UNH Today

UNH students present their original research, scholarly activity and creative works at the 19th annual Undergraduate Research Conference (URC) April 17 – 28, 2018. With almost 2,000 participants from all colleges and disciplines showcasing academic excellence in 22 events on the Durham and Manchester campuses, UNH’s URC is one of the nation’s largest undergraduate research conferences.

“I am happy that the URC continues to grow, with more students presenting their work this year than in previous years,” says Paul Tsang, director of the Hamel Center for Undergraduate Research and a professor in the department of molecular, cellular and biomedical sciences. “Undergraduate research is an integral part of the culture at UNH. As we look toward the twentieth URC in 2019, I am gratified that our students continue to embrace the spirt of inquiry and discovery that drives original research.”

“Undergraduate research is an integral part of the culture at UNH. I am gratified that our students continue to embrace the spirt of inquiry and discovery that drives original research.”

With posters, presentations and demonstrations that parallel professional academic research conferences, URC events span the academic disciplines. The massive Interdisciplinary Science & Engineering Symposium (April 18, Whittemore Center Arena) and the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture URC (April 21, Memorial Union Building) highlight innovative projects in engineering and science, while The Naked Arts—Creativity Exposed! series (April 18 and 19, Paul Creative Arts Center, and April 20, Memorial Union Building) celebrates the creative arts. The comprehensive All Colleges Undergraduate Research Symposium (April 20, Memorial Union Building) showcases research from multiple disciplines across the University, and UNH Manchester URC events include the unique offerings of Cinema Arts Day (April 19) and Engineering Technology Day (April 27).

All events are open to the public, and visitors to the URC experience a wide and diverse range of student scholarship. Examples include:

• Intelligence in sled dogs (Emily Golomb, junior biomedical science major from Deerfield, N.H.)
• Mapping early Colonial cemeteries in the Oyster River watershed (Crystina Friese, sophomore anthropology major from Manchester, N.H)
• Tackling concussions in professional football (Connor MacLean, senior communication major from Marion, Mass.) and in female youth soccer players (Eric Newton, senior health management and policy major from Ballston Spa, N.Y.)
• Detecting sleep apnea in real time (Joshua Letterman, senior computer engineering major from Rochester, N.H.)
• Understanding the economic effects of hurricanes (Tucker Lippold, senior economics major from Windham, N.H.)
• A better model for making maple syrup (Kathryn Aiken, junior business administration major from Manchester, N.H.)
• Small Town Mail: The Post Office in 19th-Century Loudon, New Hampshire (Kelly Pedersen, junior history major from Loudon, N.H.)

A full schedule of events is here. All events are free.