Unveiling Undergraduate Research Day: Fostering Innovation and Scholarly Growth

Undergraduate Research Day is an event dedicated to celebrating and promoting the research endeavors of undergraduate students. It serves as a platform for students to showcase their original intellectual or creative contributions to their respective disciplines. This article explores the concept of Undergraduate Research Day, its significance, and key elements that contribute to its success.

Defining Undergraduate Research

Undergraduate research can be defined as “an inquiry or investigation conducted by an undergraduate student that makes an original intellectual or creative contribution to the discipline”-Council on Undergraduate Research. It is a multifaceted activity that goes beyond traditional classroom learning, encouraging students to engage in hands-on exploration, critical thinking, and problem-solving.

The Significance of Undergraduate Research Day

Undergraduate Research Day plays a vital role in fostering academic and professional success. Early engagement in research increases both retention and graduation rates. By providing a platform for students to present their work, it enhances their communication, presentation, and networking skills.

Enhancing Academic and Professional Success

The mission of the FVSU Undergraduate Research Program (URP) is to enhance student’s academic and professional success through increased participation in research. Undergraduate Research Day provides students with an opportunity to present their research findings, receive feedback from experts, and engage in intellectual discussions.

Promoting Retention and Graduation Rates

Early engagement in research has been shown to increase both retention and graduation rates. By involving students in meaningful research experiences, institutions can foster a sense of belonging, purpose, and intellectual curiosity, which can lead to greater academic success and persistence.

Developing Essential Skills

Presenting research at Undergraduate Research Day helps students develop essential skills such as communication, presentation, and networking. They learn how to effectively convey their research findings to a diverse audience, answer questions, and engage in scholarly discussions.

Key Elements of a Successful Undergraduate Research Day

A successful Undergraduate Research Day involves careful planning, organization, and execution. Some key elements include:

Poster Presentations

One of the most common ways for students to present their research is through poster presentations. Posters should be visually appealing, informative, and easy to understand. Poster information frequently includes the following sections:

Introduction or Background: Provide the rationale for your study. Give people an idea of the important research in the area, and the theory and empirical work that lead to your hypothesis. Sufficient background information, definitions and relevant formulas should be used to help the reader understand the nature of the investigation.
Methods: Describe the subjects, procedure, design, materials and measures of your study. Figures and flow charts can be used to illustrate experimental design, if applicable.
Results: This section presents what you found in your study. This section includes your statistical analysis and tables and/or figures showing your data. Figures and tables should include legends.
Conclusions: What important points should we take away from your study? What are the implications for future research?
References & Acknowledgements: These sections typically appear at the end of the poster.

To ensure consistency and visual appeal, it is recommended to provide students with a poster template. For example, please create a poster of your research using the URD Powerpoint template which has the dimensions 24" x 36". If you do not use the template, your poster may be printed smaller than you wish (i.e., your poster will not be printed larger than 24" x 36" regardless of the size you send).

Oral Presentations

In addition to poster presentations, some Undergraduate Research Days may also include oral presentations. Oral presentations provide students with an opportunity to present their research in a more formal setting, using presentation software and engaging with the audience.

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Keynote Speakers

Inviting a keynote speaker can add prestige and excitement to Undergraduate Research Day. Keynote speakers can share their research experiences, provide insights into their respective fields, and inspire students to pursue their own research interests.

Networking Opportunities

Undergraduate Research Day should provide ample opportunities for students to network with faculty, staff, and other students. This can be facilitated through poster sessions, coffee breaks, and informal gatherings.

