Author: Eric Kleinsasser
The National Conference for Undergraduate Research, featuring 2,000 students from colleges all over the nation, invited 34 students from Oxy to attend this year’s event at University of Wisconsin – La Crosse from Apr. 16 to 18. Providing a showcase for undergraduate research projects, the annual conference took place for the 23rd consecutive time, and included an unprecedented number of projects from Oxy.
“The 34 students this year continues a multi-year pattern of substantial participation in both national and regional conferences,” Chemistry Professor Chris Craney, former director for Oxy’s Undergraduate Research Center (URC), said. “Indeed, Oxy has the highest ten-year average participation in the regional conference of any school regardless of size.”Occidental continued to make an impression at this year’s conference, sending more students than USC, Caltech, Harvard, and the UCLA.
Students attending this year bring projects, exhibits, performances and discussions from a variety of disciplines. In preparation for their research, students work closely with faculty members who act as mentors over the course of the year. “The close mentor-protégé relationship present in undergraduate research collaboration not only has a powerful effect on student development, but it also fosters an environment that creates and disseminates new knowledge and creative works,” Craney said. He emphasized that this collaboration is important in generating innovative ideas from students. “That is the magic of this activity,” Craney said. “Get bright minds working together on a question of mutual passion over an extended period of time and wonderful things emerge.”
Several ECLS majors presented their senior comps. Inspired by her experience abroad, Allison Beresford (senior) presented her research on Hungarian translations of Midsummer’s Night Dream. Students had the opportunity to witness other presentations. “When we were sitting in on other presentations, Oxy students also asked a lot of really thoughtful, provocative questions,” Beresford said.”It was a really great experience to see just how talented and diverse Oxy students are and how much they have to offer to the world.”
The trip came to an exciting conclusion as the bus broke down on the way back to the airport. A replacement bus came in 45 minutes and the group made it back in time to board the plane back. “I think even though the bus breaking down might seem like a hassle it gave us all an opportunity to make even more memories and at the end wasnt bad at all. You could also say it changed our simple trip to the airport into a race against time,” Chris Jackson (senior) said.
“Overall, undergraduate research has become part of the culture across the campus and the 34 students reflect just one outcome of this decade-long effort,” Craney said.
“I think the NCUR is a great opportunity for undergraduates to show some of their research to other undergraduates and to get experience presenting at conferences,” one of last year’s participants Emma Crow-Willard (junior) said. “There were [. . .] some professors and other students [from last year] who showed interest in my research and its great being able to discuss it with someone who knows something about it already.”
This article has been archived, for more requests please contact us via the support system.
