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Show THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH JOURNAL MESSAGE Jill Baeder Associate Director, U R O P Undergraduate research and creative work has become an essential component of a university education. The University of Utah has long been at the forefront, with many excellent programs and an infinite number of opportunities for our students allowing them to enjoy a major role in the process of discovery. It is our mission that every student at the U enjoys the rich experience of research or creative work, which not only supports class work but also provides the necessary experience for graduate school and the post undergraduate career. 2013 is the 25th anniversary of the UROP program which has had an incredible past and an exciting future. I am beyond proud to have been part of the success of UROP. I'm continually amazed at the brilliance and excitement a research or creative experience can generate. Although the majority of my work is with students I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to our talented and dedicated faculty without whose hard work and commitment none of this would be possible. Your knowledge, time and encouragement are the greatest contributors to the success of our students. I'd like to recognize the many students across campus that presented their research at discipline specific, professional conferences and campus-wide presentation events this year. In January 2013, our students on 26 projects traveled to the Utah State Legislature (represented in this journal) to present research to legislators from their districts.The Utah Conference on Undergraduate Research at Utah State in February saw 48 presentations by our students. The University of Utah Undergraduate Research Symposium on April 3th was the largest in our history and reflected several hundred presentations from every college on campus. One of the greatest highlights of the year is the National Conference on Undergraduate Research. The conference was held April 13-15 at the University of Wisconsin - LaCrosse. The University of Utah was well represented with 41 students accepted and 34 presenting research with 3500 undergraduates from 400 colleges and universities around the country. As usual, our students did an excellent job representing the U at this prestigious conference. Next spring the conference will be held at University of Kentucky, Lexington where w e hope to have another fantastic group of students. 2012 - 2013 has been another exciting year for the Office of Undergraduate Research with a terrific website to help undergraduates from all over campus access Research for Credit, UROP, the Undergraduate Research Scholar designation (URSD), links to other programs and many publication and presentation opportunities. The faculty directory is undergoing an update and w e hope to have many, many new research opportunities for students. Take a look at http://OUR.utah.edu Watch for our new offices in the garden level of the Sill Center as academic the year begins August 2013. The Office of Undergraduate Research will be a spacious gathering place and one stop shopping for all our student needs! Donors play an important role in UROP so please see our tribute to the Francis Family Foundation and the three tremendous projects funded through them. W e look forward to many more excellent students and projects in our partnership with the Francis Family Foundation! UROP also recognizes students funded by the University Of Utah Board Of Advisors and the University's Parent Fund. 2012-2013 saw impressive projects in Pediatric Cardiology and Mechanical Engineering that may not have been possible were it not for the support of these groups. The Lawrence T. and Janet T. Dee Foundation provided two assistantships that produced excellent scholarly research in Psychology and Health, Promotion and Education. These scholars represented the U at the legislature, The Utah Conference on Undergraduate Research, the National Conference on Undergraduate Research and discipline specific conferences. Congratulations are in order for our graduates of 2013, with the majority off to medical school, dental school, law school and a plethora of graduate programs and professional careers! Fall of 2013 we will be offering dorm space in our new Undergraduate Research Living Learning Community! We will be better able to support our growing campus community and opportunities for incoming students to connect with faculty. It's an exciting possibility to enable many more undergraduates to be a part of the exciting world of research and creative achievement. |
