Fifty-two Ithaca College students travelled to the University of North Carolina at Asheville to present their research at the 2016 National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR).
The annual conference, which took place April 7–9, included students from 387 colleges and universities giving a total of 3,207 presentations.
The presentations mostly comprised research projects completed during students’ coursework, including independent studies, senior theses and lab work.
“Typically, these are major projects that people have been working on for a long time and are now translating into a public presentation,” said Associate Professor of Communication Studies Robert Sullivan, who accompanied the students to the conference.
Students who attended the conference were introduced to high-level research being done by undergraduates in a multitude of fields all over the country.
Senior Sean Themea, who presented his research on civil asset forfeiture in the United States, welcomed the opportunity to learn from others.
“Being a part of that spirit of inquiry, of that community, for a couple of days was exciting,” said Themea.
Junior Nicole Ang presented her research on claims against government and law enforcement agencies in domestic violence cases. She valued the chance to meet students from other schools across the country.
“We were able to make a lot of connections with different people who were doing research that was vastly different from ours,” said Ang. “We weren’t grouped together by school, so you never knew who you might meet.”
The students also learned how to present their own research to general audiences.
“They gain a tremendous amount of skill in giving public expression to the complex ideas that they’re working on,” said Sullivan.
Created in 1987, NCUR promotes undergraduate research, scholarship and creative activity across all fields of study.