Research Day at the Capitol

Research Day at the Capitol is an annual event that is held in the State Capitol rotunda during each legislative session. The event was created to inform the legislature and the public about the high-quality research being conducted at Oklahoma colleges and universities.

Outstanding undergraduate students from Oklahoma's comprehensive and regional colleges and universities are selected by their institutions to participate in the prestigious program.

Research Day at the Capitol 2011 will be held on Thursday, March 31.  Posters will be on display from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the 4th floor rotunda area.  An awards ceremony is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. in the Governor's Blue Room.

The event is sponsored by OK EPSCoR, Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education and the National Science Foundation.

Benefits of Research Day at the Capitol include:

• Student participants are provided with training in the proper preparation and presentation of a scientific poster for general public audiences.
• Students’ posters and oral presentations are judged in a competition for cash prizes, as well as a grand-prize summer research internship at an Oklahoma college or university of the winner’s choice.
• Oklahoma colleges and universities gain recognition for outstanding research displayed to the legislature, media and the general public at the State Capitol.
• Government policy-makers gain an understanding of the outstanding research being conducted by young people on Oklahoma college and university campuses.

The designated hotel for Research Day at the Capitol 2011 is the Courtyard Marriot Downtown/Bricktown, located at 2 West Reno in Oklahoma City.  Faculty mentors, friends and family members of participating student researchers who are in need of lodging for the event may access a reserved block of rooms at a rate of $102/night via the following links: King Room Reservation Link or 2-Queen Room Reservation Link.  Please note, when you click the links, your date of service and special rate code will automatically be inserted in the green "room search" box.  Simply click the red "find" button to access the special $102/night EPSCoR rate.  The links will remain active until March 1, 2011, or when the block is full.  Payment must be made by the person making the reservation, as OK EPSCoR only provides lodging for student presenters living outside the OKC metro area.

Faculty advisors are encouraged (but not required) to attend the student training session on Saturday, January 15 and Research Day at the Capitol on Thursday, March 31, with their student researchers.  To offset travel expenses for advisors’ participation in these events,  OK EPSCoR will--upon request--be happy to file a travel claim on the advisor's behalf for mileage to and from the State Capitol.  

For advisors living outside the OKC metro area who may require lodging on March 30 (the night before Research Day at the Capitol), EPSCoR has secured a block of rooms at the Courtyard Marriot Downtown/Bricktown (see links and address above).  Advisors will need to pay for lodging at point of service and then be reimbursed on a state travel claim that EPSCoR can file upon request.  

To access these reimbursement benefits, faculty mentors must contact Pat Greer in the OK EPSCoR office at [email protected] no later than March 1 with their requests.  Ms. Greer will then send mentors the appropriate paperwork required to proceed with processing. 

The hotel reservation links above are for parents, advisors and other guests only (NOT STUDENT PARTICIPANTS).  Student reservations must be made by emailing [email protected] at the OK EPSCoR office.