A Welcome from President Marlene Tromp

A record 261 poster abstracts were submitted for presentation at this year’s event prior to the shift to remote learning.

We are grateful to many of our students who, despite having to make tremendous adjustments to their new learning environments and being adversely affected by stay-at-home orders and new home dynamics, have risen to these challenges and worked hard to not only ensure that their work is represented at this year’s event, but that it is also accessible to all audience members in the virtual space.

Similarly, our faculty mentors and research supervisors have also shown immense support and commitment to our students, leaning in even as they themselves were adjusting to their own obligations as a result of this situation. Our students have no doubt benefited from our faculty, graduate students, and staff support in ways that we can not easily measure, but which are extremely appreciated.

The heart of a research university is the interaction of research faculty and graduate students mentoring and engaging with undergraduate students in the messy work of authentic scholarship. This showcase is the embodiment of that heart.

On behalf of the planning committee, we thank you for coming to our students’ showcase, and we hope that you enjoy listening to our students, reading and studying their posters, and we encourage you to follow up with them to learn more about their work.

Take care, and go Broncos!

DONNA LLEWELLYN and MICHAL TEMKIN MARTINEZ
#URS2020 Co-Chairs

1. The posters are organized by academic college, department, and other campus units. The poster will appear under the academic unit of the major for any student listed on the original abstract submitted for the URS program, as well as the as well as the home unit for any research supervisor who was on that submission.
2. For each poster, the submitted poster is available as an image that you can read along with all of the images and text pulled out. This, along with alt-text for all images, creates an accessible site. If you have trouble accessing any of the content, please first try to contact the student author for those whose email address is listed at the end of the post. If there is no student author email listed, please email us at studentresearch@boisestate.edu and we will assist you.
3. Some of the students submitted introductory or reflective videos – these will appear at the top of their poster site.

Giving feedback and asking questions

In a face-to-face poster session, our students gain incredible benefit from talking with people as they visit their poster. Unfortunately, this is not possible in this format. However, you can still give the students feedback and/or ask them questions. Most students opted in to having their email addresses posted at the end of their poster site (the email address is for the student who originally submitted the abstract for the program) – please utilize these to engage with the student.

Here are some guidelines to help ensure that your feedback is helpful to our students (thanks to University of Missouri – Columbia for these guidelines):

1. Respect is essential for nurturing the free and open discourse, exploration and creative expression that characterize a university. Questions, comments, and responses should be collegial and respectful of all presenters, community members, and visitors.
2. Responsibility includes carefully reading, viewing, and listening to posted student work before posing thoughtful questions, making civil comments, or providing constructive feedback.
3. Discovery is at the core of the practice of undergraduate research and creative scholarship. While students seek to contribute to the knowledge in their discipline, they are also engaging in a lifelong process that is both challenging and rewarding. Members of our community and visitors should strive to support students in this journey, recognizing the varying levels of experience of the presenters.
4. Excellence for all requires diligent effort, both individual and collective, and adherence to scholarly practices and standards. We recognize and accept the sacrifices, risks and responsibilities involved in pursuing excellence, and so we celebrate each other’s successes.
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