At first glance, it might be hard to see what football and undergraduate research have in common. Yet a grant issued by the Atlantic Coast Conference presidents used money from the ACC championship football game in December to sponsor the ACC's second Undergraduate Research Conference, which was held at the University over the weekend.
The conference is part of the ACC's Inter-Institutional Academic Collaborative and has been organized this year by the University's Office of the Vice President and Provost and the Center for Undergraduate Excellence.
"It's an opportunity for students from all 12 ACC universities to present their academic research papers to faculty advisers and other presenters at a professional conference," IAC administrator David Brown said.
According to Vice Provost J. Milton Adams, the University asked each school to invite four students to come and present their undergraduate research. He added that the conference "is not a competition."
"It shows that there are other things in common among the ACC schools other than athletic competition," Adams said.
Students presented research from a variety of topics, including the humanities and the sciences, Adams said.
He added that the presentations were not divided by topic, allowing students to discuss their work with researchers from a broad range of academic backgrounds.
According to Brown, many graduate schools sent representatives to the conference with the anticipation of recruiting some of the students to their programs.
The Center for Undergraduate Excellence selected fourth-year College Students Kate Cristol, Sarah Kimble, Craig Iffland and fourth-year Architecture student Christina Calabrese to participate in the conference.
Calabrese's research focuses on "what architectural elements can help low-income populations either be integrated into society or further their exclusion," Calabrese said. "I'm looking at the capacity for architecture to inspire social change."
Adams noted that the conference was created in order for students like Calabrese to share their research with their peer scholars.
The conference is meant to "celebrate undergraduate research and give them the opportunity to share with students from other universities," he said.
-- Stephanie Kassab contributed to this article
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