Graduate Student Research Forum

Korrin B.

May 2, 2010 - 9:00 PM

On Friday, I had the lucky opportunity to attend part of the University's first annual Graduate Student Research Forum (GSRF). The GSRF was a daylong event that showcased the work of over 100 graduate students from departments all across campus. It was sponsored by the Graduate School and the Graduate School Advisory Board.

The events had several different sections to it. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend all of them this year due to my class schedule, but I did get to make one of the afternoon events. However, I looked over the day schedule and got to read about some of the other great things going on throughout the day. The day began with a welcome ceremony that included remarks from UO President, Richard Lariviere, and UO Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies and Dean of the Graduate School, Richard Linton. The rest of the day was filled with presentations throughout campus put on by graduate students about their original research. The day finished with a closing reception.

The piece that I was able to attend for a bit was the poster session. The poster session was held in the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art and included posters made by twenty different graduate student participants. I was able to walk around and learn about several very unique and interesting projects being done by the students. There were even a couple of Planning, Public Policy and Management graduate students there who had posters. It was very exciting for me to see their work because it related to some of my similar interests.

I think that this was a great event for me to attend as I begin the research for my undergraduate honors thesis. I was able to see how the graduate students focused their ideas and made them accessible to viewers who may not be too familiar with their topic. I got to talk to several graduate students as well about their research process and even how they created such visually appealing posters. I am hoping to be able to make a poster for my thesis to present next year.

Although I did not get to attend the entire day events, the part that I was able to make it to seemed like a great success. I hope that more undergraduate students take the opportunity to check out this event next year, as I think it serves as a great inspiration and example for younger students on the quest to find their focus.