Student Research and Creativity Conference Celebrates 20th Year
One of Buffalo State’s great traditions is celebrating a milestone. This year, the Student Research and Creativity Conference (SRCC), held May 4 and 5, is observing its 20th anniversary.
For two decades, the event has allowed undergraduate and graduate students to present their preliminary and completed research and creative activities in a student-friendly, supportive environment.
“The Student Research and Creativity Conference is an important tradition and certainly one of our premier vehicles to showcase student research and learning initiatives,” noted President Katherine Conway-Turner in the event’s program. “Our student researchers have worked diligently with their faculty mentors to bring together research projects from all academic disciplines and in a variety of scholarly and creative formats.”
“The undergraduate research program has developed from a relatively modest undergraduate conference to a fully integrated academic program central to Buffalo State’s mission,” noted Provost Melanie Perreault. “These research opportunities reflect Buffalo State’s focus on academic excellence and commitment to providing an outstanding undergraduate education for all students.”
The growth of Buffalo State’s undergraduate research program is a testament to the college’s focus on applied learning. As Buffalo State promotes, supports, and funds undergraduate research in all academic areas—from the sciences to the arts—the SRCC’s subtheme, “Celebrating Discovery across the Disciplines,” is very appropriate.
“The quality and breadth of the presentations and displays confirm the excellence of the mentoring provided to Buffalo State students by their dedicated faculty members,” noted Jill Singer, director of undergraduate research. “It also speaks to the myriad opportunities afforded to students and to their strong desire to forge new knowledge, ideas, and works of art.”
The program has connected countless students with research, creative, and applied-learning opportunities across campus, Western New York, and beyond. Alumni who have participated in undergraduate research can be found working in a variety of careers including academia, medicine, and project management—to name a few.
“Every day, I prepare quality work that will be seen by clients, colleagues, adversaries, and the judges I appear before,” said Henry Zomerfeld, ’11, a litigation attorney for Kenney Shelton Liptak Nowak. “I reflect on and use the skills from my undergraduate research experience in my career as an attorney, and am grateful for that opportunity.” Read more Undergraduate Research and Creativity alumni profiles.
On Saturday, May 5, oral presentations will be divided by academic groupings into five sessions throughout the day and held in Caudell Hall 208, 209, and 222. Eight one hour-long poster sessions, each with a diverse representation of disciplines, will take place concurrently with the oral presentations in Caudell Hall’s Statler Wing. Art exhibits will be displayed in Upton Hall’s Bacon Student Gallery.
With a continued eye toward sustainability, the 20th annual SRCC, again features a paperless online schedule and program. Accessible on mobiles devices, the online format serves as a useful convenience for browsing SRCC presentations, schedules, abstracts, and artists’ statements. The program can be downloaded to users’ devices or printed on demand.