Celebrating Research Week

April 4-11, 2025

Overview

Celebrating Research Week (CRW) is series of University-wide events in which University of Rochester students at all levels and in all areas of study are invited to present their investigative and creative work. CRW reflects the passion for learning that enlivens the University, professors and students alike, and that finds expression in varied forms, in every area of study.

Symposium - link to candid photos on Google drive

The Speakers Symposium sessions was held on Friday, April 4, 2025 and consisted of four sessions, each representing a distinct disciplinary section of the University: humanities, engineering and mathematics, natural sciences, and social sciences. There were six presentations during each session; each speaker gives a 10-minute presentation with 5 minutes of Q&A immediately following.

Symposium Speakers

Symposium Schedule

Natural Science 10-11:30 a.m. - link to video of session

  1. Alexander Cikanek
  2. Kelechi Ejiofor
  3. Jackson Gerew
  4. Miriam Herron (President's Award winner)
  5. Anna Roy
  6. Grace Widjaja (Deans' Award winner)

Engineering and Math Noon-1:30 p.m. - Due to a technical error beyond our control, a recording of this session is not available. Our sincere apologies to the Engineering and Math presenters!

  1. Faizah Ahmmed (Deans' Award winner)
  2. Rachele Bachmann
  3. Nicole Cassara
  4. John Nguyen
  5. Kelvin Nguyen and Nathaniel Shaffer
  6. Stephanie Wang (President's Award winner)

Humanities 2-3:30 p.m. - link to video recording

  1. Leanna Birsner
  2. Guy Emrich
  3. Alayna Leestma
  4. Carmen Marshall (President's Award winner)
  5. George Mechalke (Deans' Award winner)

Social Science 4-5:30 p.m. - link to video recording

  1. Jacky Chen
  2. Albenys Diaz Hernandez
  3. Kendal Jordan
  4. Giselle Nestepny
  5. Isabella Rocha (Deans' Award winner)
  6. Navya Soogoor (President's Award winner)

Lightning Talks - link to candid photos on Google drive

Wednesday, April 9, 2025, 5-7 p.m., Feldman Ballroom

Lightning Talks


FIRST PLACE WINNER: Hana Zhang - Health, Behavior, and Society

SECOND PLACE WINNER: Grace Widjaja - Biochemistry and Music

THIRD PLACE WINNER: Helene Miao - Psychology and Biology

PEOPLE'S CHOICE WINNER: Doreen Prempeh - Dance Studies and American Sign Language

Lightning Talk 2025 Presenters:

  • Leah Tang - Molecular Genetics
  • Giselle Nestepny - Psychology
  • John Nguyen and Sree Chatterjee - Financial Economics and Mathematics; Computational Biology and Data Science
  • Cadence Chan - Anthropology
  • Miriam Herron - Geological Sciences
  • Maveline Nguyen - Molecular Genetics
  • Alexander Cikanek - Chemistry
  • Carmen Marshall - Environmental Studies
  • Claire Wilcox-Black - Classics
  • Navya Koganti - Computational Biology
  • Zhi (Monica) Qu - Computational Biology and Business
  • Aidan Craner - Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
  • Diana Sullivan - Chemical Engineering
  • Claire Syverson - International Relations

Students may apply to present a Lightning Talk on their research. Presentations should be geared toward a lay audience. This competition will help hone research communication skills.
Rules:

  • Presentations may be no longer than 3:00 minutes. A timer will be used, and presenters will get 1:00 minute, :30 second, and :15 second warnings.
  • Only a single, static slide is permitted. No slide transitions or animations of any kind are allowed.
  • No additional props are allowed.
  • Presentations begin once the presenter starts talking.

A maximum of twenty students will be selected to give lightning talks. Judges will award a first prize, and audience members will select a “Viewers’ Choice” award. Awards will be presented immediately after the presentations. Each award will be a $100 Amazon gift card. While our competition is not a formal 3MT competition, students may find it helpful to view some of the resources that the University of Queensland provides:

  • Tips on developing your slide
  • Tips on putting together your presentation
  • Videos of past finalists from 3MT competitions

Poster Expo - link to candid photos on Google drive

Virtual Poster Expo is at researchposters.io

Expo flyer

The Poster Expo took place in the Feldman Ballroom in Douglass Commons from 1–3 p.m. on Friday, April 11, 2025. If you weren't able to attend, visit the Virtual Poster Expo to see student posters and abstracts.

