UNC Asheville hosts National Conference on Undergrad Research

From UNC Asheville:

4,000 Scholars from Across the U.S. to Participate in 30th National Conference on Undergraduate Research, Hosted by UNC Asheville, April 7-9

The National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR), first held in 1987 at UNC Asheville, will return to its founding campus April 7-9 when more than 4,000 students and faculty from across the U.S. will present their research and share ideas. This 30th renewal of NCUR will mark the fifth time UNC Asheville has hosted the national conference, which has grown tenfold in size since its founding.

The hallmark of NCUR is high-quality, faculty-mentored research by undergraduate students whose projects meet a rigorous review process before being approved for presentation. The approximately 3,700 student scholars participating in NCUR 30 hail from 900 colleges, universities and associations that are part of the Council on Undergraduate Research. Council Executive Officer Elizabeth Ambos, a geologist and former administrator in the California State University system, describes NCUR as “a cherished tradition that annually celebrates and commemorates outstanding research, scholarship and creative inquiry.”

The 1987 inaugural NCUR, which was the nation’s first national conference on undergraduate research and attracted 400 scholars, was announced as an “opportunity for interchange and cross-fertilization between the traditionally divided academic fields.” Fittingly, it was convened by UNC Asheville faculty members in disciplines ranging from the sciences to the humanities, led by chemist and now Professor Emeritus John Stevens, Physics Professor Michael Ruiz and English Chair and Professor Merritt Moseley.

That exploratory, boundary-crossing spirit has flourished as NCUR has grown. “Being on the edge of science and creativity, searching for truth, is an intellectual rush, and it has lasting impact,” says UNC Asheville Psychology Professor and Director of Undergraduate Research Mark Harvey, who directs NCUR 30. “The skills students develop in completing and presenting their research are invaluable – a focused curiosity, organized thinking and analysis, and clear communication. Undergraduate research is tremendous preparation for future success regardless of the student’s chosen discipline.”

In addition to presenting their own research and sharing ideas with other undergraduate researchers and faculty, the more than 4,000 participants will hear from three distinguished plenary speakers: evolutionary biologist David George Haskell, author of The Forest Unseen: A Year’s Watch in Nature, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in nonfiction; chef, educator, health activist and author Bryant Terry, winner of the 2015 James Beard Foundation Leadership Award; and theologian and African-American studies scholar Dianne Stewart, known for her writing on the influence of Africa on new world religious cultures and for her work to help diversify the academy.

NCUR delegates are expected to fill more than 4,200 overnight hotel rooms over the course of the conference. More than 25 area accommodations are participating in the housing efforts, coordinated by the Asheville Convention and Visitors Bureau.  The estimated room revenue alone is approximately $600,000.

“Many attendees are arriving early or staying late and making plans to experience Asheville’s vibrant cultural scene,” said Stephanie Pace Brown, executive director of the Asheville Convention & Visitors Bureau. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to showcase our university, our community and our city. NCUR brings scholars from around the nation to Asheville, to experience the best we have to offer and to create and collaborate in this innovative city.”

NCUR 30 undergraduate research presentations also will largely occupy UNC Asheville’s classrooms and lecture halls April 7-9. UNC Asheville will not hold classes during NCUR 30 so students can present their research and attend the research presentations by scholars from across the country. More than 60 percent of UNC Asheville students complete original research as undergraduates; 201 UNC Asheville students have had their work chosen for presentation at NCUR 30.

For more information, visit urp.unca.edu and cur.org/ncur_2016.