Some 500 undergraduates will present the results of their eclectic research projects at the 11th Annual UC Irvine Undergraduate Research Symposium Saturday, May 15, at the UCI Student Center.

The symposium will have as its theme “Human Discovery: Understanding the Past; Predicting the Future” and will reflect the university’s commitment to promoting an interdisciplinary approach to research and analysis.

The free public event concludes months of work conducted by some of the university’s brightest, most dedicated students. This year’s projects cross all disciplines and include research on protecting the Earth from asteroids, using wastewater for the bacterial production of hydrogen for use in fuel cells, the progression of Alzheimer’s disease in Down syndrome, the effect of the No Child Left Behind act on Latino English language learners, gender differences in engineering and the physical sciences, the effects of body image on students’ performance, and the possibility of a functioning democracy in a postwar Iraq.

The keynote lecture will be given by Douglas Wallace, Donald Bren Professor of Biological Sciences and Molecular Medicine and director of the Center for Molecular and Mitochondrial Medicine and Genetics. Wallace also is a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

The daylong event will include oral sessions and poster presentations in which undergraduates from all disciplines will present their research, address questions and have discussions with other students, faculty, staff and members of the community. The Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Research will be presented to outstanding faculty and students at the end of the day.

Among other projects to be unveiled at the symposium:

• Fingerprints and identity: exploring the validity and certainty of identification
• Undocumented Latinos in higher education: barriers and strategies
• Women in the media: the portrayal of female broadcasters on television
• The success and failure of African democracies
• Self esteem and skin color among African American college women

The symposium is sponsored by the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program. Founded in 1995, UROP enhances students’ education through hands-on research experiences with faculty. It assists students and faculty through all phases of the research process, including funding undergraduate research projects and publishing The UCI Undergraduate Research Journal.

For more information about UROP and the symposium visit www.urop.uci.edu/symposium, call (949) 824-4189 or email urop@uci.edu. RSVPs are requested by May 7.

Event Schedule:
UCI Undergraduate Research Symposium
UCI Student Center
May 15, 2004

Event Schedule

Iqbal Pittalwala
(949) 824-3969
iqbal@uci.edu