Colorado State University Undergraduate Students to Showcase Research, Creativity on April 30

Colorado State University students will showcase their work in research and creativity in the Celebrate Undergraduate Research and Creativity (CURC) event April 30.

Each year, CSU uses this event to recognize these undergraduate students’ achievements. The event will be held in the Lory Student Center Theatre from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on April 30 followed by an Awards Ceremony May 2 at 5:30 p.m. in Johnson Hall 222.

“CURC is an opportunity for the entire CSU community to learn about the amazing accomplishments of our undergraduate researchers, artists and writers,” said Mark Brown, director of the event. “It also allows us to recognize their hard work.”

CSU students are encouraged to conduct research and produce creative work to supplement their studies. The CURC Symposium provides an opportunity for these students to share their work with faculty and other students.

“Students benefit by learning to communicate the real-world impacts of their projects to a broad, interdisciplinary audience. It also allows students to learn from their peers and gain an understanding of opportunities in other disciplines,” Brown said.

Faculty and industry experts are invited to judge each presentation. At the completion of the event, students are honored for their work at an awards ceremony.

Each year more than 500 students present their research or creative projects to the hundreds of community members, faculty, students and industry leaders who attend the event. The symposium is open to individuals from all disciplines.

“When you come to this event, you can literally feel the energy and excitement of the students who are presenting the products of their hard work,” Brown said.

This year’s CURC presentations will include three different events to participate in and will conclude with the awards ceremony.

The first way in which students can demonstrate their work is through the poster presentations. Students will be judged by faculty and industry members from their discipline as well as others. They will be scored based on background or introduction, methods and research, conclusion or discussion, poster layout and overall impression.

The second way to participate is through the writing competition. Students can submit works of writing including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, essays, academic writing and journalism. Each individual may submit up to two works. Submissions will be judged anonymously and names will be reattributed to the work after the winners are selected. The Highest Honor will be published in the “Journal of Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Excellence” and the author will present an excerpt at the awards ceremony.

Finally, students can display their work in the art exhibition. Works accepted include paintings, drawings, prints, photography, poster and textiles. Each individual may submit two pieces. All participants must include an “Artist’s Talk” to describe their work. Winners will display their work in the Johnson Commons for the 2013-2014 academic year.

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