Past Forums

The 26th UURAF was held onsite at the Breslin Center and online at Symposium. Over 1,000 students from 12 colleges participated in the event. They were mentored by over 600 faculty, staff, post-doctoral fellows, graduate students, and government/industry partners. There were over 700 presentations in 32 different subject areas.

2024 Grand Prize Recipients

• Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts Grand Prize: Gracie Rudolfi, Natalie Liliensiek and Lorraine Inman, The Impact of Foregrounding on Aesthetic Experience: An Analysis of Real-Time Responses to Sonnets
  
• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Grand Prize: Coral Brock, Root and Shoot Acylsugar Screening Across the Solanaceae Using LC-MS
  

Resources

Event Photos

Awards Ceremony Photos

Mentors of the Year

The 25th UURAF was held onsite at the Breslin Center and online at Symposium. Nearly 900 students from 14 colleges participated in the event. They were mentored by over 500 faculty, staff, post-doctoral fellows, graduate students, and industry partners. There were 633 presentations in 34 different subject areas. The first place awards, program book, and other resources can be found in the links below. 

2023 Grand Prize Recipients

• Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts Grand Prize: Elena Sheperd and Hannah Calender, Michigan Prohibition
• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Grand Prize (tie): Harrison Nabors, Characterization of CDKN2A/p16 as a Tumor-Specific Promoter
• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Grand Prize (tie): Alyssa Mollema and Caz Schwennesen, Evaluating the Effects of Climate Change-Inspired Heat Waves on the Coevolutionary Relationship Between Common Milkweed (Asclepias Syriaca) and Monarch Butterflies (Danaus Plexippus)

Resources

• Mentor of the Year Awards
• Event Photos
• Awards Ceremony Photos
  

The 24th UURAF was held at the Jack Breslin Student Events Center and online at Symposium by ForagerOne. Over 750 students from 14 colleges/academic units participated in the event. They were mentored by over 500 faculty, staff, post-doctoral fellows, graduate students, and industry partners. There were 568 presentations in 27 different subject areas. The first place awards and program book can be found in the links below.

2022 Grand Prize Recipients

• Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts Grand Prize: Ellie Friedman and Sam Bourgeois, Assessing Writing in Children Who Use African American English: The Impact of a Culturally Responsive Scoring Approach in Grades 3-4
  
• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Grand Prize: Hariharan Ramakrishnan, Adenosine Receptor Antagonism Reduces Chemotherapy Side Effects in Mice as Cisplatin-Induced Kidney Toxicity and Painful Neuropathy
  

The 23rd UURAF was an asynchronous, virtual event hosted on Symposium by ForagerOne from April 15 - 19, 2021.

Over 600 students from 16 colleges/academic units participated in the event. They were mentored by over 450 faculty, staff, post-doctoral fellows, graduate students, and industry partners. There were 483 presentations in 30 different subject areas. The program book and a complete list of first place award winners can be found in the links below.

2021 Grand Prize Recipients

• Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts Grand Prize: Berkley Sorrells, Stitched Together: Documenting the Vibrancy of Black Bottom Detroit Through Redwork Quilting
  
• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Grand Prize: Mackenzie Greene, FDA Approved Drug Bicalutamide Rescues Male Mice from Kennedy's Disease
  

The 22nd annual event was canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak. Please view the UURAF program booklet to learn about the outstanding research and creative endeavors by nearly 1,000 undergraduate students who registered to present at the forum.  These students represent 14 different colleges and were mentored by more than 700 facutly, staff, and graduate students.

At the 21st Annual UURAF, 920 students from 14 different colleges shared their research with the university community.  These students were mentored by more than 600 faculty members. The program book and a complete list of first place award winners can be found in the links below.

