UW Undergraduate Research Day Scheduled April 28

More than 500 University of Wyoming students will participate in the 18th annual Wyoming Undergraduate Research Day Saturday, April 28.

Concurrent oral presentations are planned in UW’s Classroom Building from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Poster presentations will take place in the Wyoming Union Family Room from 3:30-5:30 p.m.

UW and Wyoming’s community colleges provide many opportunities for undergraduates to participate in independent research projects across many disciplines. Undergraduate Research Day recognizes and celebrates the accomplishments of undergraduate student researchers.

The first Undergraduate Research Day had approximately 80 participating students and, over the past 17 years, 5,127 students have participated, says Emily Vercoe, education, outreach and diversity coordinator for the Wyoming Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).

For almost 20 years, Undergraduate Research Day has been the “capstone event” for many students who have pursued research at UW and Wyoming’s community colleges, says Rick Matlock, project administrator for Wyoming EPSCoR.

“Undergraduate Research Day’s growth and success are the result of students wishing to pursue problems that expand what they’ve worked on during their undergraduate career,” Matlock says. “Also, of importance, is the faculty members’ willingness to work one-on-one with these students and allow them into their labs. Such research allows students to use their education and work with real issues they will encounter in the world outside of the university.”

Research topics to be presented include agriculture, business, education, engineering, health sciences, biological and physical sciences, mathematical sciences, social sciences, and the arts and humanities.

Bonnie Youmans, a UW alumna, McNair Scholar and current researcher at the University of Minnesota, is the keynote speaker during a banquet later in the evening for student participants and their families.

“For students who pursue research beyond college, dissemination of their work is an integral part of the academic process,” Matlock says. “For Wyoming’s undergraduate researchers, Undergraduate Research Day is the opportunity to present their work to academic peers and the public.”

Research Day is sponsored by the UW offices of Research and Economic Development and Academic Affairs; the UW Division of Student Affairs; the UW colleges of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Arts and Sciences, Engineering and Applied Science, Health Sciences and Honors; Wyoming IDeA Networks for Biomedical Research Excellence; the McNair Scholars Program; Wyoming EPSCoR; Phi Beta Kappa; and the Wyoming NASA Space Grant Consortium.

For more information about 2018 Undergraduate Research Day, visit www.uwyo.edu/epscor/events/undergraduate-research-day/ or email Vercoe at evercoe@uwyo.edu.