Ranging from agriculture and science to performing arts to business and entrepreneurship, 928 MSU undergraduate students, from 14 colleges, will present their research at the annual University Undergraduate Research and Arts Forum from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on April 13 at the MSU Union.
The event is free and open to the public.
More than 700 MSU undergraduate student research projects will be presented on a wide variety of topics including: low-cost water monitoring with a cellphone camera and a jeweler’s loupe; impact of human presence on bird diversity and abundance; comparative state redistricting plans; the Americanization of immigrant cuisine; and faces of Flint, among others.
According to the University Research Corridor 10th Annual Economic Impact and Benchmark Report, Michigan’s URC, an alliance of Michigan’s three largest higher education institutions – Michigan State University, the University of Michigan and Wayne State University – contributed $16.5 billion to Michigan’s economy. That is an increase of $3.7 billion since 2007, the year the URC was formed and began benchmarking its impact on the state of Michigan.
The URC continues to rank very highly in the Innovation Power Ranking among the nation’s most respected university innovation clusters. Over the past decade, URC research has led to advances in medicine, mobility, business and society as a whole, and investments and advancements in research continue to grow in size, scale and impact.
The URC attracted $0.94 of every federal dollar spent on academic research in Michigan, and accounts for 94 percent of all research and development conducted at higher education institutions in the state. Nearly $500 million in new tax revenues are attributable to the URC, as well as a net jobs impact of 68,896 in the state.
The annual UURAF, co-sponsored by the Office of the Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education and the Honors College, provides MSU undergraduate students with an opportunity to showcase their scholarship and creative activity with faculty, peers and external audiences. Students can choose how they present their work, in the form of a poster or oral presentation.
Monetary prizes are awarded to recognize exemplary achievement. One first-place award ($100) will be given in each section. First-place award recipients are eligible to submit their work for the grand-prize awards. Two grand prizes ($500 each) will be awarded to one program from the science and engineering categories and one program from the humanities, social sciences and communication arts and sciences categories.
For more information about the 2018 forum, visit http://urca.msu.edu/uuraf