters, talks, read papers, and demonstrations. The event takes place over two days; the first day includes an opening reception highlighted by a preview of student posters and usually includes musical and theatrical performances. The second day includes concurrent sessions of talks (15 minutes per presentation), a Humanities Forum where students read papers (20 minutes per presentation), and poster presentations (45 minutes per session). Visual art exhibits are showcased in the library and in the gallery in the Arts Building. The Celebration that took place this year included 150 applications and over 400 students gave presentations. Student performances included clarinet and saxophone ensembles. Theater students performed selected scenes from Shakespeare plays staged on the balconies of the library. There were six poster sessions and nearly 100 presentations in education, technology, history, and natural and social sciences. All student participants and their faculty mentors receive T-shirts with the event logo. A program containing the full schedule and abstracts is also distributed to all participants. BUTLER UNIVERSITY The link to Butler University's 14th undergraduate research conference is as follows: CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITY, SAN
LUIS OBISPO This past year we had our first annual College of Science and Mathematics Student Research Conference. It consisted of posters and talks. The event was an all day affair (10-5). Approximately 100 students presented. Prior to this year the Department of Biological Sciences and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry jointly sponsored a student research conference each spring. CALIFORNIA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY,
POMONA On February 14, 2002, our campus will have our annual Student Research Poster Competition. This is open to all undergraduate and graduate students from all of our Colleges. The scope of the presentations includes everything from molecular biology and agricultural research, through poetry reading and art exhibitions. All the CSUs will be attending the 16th Annual CSU Student Research Competition on May 3 & 4, 2002 at CSU, Long Beach. The spectrum of presentations will span all the disciplines in each CSU. Our Campus recently hosted the 14th Annual CSU Biotechnology Symposium (January 10-12, 2002). The program included a Student Poster Session. Our McNair Scholars Program holds a Summer Symposium for Post-baccalaureate Achievement. The second annual symposium was held on August 2, 2001. The breadth of the presentations included biology, engineering, physics, animal and veterinary sciences, nutrition sciences, behavioral sciences, and anthropology. The next symposium will be on July 25, 2002. Our NIH-supported MBRS-RISE (Minority Biomedical Research Support-Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement) Program hosts a student symposium at the end of each Spring quarter. Our College of Agriculture and the Agricultural Research Initiative held a Research Showcase on May 9, 2001. Twenty-five corporate sponsors, faculty principal investigators and student research assistants made presentations on each of ARI's research projects. CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, FULLERTON The Chemistry & Biochemistry Dept. at California State University, Fullerton holds undergraduate poster sessions three times per year (end of fall semester, end of spring semester, end of summer). The sessions are approximately two hours long. There are usually 15-35 posters being presented. The fall and spring semester poster sessions are strictly chemistry and biochemistry. They are part of the senior research requirement of all majors. The summer poster session includes students doing senior research, students in our NSF-REU chemistry & biochemistry program, and students in our NIH-MSD biochemistry & biology program. Consequently, the summer poster session also includes biology students and faculty. CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY NORTHRIDGE California State University, Northridge (CSUN) annually sponsors a day-long research symposium. Students (70 to 120) from across the campus representing virtually all of our disciplines participate through oral or poster presentations. Selected faculty members serve as jurors for the various presentations and modest cash awards are provided for students who are cited as first and second place winners in broad groupings of disciplines. Up to ten students selected from among participates in the on-campus symposium participate in the annual California State University system research symposium (14th annual in 2002). CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY On the afternoon of Wednesday, April 24, 2002 Central Michigan University will be hosting its ninth annual Student Research and Creative Endeavors Exhibition (SCREE). SRCEE is a significant event at Central Michigan University as the university community takes the time to celebrate and recognize the impressive academic achievements of our undergraduate and graduate students. Over 400 students, with more than 200 research, scholarly and creative exhibits will participate. These activities - independent study or directed research/creative projects, senior or master's theses, doctoral dissertations, creative projects, case studies or research - have been undertaken in conjunction with or under the direction of Central Michigan University faculty and staff. SRCEE is the culmination of a long period of hard work and an important day in the academic life of Central Michigan University. CENTRAL MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY Central Missouri State University has several activities at which undergraduate students can present their work. One is the annual university-wide Central Undergraduate Research Symposium, an event that occurs over three full days. This event is open to all academic disciplines (35 departments) and includes demonstration projects, opportunities for recitals, art gallery displays, concerts, student theater performances, poetry readings, and faculty/student workshops around a research topic. Last year (our first) showcased over 50 oral presentations and recitals. A complete set of abstracts is published for the Undergraduate Research Symposium and copies are provided to all participating students and their faculty mentors, our university Board of Governors, local dignitaries, etc. A number of individual departments also sponsor departmental days for presentations, displays, and high school visitation. A few individual classes (research methods classes for the most part) also sponsor their own half-day poster or oral presentations. Our McNair Scholars Program (Ronald E. McNair Post Baccalaureate Achievement Program) also sponsors an annual McNair Scholars Research Symposium for McNair Scholars to present their research. The McNair Program on this campus is open to all academic disciplines and the "mix" of departments varies each year. CHATHAM COLLEGE All students at Chatham must do a senior research project in their major that takes two semesters. At the end of the second semester they present their work to a board of three faculty members in an oral presentation. The public is invited to these presentations. COLBY COLLEGE Colby College has recently held its sixth annual Undergraduate Research
Symposium. A current College goal is to engage as many Colby students as
possible in significant research projects that lead to presentation of results
before their peers, at professional meetings, and in refereed publications. A
link to the website: COLLEGE OF ST. CATHERINE IN ST. PAUL The Chemistry and Biology Departments have an Undergraduate Research Poster Session that is 1.5 hours long. COLLEGE OF STATEN ISLAND OF THE CITY
UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK The College of Staten Island of The City University of New York plans to hold, for the first time, a college-wide Undergraduate Research Conference on April 18, 2002 from 1.30 -5.00 pm. The conference publication will highlight the abstracts of all presentations. We expect presentations to cover all academic disciplines ranging from research in the sciences and social sciences, curriculum development projects, to artistic performances and reading of the script. The Conference is intended to be very inclusive as long as one of the faculty mentors at the College is willing to sponsor the presentation. CONCORDIA COLLEGE Since 1987, the Biology Department has held an annual Honors Research Presentation Day during the spring semester. It is only for the biological sciences and usually of 1/2-day duration. Completion of a research project, including a seminar presentation is required for graduating with Biology Honors. The Chemistry, Department holds Chemistry Poster Days for students in physical, organic, and analytical courses. There are two research poster weeks, held in the afternoons (during lab times) in both fall and spring, to show off students' posters on various chemical topics or to display various chemical projects-- some have created virtual instruments in Labview, for instance, which are demonstrated during the afternoon. Preparing a poster is a requirement for a student's grade in this class; posters are displayed in the hallways, so are available to all. In addition, the college holds a three-day "Celebration of Excellence" weekend in late March, which highlights the academic achievements of students in several areas of campus life. While some of the events are solely celebratory, others intentionally showcase student research, with presentations or poster sessions. The event includes an honors convocation and orientation, an honors reception, a student art show opening, and a frosh finale and after work reading. There are a variety of departmental events that include seminar presentations and receptions. DEPAUW UNIVERSITY In the spring of 2000, DePauw University held an event called "Celebrating Student Research". Fourteen students submitted posters representing six academic desciplines from Chemistry to Women's Studies. The posters were displayed in the Student Union Building and the presenters were available from 1:00-2:30 pm to answer questions. In the fall of 2000, we expanded the event to include paper presentations as well as posters. "Student Conference Day" consisted of a morning paper session, a lunchtime poster session, and an afternoon paper session. Twelve students participated from seven academic disciplines, including English, Classical Studies, Chemistry, Black Studies, Russian Studies, History, and Geology. For Student Conference Day in the spring 2001, we had enough participants to divide the day into four different paper sessions (we only had a few requests for posters and those students were able to convert their presentations into papers). The paper sessions were: Education and Healthcare; Chemistry and Biology; Literature and Music; and Creative Writing. A faculty member served as the moderator for each session and facilitated discussion after the papers were delivered. Altogether, sixteen students participated. We did not hold a Student Conference Day in the fall 2001, and instead, are planning one large event for the spring semester 2002. DENISON UNIVERSITY NSF funded national conference with over 110 registrants (65% undergrads, 35% faculty) and 50 presentations by students and researchers.
