More than 700 presenters participated in the 2023 UTC Spring Research and Arts Conference (photo by Angela Foster).
The largest academic conference held on the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga campus is only a couple of months away.
The 2024 UTC Spring Research and Arts Conference will be held on Wednesday, April 10, in the University Center. Sponsored by the Office for Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavor (URaCE), the event allows UTC students, faculty and staff to share their research or showcase their creative work with their peers.
Formerly known as ReSEARCH Dialogues, the event was reformatted as a one-day conference in 2023.
“This continues to be an awesome event that gives our students a really diverse set of experiences,” URaCE Executive Director Lisa Piazza said. “Last year, we piloted a class visit initiative and faculty really seemed to like it, so we’re hopeful that faculty will bring their classes again.”
Piazza said more than 300 UTC students came to last April’s event as visitors.
To participate as a presenter or performer, applicants must submit their registration form by 11 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 25.
Presentation formats include poster presentations, art displays, oral presentations, panel discussions and performances. Community college students and community partners are also invited to present.
UTC sophomore Olivia Ziemer stands in front of her poster, which received first prize at the Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics at Georgia Institute of Technology in January. Photo courtesy of Dr. Tatiana Allen.
Award-winning research
Olivia Ziemer, a sophomore physics major and Brock Scholar from Tigard, Oregon, is looking forward to presenting her award-winning poster at this year’s conference.
Her poster, “The Relationship Between Viscosity of E. Coli Suspensions and Increasing Antibiotic Resistance,” won first prize at the American Physical Society Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics at Georgia Institute of Technology in January.
Though she has experience presenting her research, Ziemer expects this conference to feel different.
“This one will be especially fun because it’s people from all sorts of various disciplines as opposed to just physicists,” she said. “People ask questions that make me think about it and help me develop my ideas.”
One of the most significant advantages of presenting at this type of conference, she said, is that it helps her explain the research to her family.
“I adjust my vocabulary to be more accessible,” she said.
Ziemer said she is excited to present to a group of people in other fields of study, as it allows her to think about her research in a new way.
“It’s one thing to know in your head what you’re talking about,” she said, “but to present to people who don’t have much experience in the field, it’s good practice.”
Empowering engagement
Zayda Dominick
Zayda Dominick can attest that multidisciplinary conferences can help with research.
“The questions from people who don’t have much experience in chemistry are usually better because they point out things you wouldn’t realize,” said Dominick, a sophomore biochemistry major from Knoxville, Tennessee. “Once you get stuck in all the terms and the actual science, you overlook a lot.”
Dominick received an undergraduate poster award for her poster, “Understanding how NtrZ affects NtrY in Caulobacter crescentus,” at the Southeastern Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society last October. She will be presenting that poster at the conference.
”I really enjoy talking about my research,” she said. “I get to see all my accomplishments and then I get to tell other people how I did what I did. Seeing how people get interested in it is inspiring and makes me want to keep doing it.”
While Dominick wants people to learn about her research, she also wants people to draw inspiration and get involved in their research.
“I’d like to show people that this stuff is happening on campus and you can be a part of it too.”
Community building
Assistant Vice Chancellor of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs Stacie Grisham is also a student in UTC’s Leadership and Decision-Making doctoral program.
At last spring’s Research and Arts Conference, Grisham presented her literature review poster, “Course Registration and Student Success Outcomes,” as part of her publishing and presenting class.
“It’s a topic I’ve been interested in and both the class and the conference gave me the opportunity to really dig in,” she said.
Like Dominick and Ziemer, Grisham utilized feedback for her research.
“It was really beneficial to present the poster because a lot of my classmates came through,” she explained. “They would ask about my research, which helped me think about the topic differently. I’m using some of the feedback now in the early stages of my dissertation.”
Grisham also said a significant benefit of the conference is that it gives those presenting a chance to learn more about their classmates or colleagues and their research.
“There were things my classmates were researching and were interested in that I wasn’t even aware of,” she said. “We’ve had follow-up conversations since then because we found out we had some shared interests.
“I think it’s a good way to build connections with your peers and other people.”
Learn More
UTC Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavor (URaCE)
UTC Spring Research and Arts Conference
Assistant Vice Chancellor of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs Stacie Grisham is also a student in UTC’s Leadership and Decision-Making doctoral program.
