More than 100 undergraduate students from across the country and around the world have spent their summer working on original research with faculty mentors at West Virginia University. All that work culminates in a Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium, where students present their research findings in poster format.

The symposium takes place Thursday, July 23 at the Erickson Alumni Center from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. President Gee will deliver a keynote address and lunch refreshments will be served. Starting at 12:30 p.m., attendees can view posters and talk with the student researchers. An awards ceremony will take place at 2:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

“The symposium gives undergraduates a chance to improve their competence in communication, collaboration and technical presentation skills as they explain the results of their research to attendees from academia, industry, governmental labs and the general public,” says Dr. Michelle Richards-Babb, director of undergraduate research.

The student researchers are from a variety of programs: NanoSAFE Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU); STEM Summer Undergraduate Research Experiences (SURE); WVU Honors-administered SURE; the Center for Neuroscience Summer Undergraduate Research Internships (SURI); the Brazil Scientific Mobility Program and the Graph Theory and Combinatorics Math REU. These programs provide unique opportunities for talented students to hone their research skills while working alongside some of WVU’s top faculty.

In its seventh year, the symposium gives these budding researchers a venue where they can present their work. The five research categories for judging are Agricultural and Environmental Science; Biological and Health Sciences; Nanoscience; Physical Sciences and Engineering; and Social Science (and non-STEM). The event is a great way to learn about up-and-coming research.

“Faculty who attend the symposium will have the opportunity to network with other attendees and potentially recruit students into WVU-based graduate school programs,” adds Richards-Babb. “Attendees from the general public can find out about the myriad of research opportunities that WVU offers undergraduate students.”

For more information about the symposium or about undergraduate research at WVU, visit the Office of Undergraduate Research.

Funding for the summer programs come from the following sources:

Nano REU
National Science Foundation (NSF) Divisions of Materials Research and Chemistry (DMR-1262075) with recreational activities funded by WVU Research Corporation and the WVU Eberly College of Arts and Sciences.

STEM SURE
Sponsored and funded by the WVU Office of the Provost with partial funding from the WVU Eberly College of Arts and Sciences; the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources; and the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design.

WVU Honors administered SURE
Sponsored in part by the West Virginia Research Challenge Fund through a grant from the Division of Science and Research; the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission; West Virginia University; Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer Sciences; Eberly College of Arts and Sciences; the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources; the School of Medicine and the Honors College.

WVU Center for Neuroscience SURI
Funded by the Center for Neuroscience and the NIH/NIGMS CoBRE Grant 8P30GM103503.

LSAMP KY-WV Mid-Level Alliance
Stipends and tuition for seven SURE participants were funded through the NSF Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation KY-WV Mid-Level Alliance Phase II (LSAMP-1305039).

NanoSAFE
Stipends and tuition for 17 SURE participants were funded by an NSF EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Cooperative Agreement #1003907 administered by NanoSAFE at WVU.

The Brazil Scientific Mobility Program
The initiative is administered by IIE (Brazilian government) and is centered on providing scholarships to the best students from Brazil for study abroad at the world’s top universities. The program provides an exchange experience at a U.S. college or university to a diverse group of emerging Brazilian student leaders, widening the academic and research exchange between the U.S. and Brazil. This initiative is the result of joint efforts from two sponsoring Brazilian organizations, CAPES and CNPq.

Math REU
Supported by the National Security Agency in 2015.

Research Symposium Monetary Prizes
Sponsored by NanoSAFE via an NSF EPSCoR RII Cooperative Agreement.

-WVU-

aw/07/22/15

CONTACT: Dr. Michelle Richards-Babb, Office of Undergraduate Research
304-293-0912; michelle.richards-babb@mail.wvu.edu.

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