DOANE COLLEGE Last year Doane College hosted its first MindExpo that featured undergraduate work. Students from all disciplines in the college are encouraged to submit work for MindExpo. Students are required to submit abstracts and have their work accepted for inclusion in MindExpo. At the event, student work is displayed either in exhibits, performances, poster sessions, or presentations. Our event is a half-day event and concludes with a banquet for the participants at which time they receive certificates of participation. The public is invited to attend and the event is scheduled on the same day that there is an admissions event so many prospective students are also invited to attend. Attendance by current students is encouraged by faculty members. Door prizes (i.e., PDA's last year) are awarded to further entice attendance. Overall, 44 students presented covering 31 works (8 presentations, 8 art exhibits, 15 poster sessions). DREW UNIVERSITY Programs that showcase student research at Drew University include the Drew Summer Science Institute (DSSI) and the Fall Poster Session. The Institute, supported through partnerships with local pharmaceutical industries, matches students with faculty mentors, and provides stipends and housing for on-campus summer research. Each week during the summer, the Institute gathers to hear a student research presentation from one of the participating majors, including the physical sciences, anthropology, neuroscience, psychobiology, and psychology. The program culminates in October with the Fall Poster Session, at which students summarize their summer research. The Poster Session is advertised to the college community throughout September, and is held in Drew's Mead Hall, which is the central formal reception space on campus. There are on average 20 posters presented to an enthusiastic audience of fellow students, faculty, staff, and parents. EASTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY Each February, the College of Sciences (COS) hosts an afternoon event called ScienceFest at which student-mentored research is the focus. Although the event is primarily one for undergraduates, graduate students do participate on a more limited basis. Students are invited to compete for SURE (Students in Undergraduate Research at Eastern) awards, which are monetary awards for the 10-14 best research projects. All students who apply are invited to present their poster sessions. SURE award recipients are recognized. One SURE award recipient is selected to make an oral presentation of their project. All the students who participate are given a SURE T-Shirt. In addition, the University sponsors a day trip to our state capitol, Springfield, IL each spring to inform legislators and state officials about undergraduate (and graduate) research. Students display their poster sessions in the rotunda of the Capitol Building. Prior to the event, the legislators from the students' home districts are invited to come to the Rotunda on that day to see the research projects and visit with the students. This program has been well received by state officials and legislators. The College of Sciences sponsors a Publishing Scholars Reception in conjunction with the College of Arts and Humanities each fall to display faculty research and creative activity. The work for COS is usually print material. However, some of the Art faculty members display work from their portfolio and lists of exhibitions. EASTERN MENNONITE UNIVERSITY EMU has a research/scholarship fair every spring. It includes all disciplines, but more people from the sciences and the visual arts are represented. It is essentially a poster session. The posters are up all day but students ( and faculty) are present for only half the day. EASTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY Eastern Michigan University has an Undergraduate Symposium that is in its 22nd year of operation. Originally exclusively for disciplines in the College of Arts and Sciences, in the last few years it has been opened to other colleges. The Symposium is an annual event that provides a venue to showcase the outstanding work of some of Eastern Michigan University's most academically-talented students. Structured as a professional conference, the Undergraduate Symposium traditionally affords the opportunity for over 150 students from all disciplines of the University, supported by faculty sponsors/mentors, to present the results of their research projects or creative endeavors through oral presentations or posters displays. Oral and poster presentations occur in the morning. The event ends with a luncheon and a guest speaker. EASTERN OREGON UNIVERSITY Three years ago, Eastern Oregon University began the Spring Symposium on Undergraduate Research and other Creative Activities. We include undergraduate work from all disciplines, and the format includes poster sessions, paper sessions, artistic performance sessions, as well as other miscellaneous types of presentations that students might propose. We begin Monday evening with an opening event, keynote speaker, etc. and have events all day Tuesday and conclude Tuesday evening with another main event featuring select student presentations. The proposals are reviewed by a committee, and the primary criterion is that the work is student scholarly work that goes beyond typical course requirements. ELON UNIVERSITY The Student Undergraduate Research Forum, or SURF, is held on a Wednesday in April. The forum occurs during the afternoon and early evening of a day when classes are suspended and culminates in a celebratory banquet. Students from all disciplines and at all class levels are invited to submit applications to deliver an oral presentation (15 minutes), present a poster, or be part of a panel presentation. Faculty members moderate all sessions, which are organized by theme or discipline, and time is allotted for questions. The 2001 forum included over 100 presentations and posters with more than 150 student presenters. The presentations represented both quality class-based research and the results of independent faculty-student collaborative work. Although the majority of presentations are research oriented, the forum is open to the creative arts and frequently includes, for example, photography students. As part of an effort to enhance the educational experience of presenting at SURF, faculty other than the mentor are solicited to provide oral and written feedback to student presenters regarding the research and presentation. The faculty respondents provide students with an additional opportunity to discuss their work with and benefit from faculty expertise. FAIRFIELD UNIVERSITY Fairfield University spotlights its undergraduate research program with a poster session every spring. Fairfield's Sigma Xi chapter sponsors the event. Students from Math, Computer Science, Biology, Engineering, Chemistry, Psychology, Physics, and Neuroscience who have engaged in research are asked to participate. Last year was the first such session and had 18 participants and 50 attendees including the Dean and Assistant Dean. This year we expect over 30 posters and expect the President and Academic Vice President to attend. The poster session is held in a high-traffic area of campus. Refreshments are served. FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY Each March, students present projects at the Honors College SRAI Conference at Florida International University in Miami. The Student Research and Artistic Initiatives Program (SRAI) pairs students with Honors College Research Affiliates through an online Database. Florida International University is “dedicated to the life of the mind,” and the most important aspect of that dedication is the freedom to be creative. The Honors College at FIU provides the environment for creative “poking and prying,” and it is this creative research that is the foundation for the annual conference. By pairing students with faculty members, the Student Research and Artistic Initiatives program allows Honors college students the opportunity to do extensive research in their areas of interest. The SRAI Conference enables students to showcase that research and receive feedback from the FIU community. A third year Honors College seminar serves as part of the SRAI Program for students who would like to learn about research methodology over the course of the entire academic year called Explorations in Research. Proceedings from the conference are available at honors.fiu.edu/srai. GEORGIA COLLEGE & STATE UNIVERSITY Georgia College & State University is currently preparing for our fifth annual interdisciplinary research conference that will be held in March 2002. Our research conference grew out of the in-house student conference held by the psychology department. This all-day event features over thirty student presentations. Departments represented include art, business, biology, chemistry, English, exercise science, history, interdisciplinary studies, marketing, music therapy, middle grades education, nursing, and psychology. Professors are encouraged to bring their entire classes and students are encouraged to attend throughout the day as schedules permit. GEORGIAN COURT COLLEGE Georgian Court College holds an Undergraduate Excellence Evening from about 6 pm until 9 or 9:30 pm in April, at which students who did research or exemplary work in any discipline present the results of their work for 15 minutes each in front of an audience in our Little Theater. The natural and social sciences, humanities, education and business have all been represented in the past. GEORGIA SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY Georgia Southern University has two major "research fairs" each year, and both are open to all disciplines on our campus. This year will mark the second annual undergraduate research/creative activity poster session to be held at a function for state legislators in the state capital of Atlanta. Each year, our local governments and the university join forces to facilitate a dinner/mingling event in an effort to "showcase" our local area. Working from the "Posters on the Hill" model of CUR, we include undergraduate research/creative activity poster presentations/displays at this annual event. Last year was the first poster session. Approximately 10 students were chosen to participate following a submission-judging-selection-rehearsal process. Each year, Phi Kappa Phi, our campus-wide honor society for faculty and upper level students, hosts an undergraduate research mini-conference. This is a one-day event on our campus that includes all disciplines. Undergraduate students prepare and deliver 10 - 15 minute presentations on their research efforts. The event is run like a "real" scientific conference with concurrent sessions and multiple sessions throughout the day. GORDON COLLEGE At Gordon College, we have an undergraduate research poster session annually near the end of the spring semester. Posters are typically set up for two hours in the afternoon. We usually try to schedule on the same day as the last faculty meeting of the year so that faculty can view the posters and visit with the students before the faculty meeting. Originally, the natural sciences (physics, chemistry, biology, math, computer science and movement science) sponsored it. In recent years, psychology has become a regular participant. Inclusion has been based primarily on interest in participating. Other departments (such as art and music) have other forums (such recitals, concerts, open houses, etc) for their students to present their work. These are scheduled independently. GOUCHER COLLEGE Goucher College sponsors one college-wide, one science division event and several departmental events that showcase student research and/or performance. Early in the fall semester, all science students involved in summer research or summer internship experiences are invited to present a poster to the entire community that describes his or her work. This late afternoon event includes departments in the science division: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Math and Computer Science and Psychology. Faculty, administrators and students visit the posters to hear about the experiences. Several departments showcase the work of their students. For example, at the end of the spring semester, the Biology Department hosts an afternoon symposium of senior independent research presentations (required for honors in Biology) followed by a picnic for Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Math and Computer Science students and faculty. Biology alums are also invited to the talks and the picnic, as are members of the administration. Within the Arts Division, a senior student art show is installed in our public gallery for two weeks in May. Computer music students present their compositions in the same gallery during one afternoon in May. In addition, music student recitals and dance concerts are scheduled near the end of each semester. Last year, a new event that included all students was initiated. Entitled "Expo" for "Experiential Opportunities", this half-day event includes student poetry and fiction readings, artwork, dance and music performances, and panel discussions or posters presenting outreach efforts to local schools as well as student experiences with study abroad, internship, service learning, research and independent study. GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY Preparations are currently underway for the 7th Annual Student Scholarship Day (SSD) at Grand Valley State University (GVSU) near Grand Rapids, Michigan. The event is always held in mid-April. The Science and Mathematics Division at GVSU started the event, which was originally called Student Research Day. The event quickly grew and was expanded to a university-wide event in 1998. In the event's first year, there were 100 presentation and 150 presenters. At SSD 2001, this had grown to 275 presentations and 500 presenters. At SSD 2001, oral