Poster sessions illustrate student research data

Incarceration, dolphins and bike trails – these are a small sample of the diverse research topics that students showcased in the poster session this year at the 21st Annual Student Conference for Research & Creative Arts.

Founded in 1994 by former director Kyna Shelley, associate professor of psychology, and current co-director and associate professor of psychology Michael Hunt; the University of Houston-Clear Lake Student Conference for Research & Creative Arts is an annual conference that features a range of original, academic work presented by both national and international participants from different colleges and universities.

Kelvin Reginald Webster II, criminology major, noted how impressed he was by the variety of the topics displayed this year.

“It’s interesting,” Webster said. “You have a lot of people from different backgrounds coming to discuss things that either affected their life or really interest them.”

Faculty members serve as sponsors at the conference, providing students the opportunity to present their research in a professional environment. Students receive feedback on their research throughout the conference from their peers, the surrounding community and various corporations.

Stuart Larson, associate director of art and design, served as one of the sponsors this year, and said that he likes to stress to his students the value of presenting their work at the conference.

“It is a national conference,” Larson said. “Having your work selected for this conference is a line in your resume that is as powerful as submitting to any conference in the United States.”

Conference co-director, Pilar Goyarzu, adjunct instructor of psychology, said she is encouraged by the growth and success of the conference this year.

“It is fair to say we are continuing to grow in so many different areas,” Goyarzu said. “To me, every single student who presents in the conference is already achieving unique experiences toward a successful career.”

Students who choose to present their research at the conference also enjoy some major benefits, Goyarzu pointed out.

“Being able to present a scholarly work at a conference takes a lot of steps, and each one of these steps provides different learning experiences and benefits,” Goyarzu said. “For example, presenting their scholarly work to a forum of fellow classmates and receiving constructive feedback from experts in their field of study.”

UHCL students were encouraged to visit the poster exhibit and observe the research topics that presenters displayed. The hope is that this would offer students opportunity to network with one another, offer critique and evaluate their peers.

Goyarzu also extended a special thanks to all of the sponsors and evaluators who helped contribute to the conference this year, stating that without these individuals the conference would not have been possible, and the level of success that the conference experienced would have been unrealized.

Students are encouraged to find a topic of interest to them, conduct research on the topic and then consider signing up for the next student conference in 2016.

To view presentations from past conferences or to learn more about having research presented in a professional forum at next year’s conference, visit the Student Conference website at: http://prtl.uhcl.edu/portal/page/portal/SCR/Home.