A near-record number of students is expected to participate in the Student Research and Creative Works Expo, set to begin at 9 a.m., Monday, April 15, in the Donaghey Student Center, Ledbetter meeting rooms A, B, and C.

The expo offers both undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to showcase their research – scholarly and creative endeavors across all disciplines. The undergraduate expo will take place in the morning, with judging to begin at 9, and the graduate expo beginning at 1 p.m.

A total of 160 students submitted works for judging, according to Dr. Andrew Drummond, chair of the expo.

“That is just a remarkable amount,” he said. “The expo has grown every year as the committee works to make it even more inclusive. I think it has been a real success story on campus.”

Drummond said the event operates with the philosophy that research, especially on the undergraduate side, “is a transformative thing.”

Applicable activities will include, but are not limited to, senior theses, honors, independent study, course-related, and thesis and dissertation projects. They may be recently completed or ongoing, collaborative or individual.

“We will have truly original research and creative works, ranging from black holes to nanostructures, from literature and poetry to technology and Twitter,” said Drummond. “It is always a great day of discovery.”

Students will receive awards in each of the categories at a separate event to be held at noon on Monday, April 22. Winners in appropriate categories of the undergraduate event will be nominated for Posters on the Hill, held April 23-24 and hosted by the Council on Undergraduate Research in Washington D.C.

The expo will also feature keynote speakers including Dr. D. Micah Hester, division chief of Biomedical Ethics and Philosophy at UAMS, who will speak at 9 a.m. to kick off the undergraduate event.

Dr. Misty Stevens, operations director for InterveXion of Little Rock, will speak at 1 p.m. to kick off the graduate event.

The students will present their work using posters and are judged in several categories including how clear and novel their approach, how well they create perspective, and how apt they are at briefly “pitching” their work to convey what they are doing.

“It’s a great day where everybody comes out to celebrate the work that’s being done on campus,” Drummond said. “We’ve become the premier event for showcasing research and creative works.”