presentations began at 8:40 a.m. and ran until 7 p.m., with a 1-1/2 hour break for lunch. Each oral presentation lasts 15 minutes with a 5-minute break between sessions. Oral presentations were being given concurrently in nine different rooms. Poster presentations are displayed from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. and each presenter is asked to be present by his or her poster at least one hour to answer questions. An abstract and proceedings volume is published annually. For the lunch hour, all presenters and their sponsors are invited to attend an appreciation luncheon that includes an address given by a keynote speaker. A wide range of academic disciplines was represented among the presentations at SSD 2001 including English, Marketing, Music, and Psychology. However, approximately two-thirds of the presentations were from the Science and Mathematics Division. Among all presentations, there is a 1/3 to 2/3 split between graduate students and undergraduate students, respectively. There were 140 different faculty/staff sponsors for SSD 2001, many of whom sponsored multiple student presentations. The majority of the 275 presentations at SSD 2001 were oral presentations. Seventy-five presentations were posters and two presentations featured musical performances of original compositions. A multi-disciplinary committee including representatives from most academic divisions plans the event each year. GRINNELL COLLEGE Grinnell College has an annual science division poster session during the Saturday morning of Parents Weekend. This includes posters from Biology, Chemistry, Math/Computer Science, Physics, and Psychology. We also are part of a small group of colleges and Universities (the old Pew cluster) that put together once a year at either the University of Chicago or Washington University a weekend conference with talks and posters. There is both a physical science and biological science meeting each November. One at the University of Chicago and the other at Washington University (rotates each year). GUSTAVIS ADOLPHUS COLLEGE Gustavis Adolphis College has several forums at which students present their research. The largest of these is the annual Sigma Xi Research Symposium that occurs each spring the Friday before a campus honors day. This event takes place throughout an afternoon with four concurrent sessions including a common poster session. In the spring of 2001, this symposium included fifty student presenters. These presentations were drawn from student-faculty research in the Biology, Chemistry, Economics, Geology, Physics, and Psychology Departments. In the fall, another presentation forum is a student research poster session that is connected with the annual Nobel conference, a two-day conference featuring eminent speakers on a timely topic. HAMILTON COLLEGE Hamilton College holds an annual Fall Science Poster Session. We have typically held the poster session on homecoming weekend (which is also when our board of trustees meets on the campus), but due to a scheduling conflict, we recently moved the Poster Session to Family Weekend, and had the best turnout ever. It usually runs on a Friday afternoon and all Science disciplines are invited to display summer research projects (done on our campus and elsewhere). Posters are hung on boards in a large open area and refreshments are provided. We typically have about 50 students who have worked on science projects on our campus each summer. A book of abstracts is compiled and students present their own work. All students who receive a stipend from the College for their summer research experience are required to present. We recently created an endowment to support non-science collaborative research experiences that will provide 20 stipends per summer. We intend to expand the poster session to allow all students who have engaged in collaborative research to display their work. HARDING UNIVERSITY Harding University participates in the Memphis Undergraduate Research Conference, the Annual Undergraduate Research Conference at Henderson State University (Arkansas), the Arkansas Academy of Science, and the NASA/Arkansas Space Grant Consortium. We generally have about 12 students presenting, each one in at least two of the above. We also have our own journal, The Journal of the Gedanken Society. HENDERSON STATE UNIVERSITY Each spring in April we host/sponsor a state-wide Arkansas Undergraduate Research Conference. This will be the 9th year that we have done this. The disciplines involved are broad. We have many Chemistry, Biology and Physics student presentations. But we also have a large number of student presentations from psychology, sociology, English, history, etc. Most student presentations are oral but we do have some poster presentations. A large portion of the presentations are from our university (about 40%) but the others come from across the state; University of Arkansas (Fayetteville), Arkansas State University, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Harding University, Ouachita Baptist University, Lyon College, etc. Students can also submit a printed copy of their paper for inclusion in our Proceedings Journal which we publish each year. IDAHO STATE UNIVERSITY Idaho State University has for the last four years held the ISU Undergraduate Research Symposium during the last part of the Spring semester. This is a one-afternoon affair that encourages all campus disciplines to participate. Although any type of presentation is encouraged, to date all presentations have been either as a poster format or oral presentation (including poetry readings). IMMACULATA COLLEGE As a result of an Extramural Associates Research Development Award from the National Institutes of Health, Immaculata College is able to provide limited research funding to students and mentors in the biomedical and behavioral sciences. Grant proposals are competitively reviewed, require a year-end report, and student researchers are responsible for an afternoon poster presentation in Loyola Hall, home of the sciences on campus. Student Researchers and their mentors are available for questions and discussion throughout the afternoon. Immaculata College is part of an eight-college consortium, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Consortium for Higher Education (SEPCHE). Each Spring the SEPCHE Consortium hosts a full-day Honors Conference for student researchers from all disciplines in all eight institutions (Arcadia University, Cabrini College, Chestnut Hill College, Gwynned Mercy College, Holy Family College, Immaculata College, Neumann College, and Rosemont College). Participation is contingent on the acceptance of an abstract prepared by the students early in the spring semester. This year the announcement was made in December, abstracts are due in February, and the conference will be held in early April. INDIANA UNIVERSITY KOKOMO Last year the Kokomo campus had the opportunity to host Indiana University's Undergraduate one-day Research Conference in October. The quality of student research from across IU was impressive, and we are grateful to IU for the support of all of our students' scholarly efforts. The benefits of faculty/student research collaboration on our students' intellectual development were clearly observable in the work of they present at IU, as well as at national and regional conferences, and in the growing number of student/faculty publications. JUNIATA COLLEGE Juniata College holds an annual research symposium. The event includes all disciplines and is one and one-half days in length. Presentations are either oral (usually Power Point) or posters. This year will be our 6th annual research symposium. All presentations are the result of independent, faculty-guided student research. The number of presentations has grown each year. Last year we had 47 presentations involving 51 students. Student research awards are given for each major discipline. The symposium is planned by our local chapter of Tri Beta, a national biological honor society. LAGRANGE COLLEGE In the spring, on Honors Day, LaGrange College has two research related events. At the Honors Day Ceremony, we recognize LaGrange College Research Scholars with certificates. These students are nominated for the award by various academic departments for their work on research projects within the department. We have students from art, music, theater, and literature as well as from more traditional research disciplines. Following the Honors Day Ceremony, a lunch buffet is served to students and guests on the grounds of the Art building. This is followed by an undergraduate research program in the gallery, along with the art students' senior show. The program is similar to a poster session at a professional meeting. Students display either posters or, in some cases, the products of their research. Again, we have participation from across the campus. LEWIS & CLARK COLLEGE At Lewis & Clark College there are several different opportunities for students to feature their research/creative work, but no inclusive, campus-wide event that allows them to do so. The science division runs an annual poster session in late September. The College has an endowed fund, the Rogers fund, that supports summer student-faculty research teams in mathematical and natural sciences. The summer research program is structured that all research students, whether supported by the Rogers fund, external grants to faculty, participate in all the same activities, including weekly meetings of all research participants throughout the summer, and in the Rogers Poster Conference in September. Students who conducted research during the summer at sites other than Lewis & Clark (through REU programs, for example) are also invited to attend. The poster session runs for 2-2.5 hours some afternoon (4:30-6:30 PM) in late September, and the whole campus is invited. Typically, the President, Dean of Faculty, and several other administrators (and sometimes trustees) attend, along with faculty and students. In recent years, there have been around 25-30 posters at the session. It is the main research "symposium" for science students (including mathematics and computer science). The Art Department requires all senior majors in studio art (typically 10-15 per year) to participate in a senior art show that runs for the last two weeks of the academic year through commencement. The show is mounted in the College's art gallery, is viewable during the hours it's open (10-5 daily, I believe), and is open to the whole campus and even the public. There are two annual symposia on campus that feature research presentations by students as well as professional scholars. These are the Gender Studies Symposium and International Affairs Symposium. Each runs for about three days in the spring, Gender Studies in March, and International Affairs in April. Both feature panel discussions, presentation of research papers (including from students), and plenary lectures from luminaries. In addition the Gender Studies symposium often features creative work--poetry readings, play performances, etc.--from students. LYNCHBURG COLLEGE Each year in the spring Lynchburg College holds its annual Student Scholar Showcase (SSS), which provides undergraduates with an opportunity to present their scholarly work to the campus community. This year's SSS will feature student talks and posters and will be held all day (approximately 9-4) in April. While many of the students presenting are in the School of Sciences, each year we have students presenting their work from virtually every school including the School of Health Sciences and Human Performance, School of Communication and the Arts, School of Education and Human Development, and the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. At last year's SSS, for instance, students from the following areas presented their work: Communications, Education, Sociology/Gerontology, English, Computer Science, Psychology, Biology, Chemistry, Nursing, and Environmental Science. MARSHALL UNIVERSITY The following activities occur at Marshall University. Nu Alpha Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau, the national nursing honor society, has a yearly research day during which faculty and students present their research. The College of Liberal Arts (Classical Studies, Communication Studies, Criminal Justice, English, Geography, History, Humanities, Modern Languages, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Religious Studies, and Sociology/Anthropology) hosted its first annual Undergraduate Research and Creativity Conference last year. It is a full-day session for student presentations. There is a luncheon for the participants that includes an address by a keynote speaker. 