Undergraduate students gathered at the Summer 2024 Research Symposium at the Smith Center for Undergraduate Education August 2.
The event began at 8 a.m. with the poster set-up and speech by the keynote speaker, Scott Beckman, Acting Director of the Materials Science and Engineering Program at WSU. Further, the students were available to explain their research and answer any questions from 10 a.m. to 1p.m.
“If research is to have any impact, it must be shared and validated by others.” Mary Sánchez Lanier, assistant vice provost at DAESA said.
Summer Research Symposium is a capstone event that provides students the platform to share and discuss their work, showcasing the diverse projects they completed over the summer, Jacklyn Gotch, Office of Undergraduate Research program coordinator said.
“[The Summer Research Symposium] is a really important step for most undergraduate researchers because it causes them to synthesize all the work they have been doing for almost two months into a coherent story,” Jeremy Lessmann, Office of Undergraduate Research director said.
Students work with faculty mentors, graduate students and lab staff to learn about their research field and develop their summer project, Gotch said, all WSU research spaces, libraries and other campus facilities are available to these students in addition to the workshops offered by the Office of Undergraduate Research to help them prepare for their poster presentations.
The Office of Undergraduate Research offers weekly workshops that are based on a variety of topics relevant to the outcome of the Summer Research Symposium.
The Division of Academic Engagement and Student Achievement completely organizes the Summer Research Symposium, Sánchez Lanier said.
The participation rate in the symposium has had its peaks and troughs over the years based on how many undergraduate research programs are taking place, Lessmann said, two of the research programs were at the end of their grant life last summer and were not renewed for this year.
This summer, there were 67 undergraduate researchers showcasing their work at the symposium, Lessman said.
Most grant agencies funding the research programs prefer that the faculty recruit URM students as well as students from non-research universities and colleges to ensure diversity and inclusion, Lessmann said.
“The goal is to spread the word to all WSU students that undertaking research or mentored scholarship or creative activity in their chosen field of study has benefits to their overall education that they aren’t going to get just by completing their degree requirements,” Lessman said.
Lessman said he wishes to see more non-stem students like humanities majors participating in research-like activities.
Sánchez Lanier said it’s a great moment to meet a student with their poster at the WSU Summer Research Symposium and then meeting the same student again at a national meeting.
“It is a joy to know that their first experience was at WSU,” Sánchez Lanier said.
