The Undergraduate Research Network hosted their 16th annual Research Symposium on Tuesday. Undergraduate researchers showcased their work in the Dome Room of the Rotunda throughout the day to engage with faculty members and students interested in learning and getting involved with research.
Harrison Grant Award winners and DoubleHoo Grant Award winners were required to participate, and other undergraduate researchers were able to apply to present at the symposium.
The symposium included research from the natural sciences, humanities and social sciences. Students presented on a broad range of topics from potato farmers in the Andes to the declining bumblebee population in Virginia.
Diogo Fortes, a second-year College student and co-chair of the symposium committee, which organized the event and operates under the URN, said he believes undergraduate research serves as preparation for graduate school-level research.
“If you are interested in research and graduate school, this is a great opportunity to experience what a conference might look like,” Fortes said. “It’s a great opportunity to practice research skills.”
Third-year College student Urmila Bharathan said she believes her research experience will help prepare her for medical school and beyond.
“I am planning on going to med school, so this is definitely taught me how to approach a problem and look at it at different angles,” she said. “That’s important in being a doctor as well.”
According to Fortes, the interaction between undergraduates and faculty through research is one of the highlights of URN and the symposium.
“It’s also really important to interact with faculty and make connections,” Fortes said.
Maria Winchell, a third-year College student, presented on “Civil Rights Protections for People with Mental Illness.” She started as a research assistant for Politics Prof. Lynn Sanders, who Winchell worked with on developing the project.
“There has been a fair amount of research done on the stigma associated with those with mental illness, and especially stigma that occurs after the coverage of mass shootings,” Winchell said. “We wanted to take that a step further and emphasize the negative effects of these very biased and very limited news coverings of mass shootings.”
The URN Research Symposium also encouraged more undergraduates to become involved in research. Students were able to interact with presenters and ask questions about their research throughout the day.
“Students from the community who pass by and see some of the cool project ideas that their peers are working on will hopefully be encouraged to interact with both URN and the undergraduate research more broadly,” Fortes said.
Jenny Liu, a fourth-year College student and Harrison Grant Award winner who is also the former chair of the symposium committee, helped organize the event last year and presented her own research at this year’s symposium.
“You can get together and see the impact and results that people have done through research,” Liu said. “That really motivates students, in my opinion, to start their own research.”
Distinguished faculty members and professors served as judges to listen to the 15-minute presentations prepared by all the researchers. Judges will select the winner after the symposium, and winners will be awarded monetary prizes and have their research published in The Oculus, a University research journal.
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