100 or more students are expected to participate The West Virginia Criminal Justice Educators Association Conference, hosted by Marshall, provides undergraduate students, graduate students and faculty an opportunity to present papers. The Psi Chi Honor Society, the psychology honorary, and the Psychology Club hold an annual full-day conference at Marshall, the Tri-State Psychology Conference. This attracts students and faculty from 8-15 different schools in the Tri-State (WV, KY, OH) region. This is primarily an undergraduate conference. The College of Science sponsors an annual Sigma Xi Research Day during which students do poster presentations based on research conducted in science courses, including their capstone courses. The session consists of a morning (posters) and evening (talks and a guest speaker) format on a single day. . All participating students are invited to a buffet luncheon. Students who have done special projects, such as the NASA scholarship recipients, are also invited to present at this event. MEREDITH COLLEGE Meredith College's Undergraduate Research Program coordinates an annual spring conference to showcase the accomplishments of students from all disciplines or departments. We schedule traditional paper presentations, but also have poster sessions as well as performances and exhibits. Our aim is to be truly comprehensive in terms of areas represented. The conference has been scheduled on a regular class day during the week, which has both benefits and drawbacks. We are intending to experiment with a weekend schedule in 2003. It is a full day event and at this point we accept submissions from only Meredith students. MERRIMACK COLLEGE Students nominated for associate membership in Sigma Xi present a public poster session each May in the Mendel Science Center, describing their senior research work. The two-hour session is followed by an award ceremony for inductees into the Society and lunch. The event involves students in biology, biochemistry, health science and chemistry. Students nominated for the YAS Corporation Awards present a public poster session each May. The YAS Awards, funded by donor Rouzbeh Yassini, recognize extraordinary accomplishment on the part of graduating seniors as demonstrated in senior projects that they have accomplished. The poster session is followed by an award ceremony and lunch. Cash awards of $5,000, 2,500 and 1,000 are made to the first second and third place winners in each of the School of Business, Division of Science and Engineering and Division of Liberal Arts. Senior research students present their work, in either poster or platform session format, each April at the Eastern New England Biological Conference. This day-long event rotates among the member institutions. In 2000, Merrimack hosted the conference, with approximately 150 participants from 15 colleges and universities. The event involves students in biology, biochemistry, health science and environmental science. Students participating in the MERCK/AAAS Summer Research Program present their work at a public poster session, followed by lunch, in the Fall term. This event involves students in biology, chemistry and health science. The School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at Mesa State College will host the third annual Student Scholars' Symposium on April 15, 2002. The Symposium celebrates undergraduate scholarship featuring poster and oral presentations by Mesa State research students. The social, natural and physical sciences plus mathematics are typically represented. In 2001, there were 15 oral and 18 poster presentations. Television and newspaper coverage helps ensure that the public is made aware of the diversity and amount of undergraduate research at Mesa State College. Abstracts of poster and oral presentations are published in booklet form and made available to all participants and faculty members. MID-ATLANTIC REGIONAL CONFERENCE OF UNDERGRADUATE
SCHOLARSHIP (MARCUS) - SWEET BRIAR COLLEGE MARCUS showcases undergraduate research activities and scholarship. This year's symposium featured the work of students from eighteen colleges in Virginia and North Carolina. Over eighty students participated in oral presentations and poster sessions representing research in biology, chemistry, mathematics, environmental science, psychology, political science, classics, history, literature, and interdisciplinary studies. Over two hundred registered guests were in attendance at the conference. The conference also features a keynote address. MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE At Middlebury College, we hold a poster session at the end of summer research program. All summer research students in science and math participate. The session is a half-day in length with a barbecue lunch afterwards. When we have grant funding, such as HHMI, we have had a two-day research symposium but the institutional commitment is for the half-day poster session. MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY Middle Tennessee State University has two formal forums for research. One is the College of Basic and Applied Sciences Undergraduate Research Symposium Poster Session held annually in April. Participating departments are agribusiness/agriscience, biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering technology/industrial studies, mathematical sciences, nursing, physics/astronomy. Some students who have received research awards are required to present their results, others do it for fun and experience. Poster presentations and refreshments last two hours, followed by a brief awards ceremony. Another research symposium emphasizes faculty research and includes the whole campus. Talks and posters are featured. This is a day-long event in the spring. Several departments and the McNair research program sponsor their own research poster sessions. For example, chemistry has a Research Open House in conjunction with an invited speaker for the Golden Goggles Lecture. MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY MOORHEAD Minnesota State University Moorhead will hold its 4th annual Student Academic Conference this spring. This is a one-day event at which students from all disciplines on campus can present their research. All colleges and all departments are represented. Students may choose to give an oral presentation (usually 15-30 minutes) or a poster. Posters are put in the memorial union where all can see them. The conference starts with a morning meeting with an invited speaker. These speakers usually talk about the importance of undergraduate research and creative activities and the role those activities have played in their career development. Then student representatives from each of the four colleges (Social and Natural Sciences, Arts and Humanities, Business and Industry and Education and Human Services) give responses to the speakers' comments. All student presenters receive a free meal. Faculty and others are invited to this presentation and pay a nominal fee for the meal. Faculty and administrators across campus are involved with facilitating presentations. Each audience member is given an evaluation form to complete for each speaker. Then these are given to the students to help them with future presentations. About half of the student presentations are from students mentored by faculty from the College of Social and Natural Sciences, but all disciplines across campus are represented. The Arts and Humanities are also included and their presentations can involve exhibits, music and panel discussions. Some students from the methods courses schedule up to one hour presentations and use them as workshops for other students and faculty. MISSOURI WESTERN STATE COLLEGE Missouri Western State College has held an Interdisciplinary Research Day for student research annually for the past six years. It's been quite successful, drawing approximately 60-70 poster submissions each year. In fact, it has been so popular that we intend to increase the frequency to twice per year (one at the end of each semester) starting in 2002. It is a half day event, with a two-hour student poster session followed by a featured speaker. In the past, our featured speakers have included both professional scientists and students who have completed particularly good projects. The poster session is open to students in any major on campus, however most of projects have come from biology, chemistry, psychology, and nursing. We have encouraged submissions from the humanities, business and other non-science areas and hope to get more of these in the future. The research day is supported by a small grant from the Missouri Funding for Results program and is sponsored by student organizations (TriBeta Biology Honor Society and Psi Chi Psychology Honor Society). A faculty steering committee (two biology and two psychology faculty) organize the event. The initial grant allowed us to buy materials to construct poster stands, and currently we receive enough to provide refreshments during the sessions and to furnish programs. Students submit abstracts to a website, and these are printed in the program. All submissions are accepted. MORNINGSIDE COLLEGE The nursing department at Morningside College has a Maud Adams Research Day on campus. All sophomore-senior students and RN completion students do nursing research projects that are presented in a conference format on campus. The entire campus is encouraged to attend. The Psychology and Biology students do independent research projects in relation to selected course work. Students in these courses prepare research posters that are presented to other students in the class. The posters are displayed publicly. Senior art students are responsible for a senior art exhibition which is a graduation requirement and is critiqued by the art faculty. MOUNT HOLYOKE COLLEGE Mount Holyoke College has an Annual Science Symposium every April, limited to science and mathematics students, nearly all seniors. This year will be our 27th. We have 60-70 students who submit one page abstracts and give 20 minute oral presentations in three simultaneous sessions. Most years this is a one-day event (Friday from 1:00 to 10:00 pm), though some years it has been a Friday afternoon, evening and Sat morning. One day works better for attendance. Disciplines included are biology, biochemistry, chemistry, computer science, environmental studies, geology, mathematics, physics, neuroscience and behavior. Attendance is generally impressive in these sessions with faculty, staff, and students. However, very few non-science faculty or students attend. There are separate events (discipline specific) in the arts and humanities, but not an inclusive symposium. MURRAY STATE UNIVERSITY As part of its Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) award, Murray State University created a new office devoted to promoting undergraduate research, scholarship and creative activity across the entire campus. The Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Activity (URSA) is led by Dr. John Mateja, project director of the HHMI grant and a former President of CUR. To ensure campus-wide participation, an URSA advisory board has been created with faculty representation from all six MSU colleges. Over the past year, URSA has been involved in developing a variety of activities intended to promote undergraduate research on campus. "Scholars' Week" will debut in April 2002. Scholars' Week will be a celebration of undergraduate research and scholarly activity on campus, building upon previous efforts of individual colleges and organizations to promote such activity. For example, members of the College of Science, Engineering and Technology (CSET) organized the College's first Undergraduate Research Conference in April 2001. At this conference, students supported by Murray State's National Science Foundation Collaborative Research at Undergraduate Institutions (C-RUI) award, and others doing independent research projects, gave oral presentations on their work. The Undergraduate Research Conference was also linked to MSU's Sigma Xi Poster Competition, an event that has been a MSU tradition for over a decade. Other campus activities, such as the MSU Technology Forum, and the Arts and Humanities Festival, have all been independent events occurring throughout the spring semester. Each of these venues for presenting student work will now be coordinated into one week of activities, with a goal of increasing the interactions among undergraduates and faculty in each discipline, and increasing the participation of departments that have not historically participated in such events. Scholars' Week will also include a celebratory banquet with a keynote speaker. Another major URSA initiative is "Posters at the Capitol," an undergraduate poster session modeled after the successful CUR "Posters on the Hill". Posters-at-the-Capitol is intended to increase the awareness of the Kentucky legislature about undergraduate research at Kentucky's six regional universities. During January 2002, eighty-five students from Kentucky's comprehensive colleges will present 54 posters at the Capitol Building in Frankfort. To maximize the visibility of the poster session, the event is being held on the day of the Governor's State-of-the-Commonwealth address. These students will help carry the message to those who fund higher education in Kentucky that involving undergraduates in scholarly pursuits of the faculty is an extremely important and effective teaching and learning methodology. MUSKINGUM COLLEGE Celebrating Undergratuate Scholarship and Research(CUSR) is a week in April which includes a number of activities. The departments and programs involved are biology, chemistry, computer science, math, geology, physics, conservation science, environmental science, molecular biology, and psychology. The event involves a variety of activities such as: oral presentations by department selected students(10-15 min) with questions; science related movies during the month sponsored by student organizations; field trips organized by departments; external science speakers during the month; a poster session: on one day(Apr. 18, this year); a banquet for all presenters and faculty/invited guests; a keynote speaker; a poster presentation of the work of undergraduate research work. Abstracts are published and web posted. NEW MEXICO AMP UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH
