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Welcome to UNLV’s Fall 2021 Virtual Undergraduate Research Symposium!

The Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) provides students with the opportunity to present their research at three annual undergraduate research symposia. OUR’s triannual, professional, and judged symposia aim to showcase the impactful research undergraduates conduct at UNLV. We define research at UNLV in the broadest, most inclusive, transdisciplinary, and collaborative sense to bridge the gap between content learning and discovery learning.

In response to COVID-19, we have shifted the Fall 2021 Undergraduate Research Symposium to a virtual symposium with student wellbeing, professional development, and research readiness in mind.

Please browse this site to view and celebrate the exciting research that undergraduate students are conducting at UNLV!

Although the virtual setting will not be a substitute for in-person sessions, students can still benefit and gain immensely from peer and expert engagement. We strongly encourage everyone to visit with as many student researchers as possible virtually to listen to their pitch, ask questions, offer comments, and provide constructive feedback using the “Comment” function under the “Leave a Reply” section on every page. 

Please be mindful that our student researchers completed their projects while sheltered in place and in a limited capacity. Presenting in a professional and judged symposium will be a first-time experience for many of our researchers, let alone presenting at a virtual symposium, recording their own videos, and being mentored remotely! Please read our website policy page and offer respectful, nurturing, gracious, generous, positive, and constructive feedback to inspire and encourage our future inventors, researchers, and colleagues.

Information for Symposium Attendees

  1. OUR’s Fall 2021 Virtual Undergraduate Research Symposium is an asynchronous event that will run from Monday, November 15 – Friday, November 19. 
  2. Please download the academic program to familiarize yourself with UNLV research conducted at the undergraduate level. Browse through our academic program web pages and engage with our student researchers via the comment function; ask questions, comment, and provide feedback! 
  3. Presentations are categorized following a three-tier organizational structure. First, presentations are organized by two broader academic disciplines: AHS – Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences and HNSE – Health and Natural Sciences and Engineering. Second, each presentation appears as a lightning talk presentation, podium presentation, performance/exhibition, or poster. Finally, a group of 2 to 6 presentations make up sessions.
  4. Oral presentation web pages feature a YouTube video, student researcher credentials, presentation abstract, and various metadata. On the side panel and within the “Speakers” frame, you will find credentials for student(s)’ faculty mentor(s), faculty and/or graduate student co-authors (if applicable), and other student co-authors (if applicable). 
  5. Poster presentation web pages feature the poster itself as an image that you can right-click on to open in a new window so that you can read along or zoom in on desired aspects. As well, a YouTube video that narrates the poster, student researcher credentials, presentation abstract, and various metadata accompany posters. On the side panel and within the “Speakers” frame, you will find credentials for student(s)’ faculty mentor(s), faculty and/or graduate student co-authors (if applicable), and other student co-authors (if applicable).
  6. The formal judging process entails a panel of two faculty judges usually evaluating a complete session with a group of 4 to 6 presentations. 
  7. Judging takes place in two phases:
    1. All of the judge panels submit their “session winners” by 3:00 pm on Wednesday, November 17.
    2. By 5:00 pm on Friday, November 19, 2021, our “Grand Jury” will evaluate the finalist and identify awardees for:
    • Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences
      • Best Performance/Exhibition in Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences
      • Best Podium Talk Presentation in Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences
      • Best Lightning Talk Presentation in Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences
      • Best Poster Presentation in Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences
    • Health & Natural Sciences & Engineering
      • Best Podium Talk Presentation in Health & Natural Sciences & Engineering
      • Best Lightning Talk Presentation in Health & Natural Sciences & Engineering
      • Best Poster Presentation in Health & Natural Sciences & Engineering