The undergraduate research symposium is held each April and is open to anyone.
Students present work from independent projects, course-based research and summer placements as posters and, increasingly, as live demonstrations. Recent years have included vehicle demonstrations in the test basin, sediment core displays from the geoscience laboratory, and sensor packages built for the hatchery partnership.
Format
Posters are up from 1 p.m. Presenters stand with their work from 2 to 4 p.m., which is when to come if you want to talk to them. Demonstrations run on a published schedule through the afternoon.
Graduate students and faculty attend and ask real questions, which is the point. For many undergraduates this is the first time they have defended their own work to someone who is not grading it.
A short closing session at 5 p.m. recognizes selected projects, with the criteria weighted toward what the student did rather than how the result turned out. A project that failed and is well explained is eligible.
Attending
Free and no registration required. Prospective students and their families are welcome, and it is arguably more informative than an open day for anyone trying to work out what a degree here involves.
Held in the Halloran Building atrium and the test basin annex.