CONFERENCE The New Mexico Alliance for Minority Participation (New Mexico AMP) Undergraduate Student Research Conference is an annual statewide event for minority students majoring or considering majors in science, math, engineering and technology (SMET). The conference was first held in 1996 with undergraduate community college and university focused tracks and a track for high school juniors and seniors participating in the New Mexico Math, Engineering, Science Achievement Inc. program (NM MESA). A graduate school track was added in 1999, and a highly successful industry track was added in 2000 for national laboratories, corporations, and state and federal agencies to offer information and employment or internship opportunities. The goals of the conference are: 1) to give undergraduate SMET minority students an opportunity to present their research, to gain presentation experience and to serve as role models for other minority students; 2) to provide workshops and panel presentations that help students plan and achieve success in their academic and professional careers; and 3) to encourage community college students to continue their SMET studies at the Baccalaureate level. The conference's educational mission is to provide an outlet for students to present research, to learn about professional activities within SMET, and to understand the links between academic and professional life. To that end, the conference links its featured speakers, workshops, and panels so that students see the connections between what they do now and what they will be doing after graduation. The conference also provides professional development workshops and activities for SMET community college and university faculty and serves as a forum for participants to share information, ideas, experiences, and advice. The conference is structured as a two-day event. The first day focuses on research. Students present the results of their faculty-mentored research projects in competitive oral or poster sessions; a non-competitive category is available for students to present work done in SMET-related capstone courses. All student presenters receive a gift, and an additional cash prize is awarded to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place oral and poster presentations as determined by the judges. As part of the first day, students also participate in discussions on preparation for graduate school, tour campus laboratories, and attend research-oriented workshops facilitated by representatives from organizations such as NASA, the Boeing Company, and General Dynamics. The second day is devoted to personal, professional, and academic development. Activities may include workshops on ACT testing for the MESA students, transfer and financial aid resources for the community college students, and resume writing and interviewing skills for the university students. Time is provided for students to meet with industry representatives who share information about their organization and employment or internship opportunities. The conference closes with an awards lunch. NORTHEASTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY Every April we have something we call the "NEIU Symposium for Research and Creative Activities". All disciplines at our University are covered (sciences, humanities, performing arts, business, education, etc.). It lasts for a little over half a day. Several different symposia go on simultaneously. Most are 20-minute oral presentations, but this past year we added posters for the first time. We have had over a hundred presentations the last couple of years. NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY Northern Kentucky University highlights undergraduate student achievements in a broad array of scholarly and creative activities through the “Celebration of Student Research and Creativity.” During this three day event, students display their scholarship and creativity through poster presentations, oral presentations, interactive demonstrations, performances, and exhibits of artistic work over a three day period. Previous years have had over 225 presentations involving nearly 320 students who were advised by 124 faculty sponsors. See http://celebration.nku.edu for more details. NORTHERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY Northern Michigan University has a day toward the end of the winter semester which is called the "The Celebration of Student Research and Creative Works". It involves students from all disciplines and includes posters, talks, and performances. It has been running quite successfully for about five or six years. NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY The Celebration of Quality is a day-long symposium featuring undergraduate and graduate students from all departments of Northwest Missouri State University. It is sponsored by Sigma Pi Sigma, an organization for Presidential and Martin Luther King scholars at Northwest. Sigma Pi Sigma members arrange speakers and publicity, introduce speakers and serve as panel moderators, and keep the event running smoothly throughout the day. The symposium includes research and analytical papers from many disciplines including, in recent years, agriculture, philosophy, business, health, English, and many others. There is usually an exhibition of student artwork, and creative writers read original poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. The symposium usually includes musical and sometimes dramatic performances. It is open to the community at large as well as the entire University community. All presentations are recommended and sponsored by faculty members. PACIFIC LUTHERAN UNIVERSITY Pacific Lutheran University has held an Academic Festival since 1995. For two days at the start of May (Friday and Saturday), students from all seven departments and majors in the Natural Sciences Division (chemistry, physics, mathematics, biology, geology, computer science, computer engineering) give oral and poster presentations on their semester and capstone projects. Last year there were 68 talks and 77 posters. The goal is to provide a professional meeting format and "to celebrate the learning and research accomplishments of the year, a time when we reaffirm our sense of community as scholars and scholars in training." PENNSYLVANIA STATE BERKS LEHIGH VALLEY COLLEGE Penn State Berks Lehigh Valley College participates in several research fairs. One is held by the science division and is a half-day event. Posters from a wide range of disciplines including math, astronomy, physics, biology, and chemistry are presented. Our research students also participate in is a County event. That is sponsored by an organization called the Berks County Consortium. It is comprised of administrators, faculty, and students from several colleges in the county, as well as members of the community. The all day event is held at the end of March or beginning of April. Each year one of the local colleges hosts the event on their campus (it alternates). The day begins with poster sessions and talks (all undergraduates) followed by a luncheon (hosted by the campus and the consortium). After lunch, a guest speaker who addresses the importance of research at the undergraduate level gives a plenary address. The event is being held for the third time this year. The presentations are across all disciplines . PLATTSBURGH STATE UNIVERSITY The Plattsburgh State University Chapter of Sigma Xi hosts an annual one-day undergraduate research symposium toward the end of every spring semester. Students (usually about a dozen or so) conducting research in biology, geology, environmental science, chemistry, and psychology present their results in the form of oral or poster presentations. ROANOKE COLLEGE For the past 8 years we have presentations that are given in the fall during family weekend. The participants come from all divisions of the college. The students present the results of research projects conducted during the previous summer and supported by Roanoke College Student Summer Scholars Program. There are usually 13 RC Summer Scholars hailing from all of the departments on campus. In addition, we usually have 5 or 6 Bondurant scholars who come from Chemistry or related fields. This past year we had 21 student presenters. About half of the students make their presentations in a poster session which lasts about 2-1/2 hours the Saturday morning of Family Weekend. The remainder of the students give oral presentations which last about 20 to 25 minutes each that afternoon. For years now the Tri-Beta society associated with out Biology department has been sponsoring a student conference each spring. Participants come from all areas of campus (although there is heavier participation among the science students). They present research they have conducted at any time during the year. There is a poster session in the morning and oral presentations in the afternoon. The poster and oral presentations are judged by faculty members, and awards are given for the best poster and oral presentation. As participation has grown from students outside of the sciences there have been awards for science and non-science categories. ROLLINS COLLEGE For the past five years, students and faculty at Rollins College have ended the academic year with a Celebration of Academic Achievement sponsored by the Christian A. Johnson Institute for Effective Teaching. This annual event is held on Awards Day and features year-long and semester-long projects from students in all academic departments. Initially, this project fair featured science majors and students from the honors program. However, it has grown to include scholarship from many other departments including English, Art, Communication, Education, Sociology, Computer Science, Economics, etc. Each year, there are displays from faculty/study collaborative projects, as well. While most of the work is displayed creatively on poster boards, there are also projects using web sites, Power Point, student made videos, objects or equipment and interactive displays. The student must furnish a 1-2 paragraph abstract of the study, which is included in a booklet available at the fair. All entrants receive a nametag and a blue ribbon. A reception is held at the fair after the campus Awards Day ceremony, Faculty members at Rollins have their own opportunity to share their research. The Faculty Day of Scholarship , also sponsored by the Christian A. Johnson Institute for Effective Teaching, is held on the day before classes begin for the spring semester. In three concurrent sessions throughout the morning, faculty have 20 or 30 minute time-slots to share their most recent research. A booklet of abstracts is furnished to guide the participants in choosing sessions to attend. This year, there is a plan to have musical performances, art displays, and research posters at the faculty luncheon ending the event. Last year's event, the first, was highly successful in that it led to greater awareness of research being done by colleagues and a greater sense of community. ST. EDWARDS UNIVERSITY At the University level there is an annual Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE) which provides an opportunity for all students (not only seniors) to showcase their research. The oral/poster presentations, performance, and exhibition cover natural sciences, humanities, business, social and behavior science, education, non-traditional college students. The SOURCE is a whole-day Friday event. Faculty members have the option of canceling classes so students can go to the presentations. Within the School of Natural Sciences, at the senior year all science majors are required to take a Senior Seminar course, of which the purpose is to organize the student's undergraduate research in an oral presentation form. In the later part of the spring semester the Senior Seminar Symposium is held for science majors to present their research. The annual Senior Seminar Symposium has been ongoing for ten years. Usually there are around 70 oral presentations to be delivered in the Senior Seminar Symposium, and it takes two days (Friday and Saturday) for all the presentations to be completed. SAINT MARY.S UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA AT WINONA Saint Mary's University of Minnesota at Winona, Minnesota has been sponsoring an Undergraduate Research Symposium in Biology every year for the past 28 years. The symposium is restricted to biological research, either laboratory or field-oriented. It must be a student project (not faculty research), and the presentation must be oral. The symposium is an all day affair with 25 to 42 student presentations taking place in two concurrent sessions representing five to twelve colleges and universities. The symposium is advertised to all institutions in the three-state region of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. Approximately 45 different colleges have participated over the years. At mid-day, a featured scientist presents an hour-long talk. Attendance to student presentations and the featured speaker are open to everyone, including the public. For the featured presentation, we generally choose topics with widespread appeal and speakers with some notability. Costs are completely absorbed by Saint Mary's University; hence, there are no registration fees. ST. OLAF COLLEGE St. Olaf College has two events that celebrate undergraduate research. Summer Research. We have a 10 week summer research program here at St. Olaf which last year included 40 students and ~18 faculty. The students presented their research plans as talks or posters at the start of the 10 weeks (~1/2 day) and then presented their results at a 1/2 day session at end of 10 weeks (again as posters or talks). Students are responsible for submitting abstracts as well which we compile. This year students in the Psychology, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics Departments participated. In late April/early May St. Olaf hosts a Science Symposium in conjunction with 'Honors Day' which is advertised broadly across campus and features 3-4 outside speakers. A major part of this symposium is a student poster session which includes work done during the summer and school year here on campus as well as work done off campus. The poster session runs for several hours and then student presenters go to dinner with outside speakers and the faculty. SALEM STATE COLLEGE Since 1998, Salem (MA) State College's School of Arts and Sciences has held an annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. The half-day symposium is held on the day between the end of classes and the beginning of finals each May. It is open to empirical and scholarly research in all disciplines. Most students present their work in poster form, but a number give papers, performances, or