Symposium celebrates accomplishments of undergraduate researchers

University undergraduates will showcase their research projects and creative works April 18 at the first BGSU Spring Symposium on Undergraduate Research. Hosted by the Office of Undergraduate Research, the theme of the event is “a celebration of the scholarly accomplishments of BGSU undergraduate students.”

The University community is invited to tour the presentations in the Lenhart Grand Ballroom of the Bowen-Thompson Student Union. The event will run from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. About 35 undergraduates will be on hand from 1-3 p.m. to discuss their work. The Office of Undergraduate Research and the BGSU chapter of Sigma Xi are sponsoring book scholarship awards for the best abstract/poster presentations.

According to Dr. John Farver, undergraduate research office director, the purpose of the symposium is to:
• Heighten awareness of undergraduate research, scholarship and creative activities that exist in various disciplines at BGSU;
• Provide a venue to communicate and celebrate the results of undergraduate student-faculty mentor collaborations, and
• Promote the multidisciplinary, multicultural community of researchers, scholars and artists brought together by their common passion for learning and discovery.

As stated in the Academic Plan, BGSU views inquiry and student engagement in research and other creative endeavors as critical components of an undergraduate education. To support and encourage undergraduate research, in 2004 the University created the undergraduate research office, headed by Farver, geology.

In addition to guidance in finding faculty mentors and courses that offer opportunities for research, the office offers a number of scholarships to help support undergraduate research and to subsidize the researchers’ trips to present their work at conferences and meetings. More than 20 students have received awards for travel to conferences, and six research scholarships were awarded this spring, Farver said.

A vital component of research is communicating the results to others, and BGSU undergraduates are doing so at the state and national levels. Ten BGSU undergraduates had poster presentations at the 114th annual meeting of the Ohio Academy of Science held April 2 on campus. Seven of the 10 were first authors; the others were co-authors, Farver said.

In addition, 10 BGSU undergraduates will be presenting at the 19th National Conference of Undergraduate Research April 20-23 in Lexington, Ky., hosted by the Virginia Military Institute and Washington and Lee University, he added.