On April 13, the University Undergraduate Research and Arts Forum, or UURAF, will see almost 600 students descend on the Union, carrying with them nearly 300 posters and preparing for more than 120 oral presentations.

The annual event consistently draws large numbers of students to present and discuss the research projects they have been working on during the past year. This year will be the 14th UURAF, and it will once again see the attendance envelope stretched. Last year’s event had approximately 520 participants. This year, approximately 559 have registered.

These numbers reflect the university’s successful push for greater involvement in undergraduate research. Recent years have seen significant growth in all areas of research, and students today have more opportunities than ever to initiate or join a project.

For example, MSU’s Professorial Assistantship Program, which accepts students for a paid two-year research experience starting in their freshman year, has ballooned from just 20 students at its 1984 founding to approximately 200 freshman today. Venture, MSU’s online notice board for research opportunities, continues to link faculty mentors with prospective student researchers.

Several colleges and departments award funding in the form of grants and scholarships to ambitious students with new ideas.

UURAF provides the opportunity for these individuals to present their findings. It’s the final step of the timeworn scientific method: sharing one’s results with the rest of the academic community. It’s an important step, too. By encouraging students to compile a semester’s worth or more of data into a coherent poster or oral presentation, the university is helping these future researchers develop essential skills for success in their field.

The ability to speak publicly and explain the importance of one’s work takes practice, and this platform offers an ideal opportunity to hone that ability in a supportive setting. All student participants receive detailed feedback on the presentation and content of their research, which can aid in the later process of preparing, for example, an official grant application, a presentation at a national conference or an application to graduate school.

Of course, UURAF is good for the university too. According to Dr. Korine Wawrzynski, Director of Undergraduate Research at Michigan State, the forum highlights the quality and diversity of the work that often stays behind the scenes.

“UURAF is a great opportunity for the university to display the wide range of research and creativity that our faculty and students engage in on a daily basis,” she said.

That range covers all 14 colleges at MSU that offer undergraduate degrees. At this year’s UURAF, students from 13 of those colleges, mentored by about 300 faculty members representing all 14 colleges, will be presenting their work.

The greatest number (122 students) come from the College of Natural Science, followed by the College of Social Science (105), the College of Communication Arts and Sciences (104) and Lyman Briggs College (81).

“Walking through the poster rooms alone can provide a comprehensive snapshot of the variety of research conducted at MSU,” Dr. Wawrzynski said. “What’s even more impressive is to see the important role our undergraduate students have in this process.”

If one wants to get a glimpse of MSU at its finest, UURAF is truly the place to go.

The projects are indeed fascinating and worth experiencing firsthand. With categories ranging from psychology, where one might learn about a new insight on the benefits or detriments of Twitter, to agriculture and animal science, where one could view a poster on improving corn production, UURAF has it all.

The most important aspect of the research forum, of course, is its exchange of ideas. By centralizing the entire body of undergraduate research with this one event, the university has made a statement regarding the importance of diversity and collaboration in research. Only at UURAF could a neuroscientist be presenting next door to a literary critic.

And if they start talking, they might find they have more in common than they realize.

Craig Pearson is a State News guest columnist and biochemistry junior. Reach him at pears53@msu.edu.