The Poster Presentation Expo serves as a place for all undergraduate students who have conducted research in the last year to present their findings to the University community and beyond. See Printing Resources below for details and poster specifications.

Awards Ceremony - link to Awards Ceremony photos on Google drive

The following Celebrating Research Awards were presented after the Poster Fair:

  • President's Award: Awarded to the top oral presentation from each of the four disciplinary areas of the Speakers Symposium
    • Natural Sciences: Miriam Herron'27 | Geological Sciences
    • Engineering and Math: Stephanie Wang '25 | Honors Mathematics
    • Humanities: Carmen Marshall'25 | Environmental Studies
    • Social Sciences: Navya Soogoor'25 | Neuroscience, Psychology
  • Deans' Award: Awarded to the second-place oral presentation from each of the four disciplinary areas of the Speakers Symposium
    • Natural Sciences: Grace Widjaja '26 | Biochemistry, Music
    • Engineering and Math: Faizah Ahmmed'25 | Engineering Science
    • Humanities: George Mechalke'25 | Dance Studies
    • Social Sciences: Isabella Rocha'25 | Political Science, Economics
  • Professors' Choice Award: Awarded to ten students participating in the Poster Fair, two from each of the disciplinary areas
    • Life Sciences
      • 1st Place: Abby Eckert '25 | Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Studies
      • 2nd Place: Laura Houle '26 | Neuroscience and Jasmine Cousin '26 | Neuroscience
    • Physical Sciences
      • 1st Place: Matthew Gleason '26 | Chemistry
      • 2nd Place: Zechen Liu '26 | Physics and Astronomy
    • Engineering and Math
      • 1st Place: Hannah Rickert '25 | Biomedical Engineering
      • 2nd Place: Allie Tay '25 | Biomedical Engineering
    • Humanities
      • 1st Place: Dina Garber '26 | Computational Biology
      • 2nd Place: Leanna Birsner '25 | Neuroscience, Dance Studies
    • Social Sciences
      • 1st Place tie: Quinn Kubistek '25 | Creative Writing, Linguistics
      • 1st Place tie: Abigail Pearlman '25 | Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Psychology

In addition, the Students' Association presented their Professor of the Year Awards.

How to Get Involved

Students who have engaged in research and who are interested in participating in the Expo are requested to fill out an application form by

  • March 9, 2025 (Symposium and Lightning Talks applicants)
  • March 23, 2025 (Poster Session applicants)

We will accept recommendations until four days after the student deadline. See "Important Dates," below.

Whether or not you are involved in undergraduate research, we invite you to attend the Exposition and see some of the exciting things your fellow students are doing.

Application Procedure for Students

Students interested in participating in the poster fair and/or speakers symposium should fill out an application form. Your supervisor need not be a Rochester faculty member; letters in support of your presentation may be written by your mentor/P.I. regardless of location, institution, or affiliation.

PLEASE NOTE:

  • It is NOT necessary that the research was conducted at Rochester.
  • All current University of Rochester undergraduates may submit an application.
  • Only one application per project is necessary.
  • If submitting a co-presented project, please designate one student as communications liaison to complete the application. Add a "co-presenters: Full Name, major(s), and class year" line to the top of your abstract.
  • All applicants must submit an abstract.
  • Those who wish to apply for an oral presentation will also need to submit a 2-page description: PDF only, maximum of 2 single-spaced pages (excluding diagrams/charts/images), detailing project background, techniques and methods, and pertinent results. Describe the expected project status in April if the project is currently incomplete.
  • Oral presentation applications require a letter of support from the sponsoring faculty. Poster applications require sponsoring faculty approval. The appropriate request will be sent to the applicant's sponsoring faculty upon submission of the application.

