The Office of Undergraduate Research Scholars & UHSP Presents

The 2022 Undergraduate Research Symposium

2022 Keynote Address RSVP

The keynote address, Re-imagining Undergraduate Research for a Post-Pandemic World, by Jenny Olin Shanahan, Ph.D. took  place on Monday, April 18, 4p-5p in Student Center Ballrooms D&E.

2022 Mentor Workshop RSVP

The mentoring workshop, “Centering Equity and Inclusion in Undergraduate Research Mentoring”, will be hosted by Jenny Olin Shanahan, PhD. It took place 12pm-1:30pm, Tuesday, April 19th in Green Center, Second Floor Room 200C.

2022 Judge & Volunteer Form

Judging and volunteer applications are closed.

 The 2022 Undergraduate Research Symposium was held in person on Monday, April 18th, 2022 and Tuesday, April 19th, 2022. Oral presentations took place inside the Green Center, Second Floor on Monday, April 18th from 10a-12p MT. Poster presentations took place in the Green Center, Friedhoff Hall on Tuesday, April 19th from 10a-12p MT. The Keynote Address by Dr. Jenny Olin Shanahan occurred on Monday, April 18 4p-5p in the Student Center Ballrooms D&E. 

Please contact ugresearch@mines.edu with any questions or concerns.

More about the Symposium

Timeline

Final Registration Form for Judges & Volunteers: Rolling until filled

Posters Printed and Oral Presentation Slides Shared with Our Office: Friday, April 1st, 2022 through Friday, April 15th, 2022

Oral Presentations: Monday, April 18th, 2022; 10am-12pm in Green Center, 2nd Floor

Keynote Address: Monday, April 18th 4pm-5pm in the Student Center, Ballrooms D&E, by Jenny Olin Shanahan, PhD

Poster Presentations: Tuesday, April 19th, 2022; 10am-12pm in Green Center Friedhoff Hall

Mentoring Workshop: Tuesday, April 19th, 2022; 12pm-1:30pm in the Green Center, 2nd Floor, Room 200C by Jenny Olin Shanahan, PhD

Further information about speakers, the schedule of oral presentations, and symposium workshops were announced 19th.

 

If you are a pre-registered presenter, you must complete the final form before Thursday, March 31st, 2022 11:59pm. This form is where student presenters will submit their final project information and abstract. Once students submit a form, an email containing their abstract will be sent to their faculty mentor and any accompanying undergraduate student researchers they listed in the form. Students must revise their work thoroughly and get approval from their mentor and any accompanying undergraduate student researchers before submitting. The information students submit in the final form will be featured in the printed Undergraduate Research Symposium Booklet of Abstracts and will be published to this website following the Symposium.

Students DO NOT need to submit a copy of their poster or oral presentation slides in the final form, but their poster and slides should also be approved by their mentor before they send the poster to print or before they share the slides with our office. Please select the toggles below to learn more about guidance for poster printing, oral talks, and how to submit a poster to be printed.

Please note, there should be one application per project. If several undergraduate students worked in the same research group on the same project and they plan on presenting at the Undergraduate Research Symposium, the students should collaborate and submit one application and print one poster.

about the symposium

The 2022 Undergraduate Research Symposium will be held in person on Monday, April 18th, 2022 and Tuesday, April 19th, 2022. Oral talks will take place con-currently inside the Green Center on Monday, April 18th from 10a-12p MT. Poster presentations will take place in Friedhoff Hall on Tuesday, April 19th from 10a-12p MT. Refreshments will be provided. All faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to join us in celebrating our hardworking undergraduate researchers and their dedicated mentors!

After two long years, undergraduate student researchers at Mines are once again invited to display their work in person. This unique opportunity give emerging researchers the chance to mingle with peers, share their hard work with a larger audience, and build their portfolio. Undergraduate students from all disciplines are invited to participate as presenters. Everyone is invited to explore the breadth of interdisciplinary research conducted by researchers at Mines.

Cash prizes will be awarded to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. The 2022 award winners will be announced following the poster session on Tuesday, April 19th.

For further information, please contact the office of Undergraduate Research Scholars at ugresearch@mines.edu

information for Judges and volunteers

Who’s eligible to be a judge or volunteer?

