The 6th Undergraduate Research Symposium and the 66th Eastern Colleges Science Conference are holding their annual meetings together Saturday, April 14, 2012, on the campus of William Paterson University, in Wayne, New Jersey. You are invited to participate in or attend either meeting or both. While both conferences focus on the presentation of undergraduate empirical research and have shared components, they also have distinct differences.
Since 1947, the Eastern Colleges Science Conference (www.ecsc1.org) has provided a forum for undergraduates to present their empirical and discovery-based research in the natural sciences and engineering, using the general format of a professional meeting. Over the years, interest has increased in the conference: over 50 colleges and universities have participated. The range of subject matter has also expanded and now includes the computer, behavioral, earth, environmental, health, and social sciences, as well as the original areas of biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics and engineering. Students may give platform (oral) presentations, poster presentations, and/or full-length papers. (A student who submits a full-length paper must also present either a platform talk or a poster.) Students communicate their research in a scientific setting and also learn from colleagues from typically 20 or so institutions. The day begins with continental breakfast and welcoming remarks, followed by morning platform and poster sessions. After lunch, there is a keynote address, followed by afternoon sessions. For those who wish to stay a bit longer, the day ends with a banquet and student awards for outstanding presentations and papers in different disciplines. For more information, please click here.
One of the strategic directions of the College of Science and Health at William Paterson University is to increase the number of undergraduate students doing research with faculty. The Departments of Biology, Chemistry & Environmental Science have developed into an environment for exciting, innovative and diverse undergraduate research experiences for a growing number of students. Opportunities are provided during the academic year and summer months for undergraduates to conduct research with faculty partners in a variety of settings on and off campus. Hands-on research provides motivated students with the opportunity to enrich their educations and develop their early careers. Over the last five years, The Undergraduate Research Symposium at William Paterson University has been a forum for William Paterson University students as well as students from Mid-Atlantic area institutions to present their research while interacting with other student researchers as they celebrate their educational accomplishments. This event provides an excellent platform for presentation of research findings by undergraduate students enrolled in colleges and universities in the Mid-Atlantic area.
The format of this year’s meeting will include morning and afternoon poster sessions. Posters will be judged as 1st and 2nd place in the following seven categories: 1) Biochemistry, 2) Physiology, 3) Cell & Molecular Biology, 4) Genetics, 5) Ecology & Evolution 6) Nanochemistry and 7) General & Material Chemistry. Participant abstracts will be published in Symposium Proceedings. For more information, please contact Dr. Michael Peek, Ph.D., William Paterson University, peekm@wpunj.edu or call him at 973-720-2247. The symposium web site (http://www.wpunj.edu/cosh/departments/biology/urs/) will be updated periodically as detailed information becomes available. Please check periodically.