May 6, 2010
Celebrating undergraduate scholarship and creative work
Senior Daniel Kore, a political science and informatics double-major, is researching how microprocessors can be incorporated into running shoes and collect data to inform injury prevention due to running. Kore will present his research at the Undergraduate Research Symposium on May 21.
Hundreds of projects showcased at thirteenth Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium
Nearly 750 of the 91探花鈥檚 most talented and accomplished undergraduates will showcase their contributions to innovative and groundbreaking research at the . The symposium is May 21, 2010, in Mary Gates Hall Commons from noon to 5:00 p.m. and is organized by UW鈥檚 Undergraduate Research Program, which facilitates research experiences for students in all academic disciplines.
The Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium enables undergraduates to present what they have learned through their research to a larger audience. It also provides a forum for students, faculty, and the community to discuss cutting edge research topics and examine how undergraduate research can even help solve real-life issues. The attendees can search topics of interest to them and create their own guide to the Symposium.
With topics ranging from alternative energy to materials science to the performing arts, undergraduate research at 91探花has truly taken 21st century education out of the classroom and into the field. Working with faculty mentors and benefitting from the University鈥檚 resources as a research powerhouse, undergraduates fully engage with a meaningful issue or problem within their discipline.
Daniel Kore, a senior in political science and informatics, will present his research in designing a 鈥渟mart鈥� running shoe that reduces the likelihood of injury through microprocessors and data analysis. In high school, Kore was an accomplished runner whose career was cut short due to injury. His research includes interviewing runners, coaches, and running shoe companies to learn the most prevalent types of injury and what is currently being done to address them. He has pulled together that information and designed a high-fidelity proto-type of a running shoe. Kore will present his research in the second poster session.
鈥淢y majors in informatics and political science have allowed me to innovate, research, and excite my curiosity about technology and how it can be implemented to solve current problems,鈥� Kore wrote in an email.
Sherry Lee, a senior in biology who is also a Mary Gates Research Scholar and Levinson Scholar is researching Merkel cell carcinoma, a rare but aggressive skin cancer associated with immune suppression. Lee will present 鈥淢erkel cell carcinoma genome-wide studies identify Merkel cell polymavirus-dependent and 鈥搃ndependent paths to Rb inactivation and a novel virus-encoded microRNA鈥� in the oral session 鈥淢odels for Human Disease.鈥�
鈥淯ndergraduate research has complemented my lecture-based education at the UW,鈥� wrote Lee in an email. 鈥淓ncountering and overcoming obstacles have taught me key steps of the scientific process that textbooks did not provide.鈥�
In addition to Kore and Lee, students from all three 91探花campuses as well as students from other Washington four-year and community colleges will share their work through poster and oral presentations, encouraging interdisciplinary discourse and allowing students to learn from each other about a broad range of innovative research arenas. To accommodate the number of students interested in presenting their research, the Symposium will have two distinct oral and poster sessions.
Of particular note this year is a collaboration between undergraduate engineering students in a Freshman Interest Group at the 91探花 and undergraduate engineering students at Tohoku University in Japan. The Japanese students will visit the 91探花and, with their 91探花student collaborators, present their research projects in materials science, water purification, semiconductors and other topics in a joint oral presentation session. Professor Raj Bordia has mentored students participating in this unique collaboration.
A performance session, 鈥淣ew Perspectives in Performance Studies,鈥� will be held in Meany Studio from 1-2:30 p.m.
Create your own proceedings
Beginning May 14, Symposium attendees can search the online proceedings, locate the oral and presentation sessions that interest them, and create their own, personalized proceedings to navigate the Symposium.
Event Details
WHAT: Thirteenth Annual Research Symposium at the 91探花
WHO: Nearly 750 of the sharpest young minds at 91探花presenting ground-breaking undergraduate research
WHEN: Friday, May 21, 2010, 12:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
WHERE: Mary Gates Hall Commons with performance presentations in Meany Studio, 91探花Seattle
SPONSOR: Undergraduate Research Program, a unit within Undergraduate Academic Affairs
Examples of oral presentations
Following are a few examples of the 39 concurrent oral presentation sessions. These show the breadth of topics to be discussed at the Undergraduate Research Symposium. Though one student is noted in the sessions below, 5-9 students present their research in each session, some presentations are group presentations, and each session is moderated by a faculty member.
Collaboration between 91探花and Tohoku University Undergraduate Engineers
Chen Shi, sophomore, bioengineering
Oral presentation topic: Clean Water: Study of Nutrient and Pharmaceutical Absorption by Scenedesmus obliquus
Mentor: Professor Raj Bordia, materials science and engineering
Session Moderator: Professor Raj Bordia, materials science and engineering
Chemistry and Materials for Alternative Energy Applications
Noah Horwitz, senior, chemistry
Oral presentation topic: Built-in Field Characterization of Self-Assembled Monolayers in Organic Photovoltaics
Mentor: Associate Professor David Ginger, chemistry
Session Moderator: Jennifer Chen, post-doc, chemistry
Social and Cultural Geographies of the Seattle Region
Shaylee Suitts, senior, anthropology
Oral presentation topic: 鈥楤uying In鈥� to Middle Class: A Study of Contemporary Material Standards of Living in Seattle
Mentor: Jason De Leon, full-time lecturer, anthropology
Session Moderator: Associate Professor Sarah Elwood, geography
Global Issues for the 21st Century
Charmila Ajmera, senior, international studies, and fellow members of task force researching this topic. Thirteen students comprised the task force.
Oral presentation topic: Next Steps for the US in Afghanistan
Mentor: Anand Yang, director, Jackson School of International Studies
Session Moderator: Associate Professor John Wilkerson, political science
New Perspectives in Performance Studies
Alethea Alexander, junior, dance and environmental studies
Performance presentation topic: Reliving Modern Dance History in the Seattle and Global Communities
Mentor: Professor Hannah Wiley, dance
Session Moderator: Associate Professor Betsy Cooper, dance
About the Undergraduate Research Program
The Undergraduate Research Program facilitates research experiences for undergraduates with 91探花faculty members across departments and disciplines. Since 1997, it has produced the Undergraduate Research Symposium, during which hundreds of undergraduates present their research to the campus and community. It is among the largest symposia for undergraduates in the nation. The Undergraduate Research Program is housed within Undergraduate Academic Affairs鈥� Center for Experiential Learning.