POSTERS AT THE CAPITOL: Undergraduate Research in Northwest Ohio

 Posters at the Capitol is an event for undergraduate student researchers/scholars from Northwest Ohio. Students selected for participation will design and produce professional-quality research/scholarly posters presenting their work and its significance to Northwest Ohio. These posters will be displayed at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm on Thursday, April 2, 2009. Selected students will be in attendance with their posters so that Ohio legislators, legislative staff, state agency personnel, and visitors to the Statehouse  can learn more about the research and discoveries students are making as well as ask questions on a one-on-one basis. 

Thirty-one posters will be displayed this year, and over forty-three undergraduate students authored/co-authored the posters. Topics range from medical and public health issues such as oral health and genetic involvement in cancer and depression, to environmental issues such as solid waste disposal and energy savings, to Ohio historical research into the Johnson’s Island Civil War prison.

This event is modeled after the highly successful Council on Undergraduate Research's "Posters on the Hill" display that is conducted annually in the Capitol of the United States located in Washington, D.C. Other states in the region, most notably Kentucky, hold similar events in their state capitols. The Ohio event is being planned and organized through collaboration among Bowling Green State University, Heidelberg University, Ohio Northern University, the University of Findlay, and The University of Toledo.

According to BGSU President Carol Cartwright, “student research helps immensely in linking classroom learning to the larger concerns of the world.” It also “serves a major function of all institutions of higher learning: that of generating greater knowledge,” which in turn holds strong potential for economic development in Ohio, she added.

      If you have any questions, please contact Chris Bullins, Doctoral Assistant at BGSU, at chrishb@bgsu.edu or (419) 372-5401 or Dr. Thomas Kvale, Director of Undergraduate Research at the University of Toledo, at thomas.kvale@utoledo.edu  or (419) 530-2980.