This year’s expo will be the biggest undergraduate research exhibition in WCU’s history, with about 220 student presenters and 64 faculty sponsors representing 27 academic departments, said Brian Railsback, dean of the Honors College.

Railsback said there has been a dramatic increase in undergraduate research activity at WCU in the past several years. “Faculty members are recognizing the value of research in the academic lives of undergraduates, and they are making the extra commitment that it requires to mentor the students in their projects,” he said.

The expo schedule includes presentations on a wide range of topics such as “Hamlet’s Problem,” “Beyond Band Aids: A Study of the Healthcare Workforce Shortage in Western North Carolina,” “Construction Methods of Musical Instruments in Appalachia,” “Wheelchair Disc Brake System” and “Resolving Reality: The War in Iraq from the British Perspective.”

The expo poster session will be held from 5 to 6:30 p.m. on March 24 in and around the Grandroom of A.K. Hinds University Center. Also that day in the Grandroom, a reception for students, faculty sponsors and the general public will begin at 5 p.m., and Erin Ponder, president of the Honors College student board, will give special recognition to three faculty members in a short program scheduled for 6 p.m.

The best of the WCU undergraduate projects will be going on the road April 10-12 as 39 students travel to Salisbury University in Maryland for the National Conference on Undergraduate Research, an annual springtime gathering where undergraduates from across the country present their research. WCU ranks sixth among the nation’s colleges in the number of student abstracts accepted for presentation at the conference.

All expo presentations are open to the public. For a detailed schedule of events, contact the Honors College at (828) 227-7383 or click on the 2008 program link on this Web page: http://www.wcu.edu/5520.asp.

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Last modified: Monday, March 17, 2008