Thu, 30 Aug 2007 04:00:00 -0400
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Celebrating Student Research

UMBC is a place that believes hands-on research and discovery is an essential part of the student experience. This week, two campus events put the creativity and curiosity of UMBC student research from across the disciplines on public display.

Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD) starts things off on Wednesday, April 25, followed by the 29th annual Graduate Research Conference (GRC) on Friday, April 27. The week presents an extraordinary opportunity for the public and campus community to explore original, interdisciplinary research findings through oral and poster presentations and to enjoy free arts performances and exhibits.

Having grown steadily since being founded in 1997 by the Office of the Provost, URCAD is now a project of the Office of Undergraduate Education. The URCAD experience gives students valuable experience preparing for graduate school or future careers. Many URCAD projects are funded by Undergraduate Research Awards (URA), competitive grants of up to $1,500 given annually to support student research over an academic year.

UMBC has declared this week Graduate Student Week, and UMBC�s Graduate Student Association has planned lectures, workshops, and a variety of festivities to enrich the lives of the University�s over 2,300 graduate students. The GRC is a chance for UMBC and University of Maryland, Baltimore grad students from different disciplines to share research ideas and learn more about the process of preparing for a scientific meeting.

Visitors to URCAD and the GRC will experience a broad spectrum of outstanding student research, including:

Like many of his peers, chemistry Ph.D. student and Wyeth Fellow Orrette Wauchope spends long hours � he estimates 10 per day � in the lab. Wauchope studies compounds that could lead to new drugs to fight cancer and help prevent viral and parasitic diseases.

Salutorian, Phi Beta Kappa member and former UMBC women�s basketball team captain Erin Voss is working to better understand how the body�s nerve cells heal and recover from injuries and disease. Voss, a fifth-year senior majoring in biochemical engineering, is headed to medical school at the University of Wisconsin after graduation.

Senior interdisciplinary studies and visual arts major Truc Nguyen’s project, “Call Me Brother,” is a photo documentary chronicling the American immigration stories of four generations of her extended family. The project helped her learn living history while honing her design and photography skills for a future career in communications or marketing. Nguyen�s work will also be on display at The Commons Mezzanine gallery space all this week, with daily multimedia presentations between noon and 1 p.m.

URCAD will be held on Wednesday, April 25 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the University Center and Fine Arts Building. A full morning session will be devoted to dance and film presentations. For more information, please visit the URCAD Website.

The 2007 Graduate Research Conference will be held on Friday, April 27, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the University Center. Graduate Student Week is April 26 � May 3. For more information, please visit the GSA�s Website.

(4/23/07)