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Posters-at-the-Capitol

The 2012 group photograph is now posted. Visit the P@C page to download the photograph.

URSA Grant Announcements

Susan Lawhead, Matt Ray, Carrie Schmidt, Zachary Siegel, and Mara Varvil

The Prince of Evolution - Lecture by Dr. Lee Alan Dugatkin

On November 16, 2011, Dr. Lee Alan Dugatkin, Distinguished University Scholar and Professor from the University of Louisville, will present "The Prince of Evolution." This lecture will follow a recent publication by Dr. Dugatkin under the same title.

In The Prince of Evolution, Dugatkin introduces the reader to Russian Prince Peter Kropotkin -- one of the world’s first international celebrities. In England Kropotkin was known as a brilliant scientist, famous for his work on animal and human cooperation, but Kropotkin’s fame in continental Europe centered more on his role as a founder of anarchism.  In the United States, he pursued both passions. Tens of thousands of people followed Prince Peter during two speaking tours that took him around America. Kropotkin’s path to fame was labyrinthine, with asides in prisons, breathtaking 50,000-mile journeys through Siberia, and banishment from most respectable Western countries of the day. In Russia, he went from being Tsar Alexander II’s favored teenage page, to a young man enamored with the theory of evolution, to a convicted felon and jail-breaker, eventually being chased halfway around the world by the Russian secret police. While in jail, and while on the run when he was enlightening and entertaining huge crowds, Kropotkin found the energy to write books on a dazzling array of topics: evolution and cooperation, ethics, anarchism, socialism and communism, penal systems, and the coming industrial revolution in the East to name a few. Though seemingly disparate topics, a common thread--Kropotkin’s scientific law of mutual aid, which guided the evolution of all life on earth--tied these works together. Kropotkin was not only the first person to clearly demonstrate that cooperation was important among animals, he was the first to forcefully argue that understanding cooperation in animals would shed light on human cooperation, and, indeed might permit science to help save our species from destroying itself.  His overarching goal to was to understand cooperation in nature, so that he could promote cooperation in humans.  Just like in the animals he watched for five years in Siberia, Kropotkin saw human cooperation as ultimately being driven not by government, but by groups of individuals spontaneously uniting to do good, even when they have to pay a cost to help.  In The Prince of Evolution, Lee Alan Dugatkin will make the reader stop and take pause to consider what this one remarkable man did to try and make the world a more cooperative place.  

Download the program flier.

2011-2012 Research Scholar Fellowship Recipients

The Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Activity (URSA) has selected the recipients of its 2011-2012 Research Scholar Fellowships.  Each fellowship will provide the student-faculty team with a $2000 student stipend, a $500 supply budget, and a $500 faculty stipend. Read about this year's recipients here!

2011-2012 University Distinguished Mentor Award Guidelines Posted

Click here to view the 2011-2012 guidelines.

11th Posters-at-the-Capitol Date Set

The 11th annual Posters-at-the-Capitol will be Thursday, January 26, 2012. Submission deadline is Wednesday, October 19, 2011.

Congratulations to Undergraduate Research Students Receiving Awards at Honors Day 2011!

Pugh Family Outstanding Senior in Economics
Sarah Moss-Crisp

Alpha Lambda Delta Maria Leonard Book Award and Hart College Academic Achievement Award
Shelby Goodlad

Sigma Tau Delta Outstanding Member
Shraddha Chakradhar

Outstanding Senior in International Affairs and Outstanding German Student
PiTiffany Bradley

Outstanding Senior in History
William Cartwright

Outstanding Research Award in History
Matthew Hall

Outstanding French Student
Kyle Kineman

Outstanding Spanish Student
Sarah Fuller

Outstanding Senior in Biology
Renee Levesque

Outstanding Major in Chemistry
Aron Huckaba

Chemistry Student Affiliates Award
Samantha Mosby

Outstanding Senior in Mathematics and Statistics
Meredith Stevenson

Honors Program Medallions
Shraddha Chakradhar, Shelby Goodlad, Matthew Hall, Aron Huckaba, Joshua Hyatt, Sarah Peddie, and Meredith Stevenson

Scholars Week 2012 Dates Set

The 11th annual Scholars Week celebration will be April 16-20, 2012. Mark your calendars now!

2010-2011 Research Scholar Fellowships Announced

The Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Activity (URSA) has selected the recipients of its 2010-2011 Research Scholar Fellowships.  Each fellowship will provide the student-faculty team with a $2000 student stipend, a $500 supply budget, and a $500 faculty stipend. The receipients are: 1) Caleb Roberts, senior biology and creative writing major in the College of Science, Engineering, and Technology and College of Humanities and Fine Arts, for his proposal entitled “Effects of Elk (Cervus elaphus) Browse on Woody Plant Communities,” 2) Kristen Tinch, junior secondary English education major in the College of Education and the College of Humanities and Fine Arts, for her proposal entitled “Accessible Literacy: Graphic Novels for Remedial and Reluctant High School Readers,” and 3) Vincent Waniel, senior telecommunications systems management major in the College of Science, Engineering, and Technology, for his proposal entitled “Online Privacy: Is Internet Usage on a Public Terminal Private, Safe, and Secure?” Click here to read the full announcement.

What Does It Take To Be An Outstanding Senior At MSU? - - - "Undergraduate Research!"

The Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Activity is very proud to again have so many of our program's participants receiving awards during this year's Honors Day program. Your work speaks volumes to the benefits of participating in undergraduate research while at Murray State. You will certainly go far! Congratulations!

Outstanding in their discipline awards bolded.

Newton Receives Undergraduate Research Grant

Nicole Newton, junior physics major, will work with Dr. Arthur Pallone on "Solving the Charioteer's Mystery." Read the release here.

National Registry for Undergraduate Researchers

The Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) has created a national registry for undergraduate researchers.  Students performing research and scholarly activity in the following disciplines are eligible to register free of charge: Chemistry, Biochemistry, Biology, Physics/Astronomy, Mathematics/Computer Science, Economics, Geosciences, Engineering, Psychology, Sociology, Humanities and Anthropology/Archaeology.  Find out more information here. Interested individuals should visit www.cur.org/ugreg/ and complete the simple curriculum vitae form. 

Posters-at-the-Capitol: Showcasing Undergraduate Achievement for Eight Years

Click here to read an article written on the purpose and history of the Posters-at-the-Capitol program that includes remarks from Speaker Jody Richards of the Kentucky House of Representatives and Secretary Helen Mountjoy of the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet. It will be included in the January newsletter of the Kentucky Academy of Science (KAS).

Are You Looking For Examples of Previously Supported Projects?

Follow the link above to examples of previously supported projects from the College of Business and Public Affairs, the College of Humanities and Fine Arts, and the College of Science, Engineering and Technology. More coming soon!