Examples of Undergraduate Research Projects

Undergraduate Research Day showcases a wide range of research projects across various disciplines. Here are a few examples:

Market Movements: Biopharmaceutical Industry Reaction to the Inflation Reduction Act; Trends in R&D Spending, Equity Investments, Mergers and Acquisitions, and Licensing

Henry Dao, from the Center for Integration of Science and Industry, analyzed the biopharmaceutical industry’s response to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) by examining R&D spending, equity investment, M&A, and licensing in the six quarters following passage of the IRA compared to the previous six quarters. The research showed that R&D spending by large manufacturers, biotechnology equity offerings, and M&A of firms with products in development were all higher in the six quarters following the passage of the IRA than the previous six quarters, with a particularly significant increase in acquisitions of firms with product candidates in Phase 2 clinical trials.

Healthcare Efficiency: A Longitudinal Analysis of Spending and Outcomes in OECD Countries

Alejandro Losada, from the Honors Program, presented a study that provides a comprehensive and up-to-date analysis on how variation in healthcare spending-including private and public allocation-maps into variation in health outcomes across nations and over time. Analyses are based on longitudinal data of all 38 OECD countries through an extended time period of 1960 to 2023. The results from these models are used to inform drivers of efficient vs. inefficient health care systems and derive a ranking of high-income countries in terms of this efficiency metric.

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The Gig Economy and Income Inequality

Utsah Hemendra Thakur, from the Honors Program, explored the spatio-temporal relationship between the participation of workers in the gig economy and income inequality. Analyses are based on panel data methods, which account for various coinciding changes in national and state economic conditions over this time period in order to disentangle the plausibly causal role of the gig economy.

Pricing Of American Stock Options

Emerson Mallis, a Student Research Assistant, presented a new model for pricing tail volatility and the underlying derivatives through multiple regimes switching simulation and examination of payouts throughout the simulation. The analysis provides insight into how financial markets efficiently price financial derivatives with varying ranges of possible payouts and how extreme tail events are probabilistically incorporated into the pricing of complex financial derivatives.

Creative Expression: Rome Beyond the Postcard

Sabrina Cardaropoli, from the Honors Program, presented a photography project that depicts the effects of tourism in the city of Rome, Italy through the use of photography. All of the images display a common theme of the city being rundown past all the tourist glamor. The photographs range from places all over the city, showing the issues that tourists cause, both directly and indirectly.

Death by a Thousand Phrases

Emily Racz, from the Honors Program, presented a Capstone Creative Project that fosters interest and collaboration in phrases, idioms, and expressions that are an important part of how humans speak to one another to get points across, make comparisons, or connect at different levels.

The Fallacy of “Crimmigation”

Jaden Hecht, from the Honors Program, created a painting to symbolize how prominent US politicians convince the American public that immigrants are one of the main causes of crime in the US. This artwork intends to help people understand that there are two sides to the story, and that the rhetoric these politicians are conveying to the American public creates discrimination, stereotypes, and hatred, not just towards undocumented immigrants, but also general migrant populations.

Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR)

The Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) is a national organization dedicated to supporting and promoting undergraduate research. CUR Membership is designed to guide and assist faculty, mentors, administrators, researchers, staff, and students in their efforts to develop, enhance, sustain, and support undergraduate research on their campuses and beyond.

CUR Recognition

CUR recognizes institutions that have exemplary programs providing high-quality research experiences to undergraduates, as well as faculty facilitating undergraduate research at their institutions through their mentorship and leadership, and undergraduate research students excelling in their disciplines.

CUR Publications

CUR leaders have been conversing with funding agencies, industry partners, human resource experts, future employers, professional societies, and beyond to understand the impact of URSCI on career readiness. Take a look at our latest position statement on Recognizing URSCI as a Career-Readiness Tool.

CUR Advocacy

Your voice matters! With the help of CUR’s new advocacy tool, CUR Members can now send personalized, automated messages to their Senators and Representatives in just a few clicks.

CUR Events

CUR hosts a variety of events throughout the year, including the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR).

National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR)

The National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) is dedicated to promoting undergraduate research, scholarship and creative activity in all fields of study by sponsoring an annual conference for students. Unlike meetings of academic professional organizations, this gathering of student scholars welcomes presenters from all institutions of higher learning and from all disciplines.

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