From animal science to visual arts and business to engineering, more than 1,000 undergraduate students will present their research at the 21st annual University Undergraduate Research and Arts Forum, or UURAF, 8:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. on April 5 at the MSU Union.
800 MSU undergraduate student research projects will be presented on a wide variety of topics including: improving care in the pediatric emergency department with virtual reality; examining sport-related concussions; napping to mitigate effects of sleep deprivation; examining reduced juvenile spotted hyena survival in Kenya; and creative expressions of infertility.
The annual UURAF, co-sponsored by the Office of the Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education and the Honors College, showcases the ways that MSU students are involved in the impressive research portfolio of the university.
UURAF provides a unique educational opportunity for aspiring researchers. MSU undergraduates gain experience in presenting their research through oral presentations or posters, answer questions about their work from peers, faculty, staff, and the public, and receive constructive feedback from judges.
According to the University Research Corridor, or URC, 11th 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 $18.7 billion to Michigan’s economy in 2018.
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 92 percent of all research and development conducted at higher education institutions in the state. Nearly $580 million in new tax revenues are attributable to the URC, as well as a net jobs impact of 78,845 in the state.
Monetary prizes are awarded to recognize exemplary oral and poster presentations. One first-place award ($100) will be given in each section. First-place award recipients are eligible to submit their work for the two UURAF Grand Prizes ($500 each), which will be awarded to one presentation from the science and engineering categories and one presentation from the humanities, social sciences and communication arts and sciences categories. The awards ceremony will take place at 3:30 p.m. on April 10, in the MSU Union Ballroom.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information about the 2019 forum, visit http://urca.msu.edu/uuraf