Dozens of students showed off their undergraduate research for Salt Lake Community College’s third-annual Undergraduate Projects and Research Conference (UPRC), which took place last Tuesday at the Taylorsville Redwood campus.
The research on display varied from psychology to biotechnical engineering. Students stood eagerly next to their posters while they waited for teachers, peers and other reviewers to look at their work. Megan Declay and Zach Nixon, both psychology majors at SLCC, said the UPRC was a great opportunity for new faces to enter the research field and explore topics that are not as well-studied or widely understood.
“There wasn’t that much research done on generational trauma. So, it was a bit hard,” Declay said about her initial findings. “Most of the time, it [involved] elders and not many younger people.”
Declay added that, while the conference was nerve-wracking, it was nevertheless a great way to start presenting her work.
Nixon, who researched sleep paralysis, said one thing that piqued his interest in the topic was whether there is medication that changes or prevents the phenomenon. He hopes to broaden the areas where understanding of the condition is limited.
Dakota Stringham, another SLCC student who presented at this year’s UPRC, expressed his excitement at being able to present research and participate in it. This type of conference, he said, constitutes a “niche” project that helps students better understand the different types of sciences.
“I think if more students can experience [events like the UPRC] instead of just going to class day after day … that really will help people understand more about how fun science can be,” Stringham said.
Student presentations took a hiatus midway through the day for keynote speaker Dr. David Parrott, assistant professor of biology at Westminster College, who spoke at length about climate change and the Great Salt Lake.
Parrot highlighted the important research that he and other undergraduates did while studying the lake’s detrimental state and how continued research can help solve the crisis at the lake. “Students contributed almost all of the research,” he said. “There are opportunities, even if you’re not in graduate school.”
At the top of the event, Dr. Kamal Bewar, interim director for SLCC’s STEM Learning Center, described the UPRC as a “testimony of passion, dedication and intellectual curiosity.” He said the conference defined the student community, showing the results of engaged learning and contribution to each respective field.
