2022 Research Day at the Capitol

Tuesday, March 29, 2022 - 8:00am - 12:00pm

About the Event

The 2022 Research Day at the Capitol will be held on Tuesday, March 29, at the State Capitol of Oklahoma. The event was established over 20 years ago to showcase the outstanding undergraduate research being conducted at Oklahoma’s colleges and universities in the areas of science (including social science), technology, engineering, and mathematics. Students are nominated by their institutions' leadership to participate in the prestigious event, which is sponsored by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, Oklahoma Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (OK EPSCoR), and the National Science Foundation. 

Nominated students present their research to State Legislators and the public in the State Capitol's rotunda during the legislative session. In addition, students’ posters and oral presentations are competitively judged by an independent panel; winners are announced at the conclusion of Research Day, during an awards ceremony at the Capitol.   

Timeline & Activities

  • Wednesday, December 1, 2021 (11:59 p.m.)
    Nomination deadline 
    (Online submission, including uploaded financial responsibility form and abstract
  • Friday, January 7, 2022
    Student informational training session
    Video must be viewed by this date
    Student Participation Mandatory 
  • Tuesday, February 1, 2022 (11:59 p.m.)
    Students’ revised abstracts and lodging requests are due
    (Access the abstract form)

  • Monday, March 7, 2022
    Online registration closes
    (All attendees)
  • Tuesday, March 15, 2022 (11:59 p.m.)
    Students' poster PDFs are due
    (Note: A hardcopy poster must also be printed by the student for the judging session and Capitol presentation!)
  • Monday, March 28, 2022
    Judging of students' oral presentations and posters
    Noon to 5 p.m., Science Museum Oklahoma, Oklahoma City
    Student Participation Mandatory 
    (Individually scheduled times; students only) 

  • Tuesday, March 29, 2022
    Research Day at the Capitol: State Capitol, Rotunda
    Students arrive and set up posters, 7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.,
    Posters on exhibit, students meet with Legislators & public, 8:30 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
    Student Participation Mandatory 
    (All registered guests are invited; open to the public)
  • Tuesday, March 29, 2022
    Awards ceremony
    11:30 a.m. – Noon, State Capitol, Oklahoma City
    Student Participation Mandatory
    (All registered guests are invited)

Poster Competition and Awards

A panel of EPSCoR-appointed judges will review students' poster presentations from noon to 5 p.m. on Monday, March 28, 2022, at Science Museum Oklahoma in Oklahoma City. Judging will consist of an oral presentation by the student (3 minutes/timed), followed immediately by poster review and Q&A by the judges (5 minutes/timed).

Students will be judged on the following criteria:

  1. Abstract 
  2. Scientific presentation
    (Purpose, hypothesis, background information, results, impact, suggested further study)
  3. Visual appearance
  4. Clarity for general audiences
  5. Relevance of the study

The top student researchers will be awarded the following:

  • Grand Prize is a $500 award plus $4,000 summer research internship; $2,500 award to the sponsoring Oklahoma college/university lab to offset expenses of hosting the internship
  • First ($500), second ($250), and third ($250) place prizes will be awarded in each of the following two categories: 1) Research Intensive Institutions and 2) Regional, Community and Tribal Colleges

 

 

THE FOLLOWING LINK IS A "GENERAL PARTICIPANT SIGN-UP FORM" FOR EVERYONE WHO WILL BE ATTENDING THE EVENT, INCLUDING ALL GUESTS, FACULTY MENTORS, AND THE STUDENT RESEARCHERS THEMSELVES.

Registered guests are invited to participate in the following activities on March 29, 2022, at the State Capitol:

  • Students Exhibit Posters, 8:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m., 2nd Floor Rotunda, State Capitol Building
  • Awards Ceremony, 11:30 a.m. to Noon, 1st Floor Multi-purpose Room #100, State Capitol Building

 

The Nomination Process - Submission Deadline: Dec. 1, 2021 (11:59 p.m.)

Each institution’s nomination package must be submitted online via the link below by the institution's official designee. The submission deadline is Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021, at 11:59 p.m.

Nomination packages must include the following uploaded documents; they must be prepared and ready for upload at the time nominations are submitted:
(1) Financial Responsibility Form, (2) Abstract Form, and (3) Research Project Abstract (MS Word only) 

Research Project Abstract Guidelines

Abstracts must be submitted in MS Word format and must be developed following the guidelines of the official Abstract Form. Per the official form, abstracts MUST INCLUDE the following components: 

  1. Student's Name
  2. Abstract Title
  3. Introduction
  4. Methods
  5. Results
  6. Conclusion
  7. Relevance of the Study

Separate/individual sections are not required for items 3-7, but each of these components must be addressed in the body of the abstract.

Additional abstract guidelines:

  • Abstracts must be the work of the student and cannot exceed 350 words.

  • The completed Abstract Form and student’s Abstract must be submitted with the institution’s nomination package; the documents must be uploaded as individual/separate files.

  • Name each document per the student's name (i.e. lastname_firstname_abstract.docx; lastname_firstname_abstractform.docx).

  • Abstracts will ONLY be accepted in MS Word format (.doc or .docx) - no PDF or image files are allowed.

 

Files for Download 

Official Abstract Form
Financial Responsibility Form
Guidelines 
Abstract Book
Student Participant List & Poster Guide

Designated Conference Hotel

The designated conference hotel is the Embassy Suites Oklahoma City Downtown/Medical Center (741 N. Phillips Ave., Oklahoma City, OK 73104). Student presenters who qualify for lodging under State travel guidelines have been provided individual confirmation numbers for their rooms. Hotel questions should be addressed to Gina Miller, outreach coordinator, at [email protected].  

For more information

Contact Gina Miller, Outreach Coordinator, at [email protected] or 405.744.9964 

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Pictured above: Devin Laurence (left), a former Research Day at the Capitol participant from the University of Oklahoma, receives his grand prize award from Chancellor Glen D. Johnson (right) in the State Capitol's Blue Room.