VCU’s first 'Poster Symposium For Undergraduate Research & Creativity' allows students to show off their research efforts

By Mike Porter

Visitors to Virginia Commonwealth University’s first campus-wide “Poster Symposium For Undergraduate Research & Creativity” will examine financial turmoil in the world economy, explore the connection between personality attachment styles and social network sites such as Facebook and view a piece of visual art that can also be played as a musical instrument.

The poster symposium features research from 68 undergraduate students from both campuses. It takes place on Wednesday, April 22, from noon until 2 p.m. in the University Student Commons Commonwealth Ballrooms A and B.

“This is an opportunity for undergraduate students on both the Monroe Park and MCV campuses to present what they’ve learned in class or through research projects,” said Jacqueline Smith-Mason, Ph.D., assistant dean and director of undergraduate research at the VCU Honors College. 

Smith-Mason is a member of the Advisory Committee for Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship created last year under the direction of Provost Stephen D. Gottfredson, Ph.D., and Francis L. Macrina, Ph.D., vice president for research. The symposium is one of the first initiatives put forth by the advisory committee.

Participants were selected from a pool of students who submitted abstracts by the April 6 deadline. The abstracts explained their research, documented its progress and provided context for their creative work.

“The poster symposium not only highlights the students’ research but also the faculty mentors, and encourages the students who visit to think about doing their own research projects,” Smith-Mason said. “Visitors to the poster symposium will truly see a link between research and education.”

Research comes from students majoring in psychology, biology, bioinformatics, chemistry, exercise science, forensic science, biomedical engineering, social work, political science, criminal justice, business and art. Of the 68 abstracts, 14 will be presented by freshmen, nine by sophomores, 15 by juniors and 30 by seniors.

“We wanted to include all kinds of efforts that represent research and creative scholarship,” Smith-Mason said.

VCU is an institutional member of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR), which represents more than 900 colleges and universities. The council was founded in 1978 and is dedicated to promoting high-quality, undergraduate, student-faculty collaborative research and scholarship.

“We are committed to making undergraduate research a priority at VCU and to do that successfully, we need to make it visible. The poster symposium is an important step in accomplishing that,” Smith-Mason said.