"Speaker McCall Welcomes Undergraduate Research
Poster Conference at the State Capitol"

HARRISBURG, Oct. 20, 2009 – Speaker of the House Keith R. McCall, D-Carbon, today welcomed some of Pennsylvania's brightest and most talented college and university students to Harrisburg for the Undergraduate Research Poster Conference at the Capitol.

The event brings together college students, faculty and Pennsylvania legislators and staff to share the experiences of undergraduate students engaged in research or scholarship at Pennsylvania colleges and universities.

Thirty-nine undergraduate students and 21 faculty advisors from 49 Pennsylvania colleges and universities presented their research in the Capitol's East Wing. Their projects address research questions in the physical, life and social sciences, engineering, information technology and humanities.

"The sophistication of these projects demonstrates the intellectual ability of the students who attend the Commonwealth's colleges and universities. Their work is a testimonial to the dedication of the faculty who mentor them, and I am confident that these students will learn a lot through participating in this conference," McCall said.

Each student created a poster that presents a research question, the procedures the students used to answer it and the results. During the day-long event, the students defended their work by explaining their research and results to legislators, staff, lobbyists and Capitol visitors.

The event was sponsored by McCall, the Legislative Office for Research Liaison, the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania, and the Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Universities. This is the fifth poster conference to take place at the Capitol.