We encourage judges and volunteers from all departments to partake in this event. All interested faculty, staff, and graduate students are encouraged to judge and/or volunteer. Undergraduate student presenters are encouraged to present their research in a way that communicates their project effectively regardless of their audience’s background.

What is the time commitment of a judge or volunteer?

It depends. Generally, judging will take an hour to an hour and a half total (or about 15-20 minutes per project). Student presentations are fairly short, but judges may have additional questions before ranking the poster or oral talk. As for volunteers, the time commitment depends on how much time you are able to spare. Our office will need the most help during set-up (9am-10am) and clean-up (12pm-1pm) Monday and Tuesday.

How will student projects be evaluated?

Student projects will be evaluated differently depending on the format with which they chose to visually represent their work. Rubrics might ask judges to evaluate qualities such as visual organization, delivery, introduction, methods, conclusions, discussion, and interaction.

What do student participants receive if they win?

Awarded student participants will receive cash prizes range from $150 to $750. Cash prizes will be awarded to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. The 2022 award winners will be announced following the poster session on Tuesday, April 19th, 2022.

What is the judging and volunteer timeline?

Judging will take place during the oral presentations on Monday, April 18th 10a-12p and the poster presentations on Tuesday, April 19th 10a-12p. Judges do not need to attend both events if they are not able. During judging, we ask all participating judges to ask questions. Students ability to summarize and explain their research will be factored into judging. The office of Undergraduate Research Scholars and volunteers will tally judging votes and our announce the award winners following the poser presentations on Tuesday, April 19th. Judges are not required to attend this event but it is encouraged.

For further information, please contact the office of Undergraduate Research Scholars at ugresearch@mines.edu

Apply here  to be a judge or volunteer!

guidelines, tips, & resources

How to print a poster at Mines

The Office of Undergraduate Research Scholars will cover the cost of the first poster printed by student researchers presenting at the Undergraduate Research Symposium. Though you can order your poster to be printed anytime via the HelpDesk ticket system, there is a rigid timeline in which your poster must be printed. All posters must be printed between April 1st and April 15th. Please follow the instructions below carefully:

  • After you are finished making your poster, save it with a PDF file extension formatted for printing. Poster files should not be larger than 20mb. Prior to submitting a HelpDesk ticket, make sure your poster looks good. We recommend doing a scaled down test print on an 8.5″x11″ sheet of paper to make sure your poster looks presentable, legible, and the color is accurate.
  • Once you have completed the final registration form, submit your poster for printing to ITS using the following instructions:
    1. Follow the link to the HelpDesk ticket for poster printing: ITS Poster Printing Ticket
    2. Click the orange button, “Request Poster Print”. Fill out, “Name of Project/Poster” with your poster title, “Requestor” with your name, and “Acct/Dept” with “Student”.
    3. Under “Select Payment Option”, select “Sponsored Group”. Under “Specify the group paying for the poster”, select “Undergraduate Research Symposium”. If you follow these steps, there is no cost to print your first poster. If your poster needs to be reprinted because of a formatting error, you will be responsible to cover the charges for printing it the second time.
    4. Lastly, under “Date and Time to Pick Up Requested Poster”, please give yourself enough time before the Symposium to pick it up and review it. Under “Poster Paper Widths Available” select the size of your PDF document. Posters cannot be any larger than 48 inches in width (left to right) and 36 inches in height (top to bottom).
  • Once you have printed your poster, we encourage you to drop it off at our office (1704 Illinois St. Rm 105) for safe keeping until the Symposium.
Tips when creating a poster presentation

Save your poster with a .pdf file extension. When you create your poster, also consider how you might verbally present your research. How you talk about your research to passersby should compliment your poster. Please view both the “Creating your Poster” and the “Talking About your Research” section of this toggle for general guidance. If you would like to view examples of posters, we encourage you visit our 2021 Virtual Undergraduate Research Symposium Project Gallery or search for additional examples online.

