July 25, 2014

Newswise — A summer’s worth of work for undergraduate researchers will culminate in the 17th annual Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium of Duquesne University’s Bayer School of Natural and Environmental Sciences on Friday, July 25. This year, 118 students will make their research public in one of the school’s largest symposia. This event and the 10-week research program that drives it bring together undergraduates from 12 other institutions and Duquesne to involve them in high-level research. Teams from University of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Supercomputer Center, and high school students in Duquesne’s award-winning Project SEED also will present and display posters. “The symposium is an exciting opportunity for student researchers, science faculty and professionals from around Greater Pittsburgh to interact and share in undergraduate research,” said Dr. Philip Reeder, dean of the Bayer School. “It is a chance for the students to work side-by-side with graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and faculty mentors, in state-of-the-art research labs, doing meaningful, real-world research. Very few universities provide this level of involvement to undergraduate students.”Student researchers are funded by the Bayer School, Duquesne’s Mylan School of Pharmacy, individual faculty grants, as well as the National Institutes of Health, which makes the participation of bio-medical engineers possible, and the National Science Foundation.The symposium agenda includes brief talks in the Pappert Lecture Hall of the Bayer Learning Center from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., followed by poster presentations from 2 to 4 p.m. on the adjacent Mellon Hall patio. The 10 a.m. keynote will be given by Dr. Yoosuf Picard from Carnegie Mellon University’s Department of Material Sciences and Engineering. His presentation, Energetic Beams for Micro and Nanoscale Science–My Undergraduate Research to Present, will share the impact of undergraduate research. Duquesne UniversityFounded in 1878, Duquesne is consistently ranked among the nation's top Catholic research universities for its award-winning faculty and tradition of academic excellence. Duquesne, a campus of more than 10,000 graduate and undergraduate students, has been nationally recognized for its academic programs, community service and commitment to sustainability. Its memberships include the Council on Undergraduate Research.www.duq.edu.

Contacts: Rose Ravasio, 412.396.6051/cell 412.818.0234Karen Ferrick-Roman, 412.396.1154/cell 412.736.1877

Karen Ferrick-Roman, Ed.D.Media Relations ManagerDuquesne UniversityRoom 405 Koren BuildingPittsburgh PA 15282

Office: 412.396.1154Cell: 412.736.1877