UC Merced Connect: Celebrate research on campus, in town

The annual Research Week Fair has more than doubled in size from last year, and that’s just one of the new and growing events featured in UC Merced’s weeklong celebration of research.

Research Week begins Monday and runs through March 4 at various locations across campus and downtown, and features work from nearly every discipline at UC Merced. Most events are free and open to the public, and full details can be found at http://research.ucmerced.edu/events.

“UC Merced is a research university, and research infuses everything that we do,” Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development Sam Traina said. “Nevertheless, Research Week is special because it is one of the few times in the year that the entire campus showcases its many remarkable research accomplishments.”

The Research Fair on Scholars Lane kicks off the week from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, followed by a discussion on “Adapting to Changes in Climate: Mountains, Rivers, People, Wildlife” with Sierra Nevada Research Institute professors Roger Bales, Tom Harmon and Dan Edwards, and researchers Tapan Pathak and Emmanuel Vincent.

More than 20 tables have been booked by groups, graduate and undergraduate students, organized research units and scientists, including the UC Natural Reserve System, UC Solar, CalTeach and the Office of Undergraduate Education. Other events Monday include the Psi Chi and Merritt Writing Program Poster Session and a Research Information Session sponsored by the Office of Undergraduate Education.

On Tuesday, everyone is welcome to attend the always-popular Student Poster Competition in the gym and the qualifying round of the GradSLAM! research presentation competition in the California Room.

The UC Merced Venture Lab will present a talk Tuesday afternoon about connecting with the lab to commercialize research. It’s a great chance to learn more about the lab and about opportunities to turn research into careers in startups.

People can also attend the “Assessment as Research Symposium: Sharing Practices, Successes and Lessons Learned” on Wednesday. Organized by the Campus Working Group on Assessment and the Office of Undergraduate Education, the event features senate and lecturing faculty, staff and students giving brief talks and presenting posters about student learning, the student experience or student success.

Or visitors can have a free lunch and gain some knowledge when the Health Sciences Research Institute and UC Agricultural and Natural Resources present “Food and the Environment.”

On Thursday, there are a number of training sessions and workshops, and in the afternoon, snacks and art will be available at Abstracts, Appetizers and Art, a research-oriented mixer.

The last day of Research Week is packed with activities, too.

There’s a closing ceremony Friday with an awards presentation in the atrium of Science and Engineering Building 2, along with a lecture by CITRIS Frontiers in Technology speaker James Kuffner, the area leader in cloud computing at the Toyota Research Institute.

There will also be a Census Data workshop sponsored by the Spatial Analysis and Research Center and an Associated Students of UC Merced Research Symposium.

The week wraps up with the Resource Center for Community Engaged Scholarship Posters, Reception and Presentation event in the City Council chambers at the Merced Civic Center downtown. Projects that link the campus with the community will be highlighted.

Most events are open to the public.

This story was originally published February 28, 2016 at 3:05 PM with the headline "UC Merced Connect: Celebrate research on campus, in town."