CENTER VALLEY, Pa. -- Penn State Lehigh Valley will host the sixth annual Penn State Eastern Regional Undergraduate Research Symposium beginning at 10 a.m. on April 21 in room 135.
Students from eight Penn State campuses will showcase posters and exhibits of their scholarly research. The projects will fall under one of two judging categories: Arts and Humanities (including behavioral science such as business studies and economics) and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). An awards ceremony recognizing the top three entries will take place at 3 p.m. The symposium is open to the public.
The symposium celebrates the participation of its undergraduate students in their scholarly research journeys. Undergraduate students will present posters to display research in all disciplines. Academic research projects completed since the end of the spring 2015 semester are eligible and include independent research or research-based course projects; honors research projects; and traditional course-related projects that required significant research.
Bryan Krock, Ph. D., assistant director of the division of genomic diagnostics at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and assistant professor of clinical pathology at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, will be the keynote speaker. Krock will present some of his research and work in the area of genome-based diagnostics in pediatric genetic disease. He will share how advances in DNA sequencing technology can diagnose ultra-rare diseases, leading to transformative treatment for severely affected children and our understanding of human biology.
Krock, who graduated from University Park, attended the Lehigh Valley campus and graduated from Emmaus High School.
“We are absolutely thrilled to host this event this year. It showcases high-quality undergraduate student-faculty collaborative research and academic excellence in all fields of study by students enrolled, or previously enrolled, at eight of Penn States eastern-based campuses,” said Jacqueline McLaughlin, Ph.D., co-chair of the 2016 Penn State Regional Undergraduate Research Symposium Steering Committee. “It is even more meaningful and inspiring that we have a Penn State Lehigh Valley alumnus presenting the keynote address.”
“The first regional symposium was launched back in 2011 right here at Lehigh Valley. The regional symposia over the past years have been so successful that the Office of the Vice President for Commonwealth Campuses has committed a matching fund to the funding from the campus’s Office of Academic Affairs for this event,” said Tai-Yin Huang, Ph.D., co-chair of the 2016 Penn State Regional Undergraduate Research Symposium.
Students who win at the local level will be invited to compete in the Sixth Annual Penn State Regional Undergraduate Research Symposium. Penn State Lehigh Valley will host its local Undergraduate Research Symposium from 10:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Apr. 5 in room 135 at the campus in Center Valley. An awards presentation will follow at 1:30 p.m. This local symposium is free and open to the public.
Penn State Lehigh Valley professors, Jacqueline McLaughlin and Tai-Yin Huang, have been selected to serve as co-chairs on the 2016 Penn State Regional Undergraduate Research Symposium Steering Committee.