MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University’s Undergraduate Research Center is hosting its eighth annual Fall Research and Creative Activity Open House from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6, to spotlight the high-quality and varied research and creative projects undergraduate students are producing across campus. 

“Attendees can expect bold, imaginative projects that reflect deep inquiry across all disciplines,” said Casey Penston, the center’s coordinator. “We’ll also have a pizza lunch and our center’s support on hand — both students and professional staff — to share all the ways students curious about research can get involved.”

Students, faculty and student families are welcome to attend the event in the Miller Education Center on the second floor Atrium, 503 E. Bell St. Find more information about transportation to the center at https://mtsunews.com/miller-center-parking-spring22/.

Attendees can expect to be exposed to undergraduate research through a purposefully intimate group of around 30 presentations, said Director Jamie Burriss — the perfect introductory setting for presenters and guests alike. 

“We’ve found this setting leaves presenters with a boost in confidence from having presented in a supportive setting, a clearer understanding of how their work connects to larger disciplinary conversations and how to bridge those conversations with those outside their field, and a preparation for more advanced national and international conferences,” Penston said, with this year’s event at capacity with presenters. “It’s also a digestible number of presentations for guests to get a little taste of everything.”

Both also emphasized that the event further provides attendees with opportunities to network and gain exposure to the center’s ever-expanding resources from its student organization, internal grant opportunities and more.

Faculty, too, Penston said, walk away with more awareness of the scope of research conducted on campus across disciplines.

“Faculty are often delighted by the diversity and excellence of undergraduate work,” she said. “It helps foster mentorship opportunities and collaborative projects that faculty may not have previously explored.”

The center’s growth shows no sign of slowing, with more students participating in national and international research conferences; students clinching spots in top-tier graduate programs at Harvard, Vanderbilt, Duke and others; and most recently, the center’s move to its own office in the Miller Education Center last year.

Burriss also teased a major, upcoming milestone for the center and university.

“It’s a little bittersweet to say this will be our last Open House, but we’re so excited about what’s ahead,” she said. “Next year, our students will have the opportunity to present their research virtually as part of the International Conference on Undergraduate Research, or ICUR, joining a global community of student scholars.

“As always, when there’s an ability to provide our incredibly talented and passionate undergraduates with more opportunity, we are going to take it.”

Learn more about the Undergraduate Research Center at https://urc.mtsu.edu/.

— Stephanie Wagner (Stephanie.Wagner@mtsu.edu)