Illinois State's Undergraduate Research Symposium April 18

Are cosmetics poisonous?  How do school districts’ policies on sharing information about former employees affect school safety?  What factors shape voters’ perceptions of Barack Obama?  Are there gender differences toward violence?  How did the Redbirds go green?

Answers to these and other questions can be obtained at the Illinois State University Undergraduate Research Symposium from 9 a.m.to noon on Friday, April 18, in the Brown Ballroom and Old Main Room of Bone Student Center.  The Symposium is free and open to the public. 

More than 200 students will present the results of their research via posters, oral presentations, class presentations or multimedia displays in a university-wide showcase of student research, scholarship and creative achievement. 

This year’s Symposium has changed to accommodate attendee interests by grouping presentations by discipline and faculty mentor.  Another change requires students from each project to give a five-minute oral presentation, present a poster and be available to answer attendees’ questions about the research project.

 The Symposium encourages cross-disciplinary associations and focuses on communicating research to the general public. Faculty members will provide oral and written feedback to student participants.    

Students explored topics such as the effectiveness of Bloomington’s drug court, the use of PowerPoint presentations to teach at-risk children, rights of individuals with disabilities, the history/symbolism of military tattoos and what is going into our drinking water.

The Symposium, sponsored by the Graduate School, Research and Sponsored Programs, Milner Library and the Honors Program, started 18 years ago to promote graduate student research.  It has since expanded to encourage undergraduates to communicate their research to the general public.