Student Informational Training Session - 2019 Research Day at the Capitol

Saturday, December 1, 2018 - 9:30am - 12:00pm

The student information and training session for the 2019 Research Day at the Capitol event will be held Saturday, December 1, 2018, 9:30 a.m. to noon, at the Hyatt Place Hotel, 1511 N.W. Expressway, in Oklahoma City. All nominated Research Day at the Capitol student researchers are required to attend. The meeting will provide students with important information and details about the event, as well as insight into best practices regarding poster presentation and design.

About Research Day at the Capitol

The 2019 Research Day at the Capitol will be held on Tuesday, March 26, at the State Capitol of Oklahoma. The event was established over 20 years ago to showcase the outstanding undergraduate research being conducted at Oklahoma’s colleges and universities in the areas of science (including social science), technology, engineering, and mathematics. Students are nominated by their institutions' leadership to participate in the prestigious event, which is sponsored by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, Oklahoma Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (OK EPSCoR), and the National Science Foundation. 

Nominated students present their research to State Legislators and the public in the State Capitol's fourth floor rotunda during the legislative session. In addition, students’ posters and oral presentations are competitively judged by an independent panel; winners are announced at the conclusion of Research Day, during an awards ceremony at the Capitol.   

Timeline & Activities

  • Thursday, November 1, 2018
    Nomination deadline 
    (Online submission, including uploaded financial responsibility form and abstract) 
  • Saturday, December 1, 2018
    Student informational training session
    9:30 a.m. – Noon, Hyatt Place Hotel, Oklahoma City
    Student Participation Mandatory 
  • December 2, 2018 – March 24, 2019  
    Students prepare scientific posters, oral presentations and poster display units
  • Monday, February 4, 2019 (8 a.m.)
    Students’ revised abstracts and lodging requests are due

  • Monday, March 11, 2019
    Online registration closes (all attendees)
  • Monday, March 25, 2019
    Judging of students' oral presentations and posters
    9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., Hyatt Place Hotel, Oklahoma City
    Student Participation Mandatory 
    (Individually scheduled times; students only) 

  • Tuesday, March 26, 2019
    Research Day at the Capitol: State Capitol, 4th Floor Rotunda
    Students arrive and set up posters, 7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.,
    Posters on exhibit, students meet with Legislators & public, 8:30 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
    Student Participation Mandatory 
    (All registered guests are invited; open to the public)
  • Tuesday, March 26, 2019
    Awards ceremony
    11:30 a.m. – Noon, 2nd Floor Rotunda, State Capitol, Oklahoma City
    Student Participation Mandatory
    (All registered guests are invited)

Poster Competition and Awards

A panel of EPSCoR-appointed judges will review students' poster presentations from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. on Monday, March 25, 2019, at the Hyatt Place Hotel in Oklahoma City. Judging will consist of an oral presentation by the student (3 minutes/timed), followed immediately by poster review and Q&A by the judges (5 minutes/timed).

Posters will be judged on the following criteria:

  1. Abstract (format, clarity, societal impact, objective of study, results, and conclusions)
  2. Scientific presentation
    (Purpose, hypothesis, background information, results, impact, suggested further study)
  3. Visual appearance
  4. Clarity for general audiences
  5. Societal impact statement 

The top student researchers will be awarded the following:

  • Grand Prize is a $500 award plus $4,000 summer research internship; $2,500 award to the sponsoring Oklahoma college/university lab to offset expenses of hosting the internship
  • First ($500), second ($250), and third ($250) place prizes will be awarded in each of the following two categories: 1) Research Intensive Institutions and 2) Regional, Community and Tribal Colleges