 

Creating your Poster

  • Creating Your Content: When you distill your research into a poster ready format, first and foremost, please speak to your mentor. For additional help, you should consider scheduling an appointment at the Writing Center through their online scheduler. Generally, effective posters include:
    • Title that effectively communicates subject matter
    • Purpose/objectives clearly stated
    • Applicability or relevance of work identified
    • Concise explanation of methods/analysis used
    • Methods used clearly conveyed
    • Conclusions supported by data
    • Funding sources acknowledged
  • Choosing a Program (to Create Your Poster): There are many programs you can use to create a poster ranging in costs and discoverability. Regardless, make sure the program you’re using allows you to create a custom document size (not to exceed 48 inches wide by 36 inches tall). Many researchers use Microsoft PowerPoint or Publisher because these are inexpensive and easy to use. You can also use more advance programs like Adobe Illustrator or InDesign; but, these can have a steep learning curve and tend to be very expensive. Some free, open source options include LibreOffice, Gimp, or Inkscape.
  • Height & Width: Posters printed at Mines should not exceed 48 inches in width (left to right) and 36 inches in height (top to bottom) at 72 – 300 DPI. Posters should be legible form a few feet away.
  • Color: It is recommended you choose a lighter color for the poster background, preferably white. There are no other color restrictions for the text and images.
  • Font: Make sure the poster title and the author names are clearly identified. Choose a font size such that text on your poster is legible when looked at from a distance. Here is a recommendation for font sizes:
    • 85 pt for the title
    • 56 pt for the authors
    • 36 pt for the subtitles
    • 24 pt for the main text
    • 18 pt for image captions
  • General Principles of Design: Avoid using excessive text as it makes it difficult to follow the poster. Use appropriate graphics wherever possible as they can convey information effectively and make the poster look appealing.

 

Talking About Your Research

  • Length: The length of time you spend talking about your research will vary, but it’s advisable to prepare an elevator pitch to briefly summarize your research. Generally, this is a 1-2 minute summary discussing the most important and interesting parts of your project in a way that anyone can understand.
  • Content: How you talk about your research should be planned and practiced. Keep it concise and make sure to touch on the tacit points of your research. Be mindful of your audience and pacing. The best poster presentations invite questions while still breaking down your research for an audience that might know very little about your project. Try answering the question, “What is your research about?” and “Why is it interesting?” in a way that makes sense to researchers and non-researchers alike.
Tips when creating an oral presentation

Oral presentations tend to be a more in depth talks about an individual’s research. All oral presentations in the 2022 Undergraduate Research Symposium require a 10-12 minute live slide presentation. Please view the “Creating your Slides” section of this toggle for guidance. If you would like to view virtual oral presentations, we encourage you visit our 2021 Virtual Undergraduate Research Symposium Project Gallery or search for additional examples online.

 

Creating your Slides

Overall, presentation slides can contain the same (or similar) information as a poster:

  • Creating Your Content: First and foremost, please speak to your mentor regarding content. For additional help, you should consider scheduling an appointment at the Writing Center through their online scheduler.You can also view some tips provided by the University of Pittsburgh here, or some tips from the CLIMB Program, here. Some general guidelines when preparing your presentation is to make sure:
    • The title effectively communicates subject matter.
    • Purpose/objectives are clearly stated.
    • Applicability or relevance of work is identified.
    • Concise explanation of methods/analysis are used.
    • Methods used are clearly conveyed.
    • Conclusions are supported by data.
    • Funding sources are acknowledged.
  • Choosing a Program (to Create Your Presentation): Some common programs include Google Slides or PowerPoint. It doesn’t matter what you choose. PowerPoint tends to be a little more versatile in options. For an introduction to Google Slides, please follow this link. For more information about Microsoft PowerPoint, please follow this link.
  • Length of Presentation: Rather than giving a limit on file size or slide number, we recommend that presentation be about 10-12 minutes when you go through the slides aloud. Try not to overwhelm the audience with too many slides; but, make sure you’re engaging them with visual aids.
  • General Principles of Design: Similar to creating a poster, be mindful that an audience may lose interest in long presentations that are text heavy. Use appropriate graphics wherever possible as they can convey information effectively and make the presentation look appealing. Be mindful of color, font size, and image resolution. Sometimes, it can be helpful to find a presentation you like and try to emulate that style.