readings. A volume of proceedings is distributed to the College community, trustees and local legislators. At the most recent symposium 122 students, representing 36 faculty sponsors from 13 departments, presented 80 posters, 16 papers, and one dance performance. The Symposium session held in May of 2001 included both day and evening continuing education students as well as students from outside of the School of Arts and Sciences. The session was held on the first and second floors of the college dining commons. Many faculty and students pass through this area every day. Students set up their posters at 8AM. A Continental Breakfast was served during setup. Invited speakers, including the President of the College, various members of the Board of Trustees; and a Salem State College student who had presented recently at an NCUR conference, made brief remarks during the breakfast period. Posters and papers were presented concurrently throughout the morning. At 11:30 the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences presented Certificates of Accomplishment to all participants. Faculty and students then enjoyed a light luncheon at noon. SKIDMORE COLLEGE Skidmore College recently instituted an end-of-year Academic Festival celebrating the accomplishments of students in all disciplines. This event has been run in a couple of formats. Last year it was presented on the first study day prior to second-semester exams, for a full day (with a ceremonial opening the evening before). In addition, our department is one of the founding members of, and participates annually in, the Hudson River Undergraduate Mathematics Conference. This is a full-day gathering (on an April Saturday) that brings together mathematics and computer science students and faculty from many regional institutions for presentations (both student and faculty presenters), a keynote address, and luncheon. Skidmore has served twice as host of the event. SOUTHERN UTAH UNIVERSITY Southern Utah University sponsors a campus-wide, interdisciplinary "Annual Student-Faculty Scholarship Day" to showcase the collaborative efforts between students and faculty. An entire day is devoted to the event, which includes poster sessions, oral presentations, art exhibits, musical/dance recitals, plays, and any other contribution of a creative/scholarly nature. Presentations are made by the students, although they typically have a faculty sponsor/co-author. Faculty may not submit their own work. Prizes are awarded to the best entry in each category and are presented at an awards dinner that evening. STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, CORTLAND We at SUNY Cortland have an annual "Scholar's Day" each April. It is full day of talks and posters presented by faculty and students in all disciplines represented on our campus. There are science talks, humanities talks, exercise science talks, drama presentations, readings, etc. Some of the presentations are by students and some by faculty. Faculty members suspend classes that day to encourage attendance at Scholar's Day. Some faculty members require a written assignment about a talk or poster attended. About 150 presentations occur throughout the day. STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, GENESEO The State University of New York at Geneseo hosts two college-wide research days. The first is held in the Fall semester on the Friday of Parents' Weekend and includes all disciplines in which research is done, including humanities and social sciences. (The Fine Arts departments tend to present work in alternate venues). The presentations are in poster format. The second college-wide research event is the Science and Math Symposium that takes place in the Spring. It is nearly an all-day affair and is more formal, with an opening lecture, several tracks of oral presentations, posters, and closing remarks from the President. The symposium is held in one of the science buildings. Our campus also participates in several regional undergraduate research days. For example, a large symposium is held at the University of Maryland Baltimore County in the Fall semester. This symposium is judged, and the students who win prizes for their posters or oral presentations return to campus with a sense of accomplishment. The fact that the event is judged also helps the students to put extra effort into creating high-quality presentations. Some other professors participate in events of a more local nature, sponsored by the Rochester Academy of Sciences and/or by the University of Rochester. The Academy of Science symposium targets social sciences as well as physical and biological sciences. The university-sponsored symposia are generally designed to recruit graduate students and are limited to biology, biochemistry, chemistry, and biophysics research. These take place in the fall. An advantage to these local symposia is that they help to establish contacts for advice and collaboration. STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, NEW PALTZ SUNY-New Paltz has a half-day session in which submissions are invited from the entire campus which includes the Schools of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Physical Sciences and Engineering, Fine and Performing Arts, Education, Business. Participants over the past three years (since invitations have been extended beyond hard sciences) include biology chemistry, geology, psychology, computer science, political science, English, art history, sociology, communication and media, foreign languages, and communication disorders. The session includes a keynote speaker, who is generally an alumnus. Selected students give oral presentations. Lunch is served during the poster session when the remaining students present their work. Some MA students participate, but most departments already have established venues for MA presentations. STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, POTSDAM SUNY Potsdam has an annual event in the spring known as the Learning and Research Fair. It is currently held from 10-2 on a Tuesday or Thursday in March or April. A call for proposals is sent out each year in early December and faculty, staff and students from across the campus send in descriptions of posters, papers, demonstrations, exhibitions and performances. Individuals from many different disciplines participate. The physical and social science faculty and students tend to do posters and papers. The humanities and education faculty and students tend to do posters and exhibits. Staff tend to set up exhibits of one kind or another (the Internship office might have a table on doing an internship at Potsdam). The dance/drama faculty and the music faculty do performances (we've had short student dance pieces and we've had student musical performances (harp, guitar, brass quintet). We generally have at least 70 presentations and performances and although it is hard to determine exactly how many people attend, it seems from the number of booklets we print each year that at least 400 make their way over to the Learning and Research Fair. STONEHILL COLLEGE Stonehill College in Easton, MA established its undergraduate program, the Stonehill Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE), in 1996. The program, which is open to all full-time faculty members in all disciplines, runs for an optional eight or ten weeks during the summer. After each of the six SURE summers, the campus has celebrated and recognized the work of the SURE scholars and faculty by holding a SURE Poster Session in late September. This event is open to the entire college community and all are encouraged to attend. The SURE Poster Session is held in the Commons, a centralized building which houses dining facilities, the campus mailroom, and a social space. Each project is represented with a displayed poster, and the faculty and students are available to explain their research findings and to answer any questions. Refreshments are provided and the atmosphere is purposely left informal and is held from 12:00-2:00 p.m., a time which works well in attracting visitors. The session is sponsored by Stonehill's Joseph W. Martin Institute for Law and Society, a regional center for education, research and public service, and is additionally advertised as a faculty colloquium. Each year the ratio of science vs. humanities projects varies, but, again, all projects participate in the SURE Poster Session. This year, ten projects (6 hard sciences, 2 other sciences, 2 humanities) were included. SURE students and faculty are made aware of the expectation that they will present their summer research findings at the annual SURE Poster Session as early as the application stage. During the summer, all scholars and faculty meet at a weekly luncheon forum to discuss progress and other research-related topics. The subject matter for one of these meetings has always been how to prepare a poster for the session. SWEET BRIAR COLLEGE Sweet Briar College hosts several events designed to showcase undergraduate research. One is the annual university-wide Central Undergraduate Research Symposium. This program is open to all academic disciplines (35 departments) and includes performance (music, theater, sculpture, painting, etc), display, and demonstration projects. The symposium has three 3 full days and includes opportunities for recitals, art gallery displays, concerts, student theater performances, poetry readings, faculty/student workshops around the topic of research. Last year (our first!) showcased over 50 oral presentations and recitals. A complete set of abstracts is also published for the Undergraduate Research Symposium with copies going to all participating students and their faculty mentors, our university Board of Governors, local dignitaries, etc. A number of individual departments also sponsor departmental days for presentations, displays, and high school visitation A few individual classes (research methods classes for the most part) also sponsor their own half-day poster or oral presentations. Our McNair Scholars Program (Ronald E. McNair Post Baccalaureate Achievement Program) also sponsors an annual McNair Scholars Research Symposium for McNair Scholars to present their research. The McNair Program on this campus is open to all academic disciplines and the "mix" of departments varies each year. THE CITADEL The Citadel recently started a Citadel Undergraduate Research Poster Session. The event is held on the Friday of Corps Day Weekend (March 15) and is open to any student conducting original research in any field that can be presented in a poster format. The event is open to the public, community members are invited to participate as judges, and monetary awards are presented for the three best posters. The posters will remain on display Saturday morning so more people will have an opportunity to view them. THE COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY Each fall we have an "Internship and Summer Research Symposium" at which all students in the department of Biology who participated in summer research experiences (such as NSF REU's) or who participated in Internships at corporations present poster presentations of their research. About 25 students present their research each year. The event is attended by students, faculty, mentors from off campus, the provost and president of the College. We have a buffet luncheon in our student commons and then move on to the poster presentations. In the late spring we have our annual campus-wide "Celebration of Student Achievement". This event is for all disciplines and includes poster sessions, formal presentations, exhibitions, and performances. All campus activities are cancelled from 12:30-4:30. A program with all of the presenters, the titles of their research or work, and location and time presented is prepared. The day ends with an address from the college president, handing out of certificates of participation, and handing out of the new edition of the TCNJ Journal of Student Scholarship--a competitive journal for our best students to present their scholarship. About 500 students (21 Departments) campus-wide present their research/work. TOWSON UNIVERSITY The Towson University College of Graduate Education and Research sponsored the Second Annual Student Research Expo on April 18, 2001 from 12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m. in the University Union. The College of Graduate Education and Research defines research broadly to include scholarly work of all kinds. The Expo provides graduate and undergraduate students the opportunity to display the results of their scholarly work to the University community. Presentations may be in the form of exhibitions of artwork, demonstrations, and performances, as well as the traditional poster sessions and oral presentations. Students from all disciplines are welcomed and encouraged to participate in the Expo. Each student planning to participate must submit an abstract of his or her project. These abstracts were published in an Abstract Book that was distributed to all who attended. This year there were 38 student participants. TRINITY UNIVERSITY The Chemistry Department at Trinity University has two events: The first event has been held for 17 years. It concludes our 10-week summer research program in chemistry and occurs during the last week of July. The most recent format has been for students to prepare a 15 minute oral presentation (including question time) with slides, overheads or Powerpoint. Most presenters are from the chemistry department but we have also had occasional contributions from biology and physics. It is open to any summer research student on campus. On rare occasions, some of our departmental majors doing research at off campus locations have returned to present. We often have students participating in our summer research program for area schools. Their teachers/professors often come to observe the program. Some parents have come to the program. Usually a handful of