More than 230 students from selected colleges and universities in the Big South Conference will participate in the first Big South Undergraduate Research Symposium (BigSURS) on March 23 and 24 on the Coastal Carolina University campus.

This first-ever, multi-disciplinary conference is being initiated to foster academic relationships among the participating Big South member institutions: Charleston Southern University, Coastal Carolina University, High Point University, Liberty University, Presbyterian College, Radford University, University of North Carolina at Asheville, Virginia Military Institute and Winthrop University.

In addition to the student papers and poster presentations, BigSURS will include two speakers. Sandra Rosenthal, associate professor of chemistry and pharmacology at Vanderbilt University, will give the keynote address, "White-Light Nanocrystals and the Coming Revolution in Solid State Lighting," on Friday, March 23 at 4:15 p.m. in Wall Auditorium. Plenary session speaker Michael Reese, assistant professor in the Applied Health Science Department at Indiana University School of Medicine, will talk about "Responding to America's Sexual Health Crisis: The Role of Students in Progressive Research" on Saturday, March 24 at 10 a.m. in Wall Auditorium.

Schedule

Friday, March 23

1:30 - 4 p.m. Concurrent Sessions (held throughout campus)

2 - 4 p.m. Poster Sessions, Wall Boardroom

4:15 - 5:15 p.m. Keynote address, Dr. Sandra Rosenthal, Wall Auditorium

6 - 8 p.m. Reception, Ripley's Aquarium, Broadway at the Beach

Saturday, March 24

8:10 - 9:40 a.m. Concurrent sessions (held throughout campus)

10 - 10:50 a.m. Plenary session speaker, Dr. Michael Reece, Wall Auditorium

11 - 11:50 a.m. Concurrent sessions (held throughout campus)

Noon - 1 p.m. Lunch

1 - 2:50 p.m. Concurrent sessions (held throughout campus)

1 - 3 p.m. Poster sessions, Wall Boardroom

3:15 - 4:15 p.m. Awards ceremony, Wall Auditorium

BigSURS is modeled after the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR), the major national collegiate academic conference. The proceedings of the BigSURS conference will be published by UNC-Asheville later this year. This symposium is partially funded by a grant from EPSCoR IDeA, the S.C. Experimental Program to stimulate competitive research and institutional development awards and from donations by the participating Big South institutions and the Big South Athletic Conference.