Some of the UO’s most talented and brightest students will showcase their work at the sixth annual Undergraduate Research Symposium.

The symposium will take place Friday, May 20,  from 3:15 to 7:30 p.m. at the Global Scholars Hall and will feature 236 student presenters spanning 57 majors and seven colleges. The symposium will include oral and poster presentations, art installations, science demonstrations, film screenings and live music, dance, theatrical and spoken word performances.

The event is free and open to the public, and the presentation schedule is available at the symposium website.

The symposium has more than tripled in size since its founding in 2011, when it was created by university faculty and staff to provide students from across disciplines a public space to share their original ideas, discoveries, creations and research in a supportive yet professional academic conference setting.

The opportunity for students to practice clearly communicating their ideas to a broad audience is a key goal of the event, as is highlighting the innovative contributions of young scholars.

“When we nurture and celebrate individual creativity at the baccalaureate level, we nourish the very heart of our university’s research mission and its core principle of public service,” said Vice Provost of Undergraduate Studies Lisa Freinkel. “We affirm the ways in which wisdom develops within community, and we recognize the inextricable link between teaching, with its transmission of knowledge to new generations, and research, with its creation of new knowledge among classmates and peers, teachers and students.”

Research projects presented at the symposium include student work from multiterm projects such as honors theses and capstone projects, as well as single-term projects produced within research seminars and other coursework. The symposium has also committed to increasing the number of presentations from community-based, service learning, study abroad and international projects this year.

An additional focus in 2016 has been expanding outreach to humanities, social sciences and creative arts students and encouraging them to present their work and embrace the experience of academic research, which many tend to associate specifically with the sciences. The effort shows signs of success, with a jump in humanities projects especially, from 12 percent of all projects in 2011, to 20 pre of projects in 2016.

From forest fires to gender influence, the presentations will cover an array of topics. Among them are studies of pain as a figment of the imagination and creation of a sustainable agriculture system by applying organic fertilizer at the industrial level.

Students have benefitted from research funding from more than 30 internal and external sources, including the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program mini-grants, Vice President for Research & Innovation Fellowships, Presidential Undergraduate Research Scholarships and Humanities Undergraduate Research Fellowships. This year, 37 students awarded scholarships through these programs will present at the symposium.

This year’s event also boasts the inauguration of four new judged awards for the top presenters totaling $2,000:

• Biology Poster Award: The Biology Department will offer one $300 award to the student with the best poster, and two $100 awards for posters with honorable mention, in the fields of biology and marine biology.

• Pre-Med Research Poster Award: The Robert D. Clark Honors College will award $500 to recognize a project in the life sciences with unique or innovative medical applications, or which advances the known frontiers of medical research. Dr. Terry Morgan, Associate Professor and Program Director, Cytopathology Fellowship at Oregon Health Sciences University, Department of Pathology will evaluate the eligible posters.

• Oral Presentation Award: The Division of Undergraduate Studies will award $500 to recognize an undergraduate oral presentation in any discipline characterized by excellence in research and clarity of delivery.

• UROP Poster Award: The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, Office of Research and Innovation will award $500 to recognize an undergraduate poster presentation in any discipline characterized by excellence in research and clarity of delivery.

The principal co-sponsors of the Undergraduate Symposium from 2011 through 2016 are the Division of Undergraduate Studies, University Housing, Robert D. Clark Honors College, UO Libraries and Office of Research and Innovation.

The financial and in-kind contributions of the co-sponsors defray the cost of all poster printing for presenters, the preparatory workshops and overall event expenses.

The Undergraduate Symposium also benefits invaluably from the numerous UO faculty, staff and graduate and undergraduate students who volunteer to serve on the planning committee and as abstract reviewers, panel moderators, award judges and event staff.