Student Showcase 2012

Student Showcase took place on Friday, November 9th, 2012 in the Alumni Plaza in front of the Student Union and the Administration Building. It opened to the public at 9:30am and ran until 5:00pm. 

Photos from this year's showcase can be found at the GPSC's facebook page here. 

For more information, please read: Participating in Student Showcase

*Update* President Hart has just generously increased the donation for Student Showcase. The President's Award is now $1,000. 

What is Student Showcase?

The GPSC hosts Student Showcase as the academic segment of Homecoming weekend every fall on the University of Arizona Mall. Around one hundred students participate in this exhibition of undergraduate and graduate scholarship demonstrating the wide spectrum of University student research projects. With tens of thousands of visitors attending the one-day Homecoming event, Student Showcase offers students a significant forum for communicating the importance of their research to the broader University of Arizona community.

Implemented in 1993 by the GPSC, Student Showcase represents the only student-run research exhibition of its magnitude in the United States. Students who participate in this event can be proud of their efforts and academic achievements. Demonstrating the valuable research that takes place with the help of local and state funds to everyone involved, Student Showcase also has the honor of including state representatives and many other community members as judges.

Why you should participate in the Student Showcase?

Graduate and undergraduate students participate in Student Showcase in approximately equal numbers.

By participating, students gain valuable experience presenting their work and interacting with the public. Additionally, deans, faculty, advisors, staff, administrators, department and community members serving as judges will actively encourage student participation. Student Showcase also fosters the mentoring relationship among students and their advisors and professors.

This year, the GPSC is looking to bring in a stage, allowing students in the Visual and Performing Arts category to present their research in a lecture-recital/presentation-performance format. Please contact Kevin Chau, the Events Director, at gpscevents@email.arizona.edu or 626-6122 for more information. 

How are exhibitors judged?

During the judging process, a panel views each exhibitor's presentation and rates it according to overall display, clarity of presentation, and the exhibitor's ability to field questions concerning their project.  The students are also judged on the academic merit and the value of their research to the community.  This aspect of the judging process considers the presenter's depth of presentation, the implications of the research and the possible foundation for future research, as well as the cultural, social, ecological, economic, and/or political value the research brings to the community.  Taking all of these components into consideration, the judges tally the score for each exhibit and compare it with other projects in their category and division.

What recognition will you receive?

In 2011, more than 125 students participated in the Student Showcase. Of these students, 42 won awards. These award ranged from $750 for the President's Award to $125 for second place finishers in the individual categories. 

Local business sponsors also contribute a substantial amount of support for Student Showcase each year, and have increasingly guaranteed its success. An excellent reflection of the success of the University of Arizona's programs, Student Showcase allows the Tucson community to take pride in the University and its continuing capacity to further education and visionary research.

Categories include:

• Agriculture and Environmental Sciences
• Architecture, Planning, and Landscape Architecture
• Biological Sciences
• Business, Public Administration, and Economics
• Education
• Engineering
• Health Sciences
• Humanities, Literature, and Languages
• Physical Sciences, Mathematics, Computer Engineering, and Computer Science
• Public Health
• Social Sciences and Law
• Visual and Performing Arts

Awards Available for Student Showcase 2012:

You will be automatically be considered for the following awards when you apply to the Student Showcase.

President's Award for the Best Graduate Research: $1,000 

President's Award for the Best Undergraduate Research: $1,000

12 Graduate Category Winners: $250 

12 Graduate Category Runners-up: $125

12 Undergraduate Category Winners: $250 

12 Undergraduate Category Runners-up: $125

*Not all awards are given. The judging panels reserve the right to not award a prize in their respective categories. 

Cross-category Awards:

Eligibility differs for each of the following award. Additional application process may be required. 

American Chemical Society Women's Chemist Group Award

The Women's Chemists Group of the Southern Arizona section of the American Chemical Society is promoting the role of chemistry in society. This award will recognize one or more female graduate students, who present outstanding research in chemistry or a related field. First place winner receives $200 and second place $100.

Katheryne B. Willock Library Research Award

The Katheryne B. Willock Library Research Award recognizes University of Arizona students who have made extensive and innovative use of the UA Libraries’ information resources and services in support of their coursework. Up to three undergraduate and three graduate prizes will be awarded each year. For each category, $1,000 will be awarded per prize. More information can be found here. 

BIO5 Innovator Award

The BIO5 Innovator Award recognizes one graduate and one undergraduate student exhibitor whose work best represents the goals of BIO5 in one of the following areas: multidisciplinary bioscience research; innovation in education; or entrepreneurship (technology transfer, new ideas for public/private partnerships, etc.). These awards are provided by the BIO5 Institute at The University of Arizona. Each winner is awarded $250. 

This section will be updated regularly as external awards are made available.