administrators attend at least a portion of the events. One, or sometimes two concurrent sessions are held. The program starts by 8:30 or 9, we provide a lunch for all attendees and the program concludes sometime near 5 depending on the number of participants. Our second departmental event is the McGavock symposium, held on parents weekend in April. All graduating seniors with a BS Chemistry or BS Biochemistry degree are required to present the results of their research in a poster format. Some of these students will present research results from outside the department, perhaps research done in biology or research done off campus. The event lasts for about two hours and is followed by refreshments, award ceremony and a seminar given by an alumnus. The posters are judged by our chemistry department board of advisors, and one or two top posters are typically given a small award - perhaps $25. This is also when we announce the McGavock award winner, the top award given annually in the department. TRUMAN STATE UNIVERSITY Truman State University is Missouri's only highly selective, public liberal arts and sciences university. Truman's Undergraduate Research Symposium is a campus-wide held every spring and is now in its 15th year. Initially, the Symposium was held in the Student Union and classes and other University activities were scheduled as usual. Since 2001, classes have been canceled and the University celebrates an entire day of undergraduate research. In addition, the Symposium has outgrown the Student Union and sessions are held in several additional buildings as well. The symposium program includes an array of concurrent paper sessions where students give 15 minute oral presentations, a symposium-wide poster session, and a lunch for all presenters and faculty mentors that typically includes a plenary lecture. Truman State University held its first Symposium in 1988. Of the 24 presentations, most were from the Science Division (Agriculture, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics disciplines) and a few were from the Division of Human Potential and Performance (Communication Disorders, Health and Exercise Sciences and Nursing). Over the years, participation from other academic Divisions has expanded. Of the 208 student participants last year, 30% presented research from the Science Division, while Fine Arts, Human Potential and Performance, Language and Literature, and Social Science Divisions each contributed 9-13% of presentations. The liberal studies program at Truman has been encouraging interdisciplinary studies. Many of the students presented in a special session (18%) dedicated to such pursuits. UNION COLLEGE Union College established the Charles Proteus Steinmetz Symposium in 1991. At the first Symposium, about 125 students presented their scholarly work in oral, poster, exhibit or performance formats. The event was held on a Friday afternoon in the spring term, and classes were cancelled to encourage student attendance. Symposium participation has now grown to about 300. To accommodate this growth, the event has expanded to a full day on Friday and half of Saturday. The Symposium has now been combined with Prize Day at Union, which is held at the end of the Symposium on Saturday. Both events are scheduled for Mother's Day weekend, which means that many parents choose to attend. On Friday evening, all student participants, their parents, and faculty mentors attend a banquet, which is followed by a concert by the College orchestra. At the most recent Steinmetz Symposium, 163 students gave oral or poster presentations, 102 participated in choir, orchestra, jazz ensemble and dance performances, and 42 exhibited their artwork. Students from all four of the College's divisions were involved in the proportions of their divisional representation at the College. UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS There are several regular mechanisms whereby student scholarly and creative work is showcased at The University of Central Arkansas. College of Fine Arts and Communication: Each spring the Art Department holds its Annual Competitive Exhibition, a campus-wide art competition in which students submit their paintings, photographs, sculpture, installations, etc. Each student may submit up to three entries that must be exhibit-ready. There are no entry fees. Nationally recognized visual artists and curators jury the competition and select pieces to be hung in the exhibition which is on public display for a month in the University gallery as part of the exhibition season. Cash awards are made as well as a purchase award for the outstanding piece selected by the juror. College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics: Each spring semester, for one afternoon, students from across the College present posters on their research conducted in the departments of Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics, and Physics and Astronomy. Approximately 25-30 students participate each year. College of Education The Department of Psychology and Counseling requires all graduating seniors to present a poster, as part of an organized departmental poster session held each semester, which highlights a research project. College Of Liberal Arts The Department of Sociology will host the day-long 2002 Arkansas Sociology & Anthropology Undergraduate Research Symposium to be held on the UCA campus. The Symposium provides undergraduates the opportunity to present original social science research in a professional setting to other undergraduates and social science faculty members from Arkansas colleges and universities. UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA The University of Central Oklahoma organizes and participates in a number of activities that allow undergraduate students to present their work. One is the Regional Universities Research Day, a one-day event that is open to students in all disciplines. Liberal and fine arts students can participate in a one-day event known as the Liberal Arts Student Symposium. Business and public policy students can present at the Southwest Business Symposium, a two-day event. Another two-day event is the University of Central Oklahoma Music Festival, which features both instrumental and vocal performances. Finally, the Psychology Department puts on a one-day poster session UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO, COLORADO SPRINGS The Chemistry Department has run an annual research forum in the Fall term beginning in 2000. The purpose of the Forum is to showcase the research work done by students in the Department of Chemistry, to develop a network of students doing research at UCCS, and to expose and attract students to research opportunities on and off the UCCS campus. The event is held in the afternoon and includes a poster session. Research posters done by the students are judged and small prizes awarded. A keynote address is delivered after the poster session UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON The University of Dayton has a two-day Research and Performance Fair called the Stander Symposium held every February or March. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, DEARBORN The University of Michigan-Dearborn organizes an annual undergraduate research conference in collaboration with University of Michigan-Flint and Oakland University. The Conference, called Meeting of Minds, will celebrate its tenth anniversary at its May 10 meeting this year. Meeting of Minds is an all-day event that rotates among the three campuses. Last year students made 39 presentations and displayed 22 research posters. The conference hosts a luncheon free to participants at which graduates and faculty mentors share success stories about the long-term benefits of undergraduate faculty-student collaboration. Students from all disciplines participate in Meeting of Minds, and we anticipate that the program this May will include musical and dramatic presentations. For the past four years, Meeting of Minds has also published the student papers presented in a Journal of Undergraduate Research. UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA, MORRIS The University of Minnesota-Morris Undergraduate Research Symposium is open to all disciplines in our liberal arts college (7 in Science and mathematics, 10 in Humanities, 7 in social sciences, and education). The event occurs on a Friday evening (keynote faculty speaker and poster session) and Saturday morning (keynote alumnus speaker and oral presentations). The event also includes art exhibitions. UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI, COLUMBIA Once
known as the Undergraduate Research Science Symposium, the
Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievements Forum at the
University of Missouri - Columbia (MU) has grown to include not
just science, but art, music, journalism, and business. Begun in
1990 with fewer than 25 students funded by one program, the
forum now incorporates over 100 students from numerous
campus-wide programs, mentored by over 30 departments at MU.
There are two Forums each year--one scheduled at the
conclusion of spring semester and another at the end of the
summer session. Students who are not formally part of a specific
program are also encouraged to present their research at either
Forum.
Students submit their abstracts on the undergraduate
research website two months prior to the academic year Forum and
two weeks prior to the summer Forum. Students can present their
research and creative and scholarly activities in numerous
presentation styles:
poster presentation, individual talk, collaborative talk,
art display, live performance, or electronic media. Abstract
books are generated for the event and given to any in
attendance, as the Forum is open to the public.
The Spring Forum concludes with a Student Recognition
Ceremony where Forum participants and their mentors are
recognized.
Also, at the ceremony, the Chancellor awards five
outstanding students with the Chancellor’s Award for
Excellence in Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievements.
All students who present at the Spring Forum are eligible
to enter and compete in five different categories:
humanities, fine and performing art and design,
behavioral and social sciences, life sciences, and physical
sciences and engineering. UNIVERSITY OF PUGET SOUND The University of Puget Sound sponsors two "research fairs" each year. The first, the Summer Science Research Symposium (a two-hour poster session), includes presentations from biology, chemistry, physics, geology, mathematics, exercise science, and psychology students who conducted independent research project in the previous summer. The event typically occurs in September and is free and open to the public. Last September, twenty-three students from five disciplines participated. Topics ranged from groundwater modeling to alpine plants at Mt. Rainier. One biology student conducted her research at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. The second event is Puget Sound's Spring Research Symposium, consisting of 20-minutes oral presentations from students who have done independent research in biology, chemistry, physics, geology, mathematics or exercise science. The event is a day and a half long and student organizers typically invite a regionally or nationally known speaker to deliver a keynote address on the evening before students present their research. UNIVERSITY OF ST. FRANCIS The College of Undergraduate Programs at the University of St. Francis has a 2-3 day Senior Scholarship Symposium in December and in May. All major programs that have senior capstone research projects participate (this is almost all of our majors). The university community is invited to all presentations and there is a reception to which the entire university is invited. A program of abstracts is published and a CD with the complete papers of all presenters is given to students and faculty. UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN INDIANA The RISC program at USI has been established to encourage, support, and publicize undergraduate research, innovation, scholarship, and creativity. This program seeks to strengthen the undergraduate experience at USI through the establishment of the RISC Grant Program and RISC Showcase. The RISC Grant Program is a competitive program that provides modest funding to initiate or continue qualifying projects. Students applying for monies under this program work closely with an experienced faculty member. The RISC Showcase is a symposium that will provide an arena for undergraduates of all disciplines to present, demonstrate, or display their academic works to fellow students, faculty members, and the public. The Showcase will take place each spring and will feature a prominent lunchtime keynote speaker. The RISC Program will serve as a clearinghouse for information on projects being conducted at USI as well as research opportunities off-campus. The RISC Program will provide web links to undergraduate research organizations, societies, and publications. In addition, the RISC Program will gather information and provide web links to undergraduate research conferences, symposia, and exhibitions. UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MAINE Our institution is doing a scholarship fair for the first time this year. It will be a half-day event, with all disciplines included. Music and art displays will be provided by students. Projects that can be presented include service-learning projects and innovative teaching. UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH Since 1994, the University of the South, in Sewanee, Tennessee had held Scientific Sewanee, a half-day session at the end of the spring semester. This is a session at which students present posters on their research projects. The posters range from summaries of multi-year research endeavors to descriptions of semester-long projects. There are between twelve and thirty-six posters each year. The