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IRVINE — Research on everything from a small spacecraft to using YouTube and Facebook to cope with tragedies will be among more than 470 projects showcased at the 15th annual UC Irvine Undergraduate Research Symposium.

“Undergraduate Research: From Discovery to Application” will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 31, in the humanities buildings on campus. The event is free and open to the public. R.S.V.P. at www.urop.uci.edu/srsvp.html. For a complete schedule, visit www.urop.uci.edu/symposium.html.

The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program offers students the rare opportunity to conduct academic research with more than 325 faculty mentors across numerous disciplines. At the annual UROP symposium, they will present findings to friends, family and the community through oral presentations, poster displays or artistic performances. Hans Keirstead, Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center co-director and anatomy & neurobiology associate professor, will deliver the keynote address about the potential applications of his stem cell research. One outstanding student and faculty member from each school will be chosen to receive the Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Research following the address.

Among the projects to be unveiled:

• Engineering students Henry Sung, Jerry Tsung, Hwan Moon Lee and Andrew Yang unveil “Fall Safe,” a prototype sensor designed for seniors to wear that alerts caretakers or emergency services during accidental falls.

• Political science student Maria Garaniel examines public records and interviews local politicians to learn the motives behind the city of Irvine’s involvement with climate change.

• Analyzing 1,200 messages left on Web 2.0 sites such as YouTube and Facebook after the Virginia Tech tragedy, three social ecology students – Shabnam Moghbeli, Roy Taggueg and Anny Yang – find that many people use the World Wide Web to cope with traumatic events by gaining a sense of community, seeking social support and finding a forum to express their feelings.

• Sociology student Natasha Miric interviews U.S. soccer fans and groups them by characteristics to compare and contrast team affiliations with Europeans.

• Tarot cards, and their significance as a reading within a reading for 20th century authors, is examined by humanities student Clara Asuncion.

• Fourteen engineering students discuss the UCI Satellite, a 10-cubic-centimeter spacecraft they have designed to launch into Low Earth Orbit as part of a NASA mission in December.

Event Schedule
7:30 a.m.-4 p.m. - Registration
7:30-10 a.m.- Breakfast
8:30-10:20 a.m. - Oral presentations
10:30-11:50 a.m. - Keynote address and awards ceremony
Noon-1:20 p.m. - Lunch and dance performances
1:30-2:50 p.m. - Poster presentations
3-5 p.m. - Oral presentations

About the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program: Launched in 1995, the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program in the Division of Undergraduate Education promotes research and creative activities by undergraduates in all academic disciplines. UROP provides assistance to students and their faculty mentors through all phases of the research process, including proposal writing, developing research plans, awarding grants, writing scholarly journal articles and presenting research findings.

About the University of California, Irvine: The University of California, Irvine is a top-ranked university dedicated to research, scholarship and community service. Founded in 1965, UCI is among the fastest-growing University of California campuses, with more than 27,000 undergraduate and graduate students and nearly 2,000 faculty members. The third-largest employer in dynamic Orange County, UCI contributes an annual economic impact of $3.6 billion. For more UCI news, visit www.today.uci.edu.

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