4/30/2022
Hello again. As I have been saying in the past few blog posts, I have been registered to present my chemistry research at multiple conferences in the month of April. Both conferences finally came, and I successfully presented at The National Conference of Undergraduate Research (NCUR) and UWEC’s Celebration of Excellence in Research and Creative Activity (CERCA).
The National Conference of Undergraduate Research
My presentation for NCUR occurred on April 7th, 2022. This was the first conference that my mentor encouraged me to sign up for. His suggestion on presenting was because public speaking is an area that I needed to improve in. The format for the 2022 NCUR conference was online, so I was able to give my presentation on the Eau Claire campus. During my presentation day, there was a workshop I attended on developing soft skills and “being able to ask better questions.” This was an interesting addition to the conference, and it ended up being very helpful. Once my presentation time came, I gave a 12 minute presentation with a poster visual aid. I had practiced this presentation multiple times beforehand with my mentor, so I was very prepared. The presentation went well, and I was able to watch seven other presentations after my own. These presentations ranged from physical chemistry to biochemistry. It was very interesting to be able to learn about the format of research in these disciplines, since some dealt with 3-D printing and others relied on human trials.
Celebration of Excellence in Research and Creative Activity
My presentation for CERCA occurred on April 25th, 2022. This presentation was much easier than the NCUR presentation since I had the poster already made and I had a talk already prepared. For CERCA, instead of giving a 12 minute talk, I was expected to have a two to three minute explanation of your project. This allowed attendees to get the overview of my project quickly and ask for further information if they were interested. There was a good turnout, and I was able to talk about my project with many students and faculty. For this conference, I walked around to see other students’ posters to learn more about the other research projects on campus. I also attended an oral presentation on a science related topic to see if there was anything I could learn from their talk or incorporate into my own presentation in the future.
My CERCA Poster
Takeaways and Future Plans
Overall, these presentations went better than I was expected, and I was surprised how great it felt to be able to share something I am so passionate about. I anticipate attending both CERCA and NCUR next year to present this project. I am also working with my mentor to possibly attend the American Chemical Society research conference next year, which would require a more technical presentation.
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