session includes all of the natural and physical sciences, including some social sciences. UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-EAU CLAIRE The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire has extensive programs in undergraduate research supported through its Center of Excellence for Faculty and Undergraduate Student Research Collaboration. This Center has been operating for nearly 14 years and supports both undergraduate research and the dissemination of undergraduate research results. Each year we host the UW-Eau Claire Student Research Day, which is now in its 10th year. We are also the host institution for the UW System Symposium for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity, which involves undergraduate research presentations from all institutions in the University of Wisconsin System. UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN, LA CROSSE UW-La Crosse has initiated two undergraduate research conferences within the past 5 years. An annual event, the Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creativity, is held each April and brings together students in all disciplines for a one-day symposium (9:00 am to 3:00 pm with presentations running between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm) that showcases student scholarly and creative activity. A large poster session runs throughout the day and several concurrent presentation sessions are held in the afternoon. There are special sessions for honors students who may present their senior theses as well as numerous discipline specific sessions. All departments are welcome and are represented. Also, a senior student art exhibit is showcased throughout the week, as are other miscellaneous events that highlight independent student work. In addition to our campus undergraduate scholarship day, the University of Wisconsin System has an annual system-wide "Symposium for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity." UW-L was instrumental in the initiation of this UW-System undergraduate research day and hosted the first two annual UW-System events in 1999 and 2000. This two-day symposium brings together students and faculty from all fourteen UW-System campuses. Several poster and oral sessions feature the work of undergraduates in all disciplines. The event is typically held at the end of the spring semester, immediately following final exam week. The meeting was hosted by UW-La Crosse for the first two years and now rotates among each of the fourteen UW-System campuses. The UW-System Symposium for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity will be on hiatus in 2002 because UW-Whitewater is hosting NCUR. UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN, RIVER FALLS The University of Wisconsin-River Falls holds RSCA Day each spring. RSCA stands for Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity. We've been doing this for 11 years. We adopted the RSCA name a couple of years ago to avoid the impression some faculty and students had that this event was only for the hard sciences because we intend to include every academic discipline on campus. So far, we have limited ourselves to poster displays, though we hope to expand to paper presentations and performances sometime in the future. We hold it in a large, central area in the student center between 12 and 2. We frequently hold some related event just before the poster session, e.g. a campus-wide forum on undergraduate RSCA. URSINUS COLLEGE Ursinus College supports a Summer Fellows Program for all disciplines for the past nine years. The program provides housing for students, supply money, and stipends for students and faculty. Two faculty members and two students administer the programs. The students and faculty are encouraged to grow into an intellectual community by working together, and through cultural, academic, and social activities including a weekly luncheon and lecture series, ice cream socials, and the research colloquia described below. All students are required to give a preliminary presentation during the first week of the summer program. The purpose of this colloquium is to build community and to encourage students to more thoroughly settle on the exact steps that they will take to complete their project (or to complete a phase of a larger project). The colloquium consists of approximately eight simultaneous sessions with faculty moderators, and occupies about one and one-half hours. Each student speaks for five-ten minutes, explaining the goal of the research and the methods to be used. An informal booklet that lists the project title, student, and mentor for each talk is provided to all attendees. All students are required to present an individual final 15-minute presentation at the end of the summer research session. Students provide an abstract to be included in the program for the colloquium, which consists of approximately eight simultaneous sessions with faculty moderators. The event occupies an entire morning and is preceded by a continental breakfast. Members of the public and the press are welcomed, and financial donors are sent personal invitations. A commercial printing company prints a staple bound program booklet. This past year we introduced a new Family Day program, a poster session at which Summer Fellows and other students who have done independent work could present their accomplishments to the college community, their families and friends. Many of the Summer Fellows converted their oral presentations into posters for this event. VALDOSTA STATE UNIVERSITY Valdosta State University will be hosting its eighth annual Symposium on Undergraduate Research in the spring of 2002. The symposium is sponsored by the Council on Undergraduate Research of the College of Arts and Sciences. The symposium includes research presentations by undergraduate students from the departments of African American Studies, Biology, Chemistry, English, History, Honors Program, Mathematics and Computer Science, Modern and Classical Languages, Philosophy, Physics, Astronomy, and Geosciences, Political Science, Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice, and Women's Studies. The symposium begins with a Thursday evening plenary session. The theme for this year's session is "Taking Undergraduate Research into the Field." Faculty from several disciplines will discuss their field research experiences with undergraduates. The plenary session will be followed by a poster session in which undergraduate students present a variety of research projects. The Friday session includes morning and afternoon panels in which students give oral presentations of their research. Each of the departments listed above is limited to two oral presentations by undergraduate students. There are no limits on the number of poster presentations from each department. Poster sessions are also held on Friday morning. VALPARAISO UNIVERSITY At Valparaiso University we hold a "Celebration of Undergraduate Research" day each spring. This is a one-day event, with participation from students in all disciplines on campus (this includes arts, humanities, sciences, colleges of nursing, business, and engineering.) All students engaging in research or scholarly activity are encouraged to prepare a poster for the day. During the celebration, these posters are on display in a central, highly visible, high traffic area of campus. For the program of abstracts, participants are asked to list several hours during which they will be at their posters to answer questions. Selected participants are asked to give oral presentations as well. While the performing and creative arts are under-represented at the celebration, the activities are generally coordinated with an annual juried student exhibit at the VU art museum and with the week of student recitals in the music dept. As recognition for the quality of their poster displays, some students are invited to display their posters for, and have lunch with, the Board of Directors of the University. (The event is scheduled just prior to the regular spring board meeting.) This is very exciting for the students, and pleasant for the board as well. WELLESLEY COLLEGE Wellesley College has a day-long Ruhlman Conference (named for the alumna donor of the funds for the conference) each spring where students in all disciplines, each sponsored by a faculty mentor, present their work in panels, talks, posters, art exhibitions, plays, readings, concerts, etc. Classes are canceled, there is food all day, and the final part of the celebration is a dinner for all presenters and mentors that the donor and President attend. This year, for the first time, we began another conference called the Tanner Conference in the fall, again with no classes on that day, for students presenting their work from off campus internships and programs. WESLEY COLLEGE Wesley College is pleased to announce its 4th annual Scholars Day, where the College community comes together to celebrate scholarly endeavors. The event demonstrates, highlights, promotes, and encourages scholarship among our students, who give oral presentations, present posters, perform, and display their artistic works. Scholars Day will take place on the afternoon of April 14th, 2010 on the Wesley College main campus in Dover, Delaware. Details of the event can be found at http://www.wesley.edu/index.cfm?fuseaction=academics.scholarsday WEST CHESTER UNIVERSITY At West Chester University, a half-day symposium is held each spring for undergraduate and graduate students in all of the sciences (biology, chemistry, geology, and physics). Prizes are awarded for the best science, best presentation, and best overall. Pizza and soda are served and all are welcome to attend. WHEATON COLLEGE Initiated in 1991, the Academic Festival takes place on the third Friday in April. Students from all disciplines give panel presentations, talks, and poster paper sessions on their research projects, with particular emphasis in recent years on faculty/student collaborations. The festival has gradually grown in scope and now includes the Senior Art Show (which opens the week before), a Music Department showcase, a major Theatre production (which opens the week before and runs through the week after), the Art History thesis colloquium (the following week), and Senior Writing performances of work. The festival now spreads out over a two-week period, and, in recent years, nearly 150 students have participated each year. The events are open to everyone, and the Admissions Office now schedules this date for their top scholar candidates. In a variation on a tradition at Reed College, during the week before graduation, the Thesis Parade, in which students carry their senior theses, begins at 11:45 and marches around campus, ending in the Registrar's office at noon, the time that senior theses are due. They are accompanied by their own advisors as well as other well-wishers, who then form a phalanx at the door to the Registrar's Office. Students dress in a variety of original costumes (sometimes including cap and gowns) and are accompanied by an even greater variety of musical instruments. In the most recent parade, the music included an original student composition entitled "The March of the Acid-Free Paper." WILLIAM AND MARY COLLEGE Thew William and Mary Undergraduate Natural Science Research Symposium was established in 1994 and is held annually in the fall semester, typically from 3-5 pm on a Friday. The students are typically majoring in Biology, Chemistry, Geology, Kinesiology, Mathematics, Physics, and Psychology. Some undergraduate presenters conducted research through programs of the Applied Science department and Virginia Institute of Marine Science, which only offer doctoral degrees. Some undergraduates present research conducted someplace other than the College of William and Mary. Approximately 100 William and Mary undergraduates give presentations. One hour is typically devoted to concurrent sessions of twelve-minute talks broken down into pseudo-disciplinary rooms. The second hour is a poster session involving all disciplines. There are also additional multidisciplinary research presentations made over the course of the year. WILLIAMS COLLEGE Williams College runs a poster day for the research students at the end of the summer. Almost all of the summer research students put up posters of their work and then explain it to those coming by. It lasts most of a day and covers all the sciences (including math) plus psychology. Also, senior honors students present their theses in various ways at the end of the academic year. Psychology, math, geology, physics, astronomy and chemistry students give talks, ranging from 15 minutes to almost an hour. The audience is primarily fellow students and faculty from the same department. Biology, which has a lot of majors, does a thesis poster session lasting an afternoon; the posters stay up through graduation. WITTENBERG UNIVERSITY We had traditionally held "natural" sciences (biology, chemistry, physics, geology, mathematics, and computer sciences) only poster sessions twice a year (spring and fall) until 2001 when we opened them up to all disciplines. We now see participation by students from the natural sciences category and the departments of English, Philosophy, History, Political Science, and East Asian studies. The event is typically from 1-4 pm and is open to all material that can be presented in a poster format. The key for success has been to convince colleagues and their students in the humanities that poster formats can be effective means of communicating their research. Once that intellectual hurdle was surpassed our poster sessions became very inclusive of student research from a wide diversity of disciplines.
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Council on Undergraduate Research | 734 15th St. N.W. Suite 550 Washington, DC 20005
T: (202) 783-4810 | F: (202) 783-4811 | E: cur@cur.org |
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