October will be a busy month for research at Kent State University. The Division of Research and Sponsored Programs is hosting three events, two of them with a focus on student research. These include two research forums, featuring five Kent State faculty speakers, and the presentation of Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) student research projects.
“We’ve got an event for faculty alone, and two events that emphasize the importance of the relationship between faculty and students for building a culture of research and innovation at Kent State,” says Douglas Delahanty, Ph.D., Kent State’s associate vice president for research faculty development.
The month of research events begins Oct. 4, when the 51 students who participated in this year’s SURE program will present their research and compete for prizes. SURE offers an eight-week immersive internship wherein students conduct research with faculty mentors over the summer. The program began in 2016 and grew by a two-thirds this year. On Oct. 4, students will present their work by research area in the Kent Student Center from 1-2:30 p.m. The presentation will be followed by an awards reception in the Kent Student Center Ballroom Balcony, where the winners of each area will have the chance to present their research to the audience. Faculty, staff and students are invited and encouraged to attend.
“Along with the Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Symposium, SURE has become one of the cornerstones of our initiative to engage more students in research,” says Ann Gosky, director of the Office of Student Research. “The enthusiasm we’re seeing in both programs shows that students have the drive and desire to engage in research, which we know leads to greater academic success for undergraduates.”
On Oct. 10, the Division of Research and Sponsored Programs will team up with the Kent State Spanish and Latino Student Association (SALSA) for a special Research and Innovation Forum that celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month. Two Latino researchers — Geology Professor Joe Ortiz, Ph.D., and Associate Professor of Biological Sciences Oscar Rocha, Ph.D., both of Kent State’s College of Arts and Sciences — will give 15- to 20-minute talks on their research and the importance of undergraduate research in their professional development to a predominantly student audience. That event will be in the Kent Student Center, Room 317, from 5:30-7 p.m.
On Oct. 18, the Division of Research and Sponsored Programs will host the first of two regular Research and Innovation forums this semester from 4-5:30 p.m. in the University Library First Floor Garden Room. The event, directed toward a faculty audience, will present talks by Gregory Smith, Ed.D., professor of human development and family studies, in the College of Education, Health and Human Services (“Psychoeducational Interventions for Custodial Grandfamilies”), Metin Eren, Ph.D., assistant professor of anthropology and director of archaeology (“Understanding the Origins of Technology and the Stone Age Peopling of the World”), and Colleen Novak, Ph.D., associate professor of biological sciences, (“Obesity, the Brain, and Muscle Thermogenesis”), both from the College of Arts and Sciences. The second Research and Information Forum will be held Nov. 15 at the same location. The Division of Research and Sponsored Programs will announce the speakers for that event as soon as they are confirmed.
Learn more about Kent State’s Division of Research and Sponsored Programs