UCLA’s 13th annual Science Poster Day, which brings together hundreds of undergraduate student researchers of all fields of science, will be held today in Ackerman Grand Ballroom.
Participants will share their research projects on flat posters and showcase the research they have been working on for the past year.
The event allows the UCLA community to recognize undergraduate students’ hard work and excellence in research, said Tama Hasson, director of the Undergraduate Research Center for science, engineering and math.
Although individual departments at UCLA regularly hold poster days for students in their specific field, this event unites all of the science-related research done on campus, Hasson added.
Stacy Hu, a third-year molecular, cell, and developmental biology student, said the event allows her to show her research to anybody who attends, as well as to her friends.
“It’s a great opportunity for me, because I get to find out what my peers are doing and show them what I’ve been doing for the past year,” Hu said.
Hu, who is currently studying the Hepatitis C virus in an independent research project, added that the various research showcased at the event has a direct impact on the scientific community.
“If I find positive results, I can actually get it published and even find new therapies for the Hepatitis C virus,” Hu said.
The event also plays an important role for undergraduate students interested in beginning research.
Hasson said a lot of first- and second-year students use Science Poster Day as a mechanism to learn about the research done on campus and to decide what kind of research they would like to be involved in. She added that most of the presenters are graduating, which gives future researchers who are interested in their labs the opportunity to take over.
A second-time participant of Science Poster Day, Christopher Arakawa, a third-year bioengineering student, said students interested in pursuing research should not be discouraged by inexperience.
“The most important message that I try to convey through all of my presentations and talks with students is that the most important thing about research is enthusiasm. That’s something that Science Poster Day emphasizes,” Arakawa said.
“It’s enthusiasm that gets students working in the lab, and it’s enthusiasm that gets professors excited to take undergraduates into their lab,” he added.