During their time at SSU, students have the opportunity to delve into a particular field and acquire skills to not only help further their education but start them on a path to success long after graduation. With over 40 majors across six schools, the university will give undergraduate students across all disciplines a unique chance to share their work, and showcase what they’ve learned during the semester, at the SSU Symposium of Research & Creativity.
Beginning in 2016, this is the 3rd annual Symposium showcasing the research endeavors and scholarly achievements of students across a wide array of majors and varying academic careers. The event will include about 230 poster presentations, featuring the work of close to 500 students collaborating with faculty mentors and community partners.
“The symposium is designed to acquaint students in all stages of their academic careers with the process and rigors of presenting research in a scholarly manner in an academic setting,” said Lynn Stauffer, dean of the School of Science and Technology.
In the engineering department, there are seven projects initiated and funded by the community. These projects, with some directly dealing with issues such as sustainability, can be installed on campus, and the Symposium allows students to see how they operate.
“This is a great opportunity to demonstrate the scholarly work that undergraduate students do at Sonoma State,” said Farid Farahmand, chair of the engineering science department. “They get a chance to demonstrate their work outside their classroom and show it to their community.”
Due to the growing capacity of the event, as last year’s symposium saw over 1,000 students, faculty, staff and community members attend, this year it will be split up into two days. The Arts and Humanities, Business and Economics, Education and Social Sciences majors will present on Monday, April 30, while the School of Science and Technology and the WATERS program will present on Wednesday, May 2. Visit the Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Experiences (SOURCE) website for more information or contact SOURCE director Daniel Smith.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the outstanding work that students are doing all over the university,” said Smith. “I’m looking forward to seeing the students proudly display their work, and seeing attendees come away from the event both impressed and enlightened.”