Judges reviewing the applications will be looking for the following:

  • Quality of research
  • Student's command of the subject
  • Topic interest to a broad audience

Expo 2025 applications are NOW CLOSED

Important Dates for Expo 2025

  • January 30 – Expo application opens
  • March 9 – Symposium speaker applications due
  • March 9 – Lightning Talk speaker applications due
  • March 13 – Recommendation letters due for Symposium applicants
  • March 23 – Expo poster presenter applications due
  • March 27 – Mentor approval for poster presentation due
  • April 4 – Undergraduate Research Exposition: Oral Presentations
  • April 9 – Undergraduate Research Exposition: Lightning Talks
  • April 11 – Undergraduate Research Exposition: Poster Presentation Fair

The University of Rochester is committed to providing inclusive experiences and equal access to programs and services. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation, please contact Ann Robinson (ann.robinson@rochester.edu). In all situations, a good faith effort (up until the time of the event) will be made to provide accommodations.

Keep scrolling for information about poster design, writing about research, and poster printing!

Printing Resources

(scroll down for writing and poster design and presentation tips)

Presenters are responsible for printing their own posters. Ask your research mentor about helping with the costs of printing. Poster size is 36"h x 48"w (landscape orientation). In "page setup," resize to 36"h x 48" wide, then "save as" PDF. The Office of Undergraduate Research will provide poster backings and clips for you to hang your poster; you need only bring your poster with you at set-up.

Option #1: The URMC's Xerox Print Services are available for printing of student posters; there are also many online printing services that you may use.

  • Matte and glossy poster paper is available
  • Choose "wide format"
  • Must be .pdf
  • Turnaround times are 3 business days depending on drying time.
  • Located in G-7230. You can reach them at (585) 275-3879
  • Open from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday - Friday
  • ONLY cash, check, or UR account number are accepted as payments

Option #2: Department of Physics and Astonomy, Barnes Computing Center (BCC); provides large format printing to the general University community.

NOTE: The Barnes Computing Center is closed the week leading up to Expo 2025 (4/7-4/11). The last day to submit a poster for printing (for pick up on 4/4) will be EOD TUESDAY, APRIL 1, 2025.

PLEASE ALLOW AMPLE LEAD TIMES FOR PRINTING of posters to be sure they are ready in advance of your presentation!

Writing Resources

See writing tips and examples from PLOS (Public Library of Science), a non-profit, Open Access publisher. Topics covered include:

  • How to Write a Great Title
  • How to Write an Abstract
  • How to Write Your Methods
  • How to Report Statistics
  • How to Write Discussions and Conclusions
  • How to Edit Your Work

Poster Design and Presentation

As you design your poster, please keep the following in mind:

  • Your poster should be designed for a general audience;
  • Your title should be jargon-free and easily understandable;
  • Do not overload your poster with text (or images):
    • The audience should be able to read your poster from a reasonable distance;
    • There needs to be adequate white/negative space so the viewer is not overwhelmed;
    • Avoid large blocks of text.
    • See some of the tips provided by the River Campus Libraries and academicposter.org
    • Remember that design matters!
  • Consider adding a QR code for those viewers who are perhaps in the same or similar field and who would like more detail;
  • Come up with at least two different spiels for different audiences (someone totally outside the field and someone who is in your field). You could also develop a third that falls somewhere in the middle. Consider an appointment with the WSAP Speaking Fellows;
  • Aim to limit your main presentation to around 3 minutes or so, but have further details prepared for those who want to know more;
  • Try to stick to a color scheme of 4–5 colors;
  • Use accessible fonts and colors:

Think of the poster session as an actual (albeit short) presentation of your work. The poster functions as a billboard to draw people in, and then you talk to the viewers and provide them with additional details about your research.

Speaking fellows are undergraduates at UR trained to help their peers prepare for all kinds of public speaking events, including presentations, interviews, and even conversation practice. Speaking fellows can help at any stage of the process, from drafting to practicing to polishing. They can help speakers work through communication anxiety and can also give feedback on visual aids. If you are interested in working with a speaking fellow, you can make an appointment here or drop in during their open hours in the WSAP space in Rush Rhees Library.