From building a working rocket that records its flight data to revealing the differences in military-recruiting techniques at Orange County schools, creative projects by hundreds of undergraduates will be unveiled at the 13th annual UC Irvine Undergraduate Research Symposium.

"Undergraduate Research: Let There Be Light" will be held from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday, May 13, in Humanities Instructional Building and Humanities Hall on campus. The event is free and open to the public. R.S.V.P. at www.urop.uci.edu/srsvp.html.

Chancellor Michael V. Drake will give the keynote address, reflecting on the significance of research experiences that encourage original thinking and creativity among undergraduates.

The event is the capstone to months of meticulous research under faculty mentorship, and allows the students to share their projects with friends, family and the community through performances, oral presentations and poster displays. To conclude the day, the Chancellor's Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Research will be presented to one outstanding faculty member and student from each of the university's nine undergraduate schools.

Among many projects to be unveiled at the symposium:

* "UC Irvine Rocket Project" - A team of engineering students has developed a rocket with a one-pound payload that they plan to launch at least 12,000 feet into the air in a future test.

* "Comparative Study of U.S. Military Recruitment in the Irvine and Santa Ana Unified School Districts" - Sociology student Ismael Herrera compares the military's recruitment practices in a predominately poor and Latino district with that of a more affluent white and Asian American district.

* "Mango Blog: An Extensible and Customizable Blog Engine" - Information and computer science major Laura Arguello analyzes a new, more customizable blogging tool called Mango, which is used in UCI classrooms and may soon be available for the public to download and use.

* "Debuts and Debutantes in Southern California" - Asian American studies major Eileen Rosete examines the traditional Filipina coming-of-age celebration as a complex and sometimes contradictory experience for young women.

* "A Seasonal Study of Methane Emissions from a California Rice Paddy" - Chemistry student Robert Perez analyzes two Northern California rice paddies to determine how flooding and agricultural practices impact the emission of methane in the process of growing rice, which is the principal food source for more than half the world's population.

* "Walking the Winds" - Dance student Allison Knight exposes Irvine elementary school students to art through a touring production of the musical "Walking in the Winds" and performance-related study guides.

* "Reactions to 9/11: The Developmental Implications of Parental Death and Other Types of Loss" - Psychology and social behavior major Michael Ousdahl uses national surveys to see how adolescents responded psychologically and developmentally to the loss of a parent after Sept. 11.

* "Human Embryonic Stem Cells Induce Neuron Survival after Spinal Cord Injury" - Biological sciences major Delilah Shahidzadeh presents findings from her work in the lab with neurobiologist Hans Kierstead.

For more information about UROP and the symposium, visit www.urop.uci.edu/symposium.html, call (949) 824-4189 or e-mail urop@uci.edu.

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Event Schedule

UCI Undergraduate Research Symposium

Humanities Instructional Building and Humanities Hall

May 13, 2005

8-8:40 a.m. Registration and breakfast

8:40-8:50 a.m. Welcome

9-10:50 a.m. Oral presentations by undergraduate researchers

11-11:50 a.m. Keynote address by Chancellor Michael V. Drake

Noon-12:50 p.m. Lunch and dance performances

1-1:50 p.m. Student research poster presentations

2-3:50 p.m. Oral presentations by undergraduate researchers

4-4:50 p.m. Awards ceremony

5-5:30 p.m. Reception


About the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program: Launched in 1995, the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program in the Division of Undergraduate Education encourages and facilitates faculty-mentored research and creative activities by undergraduates from all schools and academic disciplines at UCI. The program offers assistance to students and faculty through all phases of the research process. UROP is committed to providing a professional environment conducive to research advancement and career skills development. UROP staff assist students through all phases of the research process, whether it is with proposal writing, developing research plans, receiving grants to fund projects, writing scholarly journal articles for The UCI Undergraduate Research Journal, or presenting results of the research or creative project through the UCI Undergraduate Research Symposium. UROP is committed to supporting at least 1,700 students annually.
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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 24,000 undergraduate and graduate students and about 1,400 faculty members. The second-largest employer in dynamic Orange County, UCI contributes an annual economic impact of $3.3 billion. For more UCI news, visit www.today.uci.edu.

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