Jan. 28, 2013 — More than two dozen University of Utah undergraduate students will join counterparts from Utah State University in presenting “Research Posters on the Hill: A Celebration of Undergraduate Research” to Utah State Legislators on Thursday, Jan. 31, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., in the rotunda of the State Capitol.

The event, now in its thirteenth year, gives lawmakers the opportunity to see the high-caliber research projects coming from undergraduate students at the state’s two public research institutions, and the continued necessity for funding from the state of Utah to support higher education.

Student’s poster presentations will highlight individual research in disciplines ranging from geography and bioengineering to computing, chemistry, international studies, and family and preventive medicine.

“Research offers our undergraduate students the opportunity to deeply engage in their education,” says David W. Pershing, president of the University of Utah. “When they are allowed to explore, discover, imagine possibilities and create real solutions to real problems with a faculty mentor, it impacts how they learn and their excitement about the future. Research and creative activities add a hands-on dimension that is an essential component in a research university such the University of Utah.”

Students were selected to present posters on topics such as improving patient comprehension of educational material, increasing the effectiveness of teaching computational principles to students, microtexturing hip replacement joints to improve lubrication and durability, clarifying the role of water in processes involving hydration, examining sediment samples of a desert wetland in New Mexico to construct a fire history for the area, and the accessibility to HIV-AIDS medications in developing countries.

High-resolution images of student research posters are available with this release at www.unews.utah.edu. For more information, contact Andrea Haag by email at a.haag@ugs.utah.edu.