2017 Research Day at the Capitol

About the Event

Research Day at the Capitol 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 institution's leadership to participate in the prestigious event, which is sponsored by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, Oklahoma Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (OK EPSCoR), and the National Science Foundation. 

Research Day at the Capitol includes a student poster competition, which will be held at the Waterford Hotel in Oklahoma City on the evening of March 27, 2017.  Winners of the competition will be announced the following day at the State Capitol. Also on March 28, students will showcase their research projects during prescheduled visits to Legislators’ Capitol offices. (Please note: Events have been slightly modified this year due to the Capitol Building’s 2017 renovation project, which restricts access to public spaces.)  

Timeline & Activities

  • Tuesday, November 1, 2016
    Nomination deadline 
    (Online submission, including uploaded financial responsibility form and abstract) 
  • Saturday, November 12, 2016
    Student informational training session
    9:30 a.m. – Noon, Waterford Hotel, Oklahoma City
    Student Participation Mandatory 
  • November 13, 2016 – March 27, 2017  
    Students prepare scientific posters, oral presentations and poster display units
  • Monday, February 6, 2017
    Students’ revised abstracts and lodging requests are due; online registration closes 
  • Monday, March 27, 2017
    Student oral presentations and poster session
    4 p.m. – 8:30 p.m., Waterford Hotel, Oklahoma City
    Student Participation Mandatory 
    (All registered guests are invited) 
  • Tuesday, March 28, 2017
    Students visit Legislators’ offices
    8 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.; noon – 1 p.m., State Capitol, Oklahoma City
    Student Participation Mandatory
    (Appointments with students’ “home district” Legislators will be scheduled by program coordinators. A University designee and/or family member(s) are encouraged to participate.) 
  • Tuesday, March 28, 2017
    Awards ceremony
    11 a.m. – noon, Blue Room, State Capitol, Oklahoma City
    Student Participation Mandatory
    (All registered guests are invited)

Poster Competition and Awards

Oral presentations will be held 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. on Monday, March 27, 2017, at the Waterford Hotel in Oklahoma City. Each student will be assigned a time to make a 3-minute oral presentation to a panel of EPSCoR-appointed judges. Posters will also be on display during this period. A poster session and reception will be held from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. for registered guests. During the poster session, judges will visit students at their posters. Poster development and follow-up question responses obtained during this session will be included in students’ overall judging scores. Poster competition winners will be announced during an awards ceremony in the State Capitol’s Blue Room on Tuesday, March 28, beginning at 11 a.m. 

Posters will be judged on the following criteria:

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

EPSCoR will award 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

Online Nomination Submission (Deadline November 1, 2016)

Each institution’s nomination package must be submitted online via the link below by the institution's official designee. 

Nomination packages must include the following uploaded documents at the time of submission:
1) Research Project Abstract and 2) Financial Responsibility Form (form available below for download) 

Only those individuals who have been designated by their institutions as official nominators for this event may submit student nominations. 

 


For more information

Gina Miller, Outreach Coordinator
gmiller@okepscor.org or 405.744.9964


Pictured above: Christian Ley of Broken Arrow, shown with Chancellor Glen D. Johnson, was selected to represent Oklahoma State University at  the 2016 Research Day at the Capitol. Ley won the overall grand prize for her water quality and renewable energy research poster titled "Microalgae Cultivation for Phycoremediation and Bioenergy Production."