Today 450 undergraduate students will present their research on a variety of topics ranging from science to theater.
It's part of the first UNM Undergraduate Research and Creativity Symposium, which will take over every room in the SUB for 12 hours starting at 9 a.m.
The event, put together by University College, has been in the works since August.
The idea for the symposium came from an organization called the Reinvention Center at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. The center is dedicated to connecting research faculty with undergraduate education in large public universities in America, said Peter White, dean of University College.
"We are trying to prepare our undergraduates for professional careers or for graduate school," he said. "We are also trying to reward faculty for working closely with our students. Most of all, we are celebrating the achievements of our students."
Students were paired up with mentors for the event. Elizabeth Archuleta, an assistant professor in the English department, has seven students in the symposium.
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She gave students in two of her classes the option of participating in the event or writing a final research paper.
"It provides a good opportunity to do something different," she said. "There might be some glitches, but I think it's going to be a success. The number of students involved is evidence of that."
One of the students Archuleta sponsored is Natahnee Winder, whose presentation explores the benefits of blending Western medicine with traditional healing. Winder has been working on her project for a year and a half.
She said she presented similar research in a symposium last summer but is glad UNM decided to have an event where students can share their research with each other.
"Not only do we get to see what other people have done, it might be a door-opener for a lot of individuals," she said.
Erin Radcliffe, program coordinator, said the symposium is also designed to give students in the community a chance to see the various research opportunities they can have at UNM that might not be available anywhere else.
She said she hopes it will also encourage undergraduates to apply for research grants from organizations like the National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.
"We get a lot of mail from organizations like the National Science Foundation asking why, with such a diverse student body, our students aren't applying for their grants," she said. "We wanted to open up everything and show students that at UNM, you have the opportunity to do research and learn as an apprentice - that you don't have to be a graduate student."
Radcliffe said she expects the diversity of presentations to attract a lot of people.
In addition to students' presentations, administrators, faculty and students will participate in a panel discussion sharing their research experiences.
