By Alexandra Valint
Cavalier Daily Associate Editor
Suppose you spend almost a year researching your thesis for your undergraduate research project, a combination of computer science and anthropology, and the final product simply lies in some obscure corner of a library, quietly collecting dust. Well, not this year. Today, the first annual Undergraduate Research Symposium is showcasing student projects to an open University audience.
The symposium is the product of the recently established research network at the University. Third-year College student Dustin Batson is the editor for the new undergraduate research journal, The Oculus, the research network's other major achievement.
Batson described the network as a "group of students and faculty advisors that provide undergraduate research mentors and a sense of research community."
He said that many researchers spend an average of three or four months to a year and a half on a particular research project, and it's a shame that oftentimes this research isn't shared with others at the University.
Batson, who has done a research project in the past, said it is "potentially the most valuable part of the education. It's not devouring education that's in a book already, but being able to create new knowledge."
The symposium is ongoing today in the Dome Room of the Rotunda, starting at 9:30 a.m. with University Provost Gene Block as the keynote speaker. Following his address, the student presentations will be broken up into three sections, starting at 9:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. A different panel of five to six faculty members for each session will evaluate the presentations.
"It's not a contest," Batson said, adding that there are no rankings, but the panel members will fill out a comment sheet for each presenter.
Fourth-year College student Hope Carlson will present her economics research project on reciprocity in wage situations. She first became interested in the idea while in Economics Prof. Charles Holt'sfall course on experimental economics and she decided to pursue the topic for her thesis. She said she found her experience with undergraduate research to be very valuable.
"It's a way to have the opportunity to focus and really build into an area which is not necessarily found in classes," Carlson said.
She said she is also glad for the opportunity to conduct a presentation on her findings, which will consist of a 15 minute PowerPoint presentation on the background research and experimental results of her work.
The symposium "is a great chance for students to connect with University community," Carlson said. "And in a way not only for the experience of presenting in a more formal situation, but for people in the community to get a sense of what students are learning and working on and see the vast variety that exists among student research"
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