On November 6, the inaugural Stevens Symposium for Undergraduate Research featured 110 undergraduate students proudly displaying their summer and ongoing research. It was an excellent opportunity to network and learn more about undergraduate research.
Despite the emotions following election day, the symposium had a solid turnout, with 120 to 160 people in attendance. There was a wide variety of research, from microrobots navigating through the arteries of stroke patients to exploring the impact of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber on lightweight 3DPCC. The symposium itself was initiated by SGA leadership and Dr. Eve Riskin, the Dean of Undergraduate Education. The planning was a collaboration between staff from the Office of Undergraduate Academics, the Provost’s Office, and University Events.
Previous fall semesters had research events for only certain cohorts to present within a single poster session. Andrés Mansisidor, Director of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships, states that the symposium’s objective was to allow all undergraduates a chance to showcase their research projects. To that end, it has been expanded to a full-day event for all students to make the research learning experience more accessible. The symposium had both morning and afternoon poster sessions, an AI Research Summer Fellowship Poster session, and several 15-minute student research talks.
Future iterations will focus on making the two sessions more engaging and robust to increase turnout. Moreover, there will be discussions about the ideal timing of the event, like having it closer to the beginning of the semester. Other potential ideas include opening the event to students and faculty from nearby universities or to graduates. While Mansisidor notes the benefits of having interactions between undergrad and graduate researchers, they explain it would require them to figure out the logistics of space, funding, and event attendance. In the meanwhile, emphasis will be placed on promoting departments’ research days in the spring semester. There, both undergraduate and graduate students will have the opportunity to present their research.
Other high-profile research universities that host regional or national undergraduate research conferences could serve as a model for possible expansion. However, that depends on its feasibility and interest from students and faculty. Furthermore, there will be poster design workshops ranging from centering research questions and hypotheses, balancing the ratio of text to graphics, formatting legends on data charts, and designing effective graphics.
Mansisidor states that communicating research methods is critical in the pursuit of science. They want to provide opportunities and tools for students to present their research to everyone within and outside their fields. “We have a lot of great research being done at Stevens,” Mansisidor remarks. “It was inspiring to learn more about it and see undergraduate researchers so enthusiastic about communicating their research.”