2019 Grand Prize Recipients

• Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts Grand Prize: Sarah Dec, Audrey Saggau-Drotos, Paul Clancy, and Anusha Mamidipaka; How Talker Rhythm Affects Speech Understanding in Noise
• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Grand Prize: Adam Fillion; Specific Binding to Magnetic Nanoparticles as a Method of Mitochondrial Purification and Immobilization
  

2018 Grand Prize Recipients

• Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts Grand Prize: Nicole Jedding, America's Drug Crises: Transition from a Criminal Justice Matter to a Public Safety Problem
• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Grand Prize: Amy Freeland, Docosahexaenoic Acid Consumption Blocks Silica-Triggered Autoimmune Responses in the Kidneys and Lungs of Lupus-Prone Mice

The 19th annual UURAF had 924 students present research conducted with over 500 faculty mentors.

2017 Grand Prize Recipients

• Social Sciences, Humanities, and Communication Arts Grand Prize: Lauren Kosowksi, Retention and achievement of sophomore status following one year of intramural sports participation in university freshman
• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Grand Prize: Olivia Child, The effects of porcine zona pellucida contraceptive vaccine on equid ovarian activity

The 18th annual University Undergraduate Research and Arts Forum (UURAF) was held on Friday, April 8. The event was very successful with nearly 900 students from 14 MSU colleges and over 500 faculty mentors from 16 MSU colleges participating in this year’s forum. Students presented 665 different programs, which included 120 oral presentations and 545 poster presentations.

2016 Grand Prize Recipients

• Humanities, Social Science, and Arts Grand Prize: Maria Braganini and Kelley Waterfall, Faces of Flint
  
• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Grand Prize: Diego Crespo, The Physiochemical and Nutritional Evaluation of the Fast Cooking Andean Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) from Three Regions in Tanzania
  

Nearly 750 students from 14 MSU colleges and 400 faculty mentors from 16 MSU colleges participating in the 2015 Forum. Students presented 518 different programs, which included 90 oral presentations and 428 poster presentations. The program book and a complete list of award winners can be found below.

2015 Grand Prize Recipients

• Humanities, Social Science, and Arts Grand Prize: Sonny A. Lyson, Questions in the Classroom: How Often Do Students Respond
  
• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Grand Prize: Matthew K. Vasher, Detecting Pathogens Using a DNA-Based Biosensor

Nearly 660 students from 14 of MSU's colleges presented over 450 oral and poster presentations at the 2014 Forum. The program book and a complete list of award winners from 2014 can be found below.

2014 Grand Prize Recipients

• Humanities, Social Science, and Communication Arts and Sciences Grand Prize: Mari Isa, Fracture Initiation and Propagation in Pediatric Blunt Cranial Trauma
  
• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Grand Prize: Joshua Drost, Modeling Forces Applied by the Index Finger over Normal and Reduced Ranges of Motion 
  

 Approximately 545 students from 14 of MSU's colleges presented nearly 400 oral and poster presentations at the 2013 Forum. The program book and a complete list of award winners from 2013 can be found below.

2013 Grand Prize Recipients

• Humanities, Social Science, and Communication Arts and Sciences Grand Prize: Susie Sonnenschein, Sex Differences in Pubertally Added Cells in the Rat Prefrontal Cortex
  
• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Grand Prize: Ari Walter, Histological and Molecular Profile Analysis of TFAP2A Knockout Murine Skin
  

Approximately 560 students from 14 of MSU's colleges presented over 400 oral and poster presentations at the 2012 Forum. The program book and a complete list of award winners from 2012 can be found below.

  2012 Grand Prize Recipients

• Humanities, Social Science, and Communication Arts and Sciences Grand Prize:  Evan D. Gross, The Emergency Manager Law Relative to Local Government Fiscal Stress in Michigan 
  
• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Grand Prize: Craig S. Pearson, Using a PLA/PGA Scaffold as a Drug Delivery Device to Treat Leber Congenital Amaurosis 
  

Approximately 520 students from 14 MSU College and 282 faculty mentors participated in the 2011 forum. Forty-two first place awards were awarded.

The program book and a complete list of award winners can be found below.

2011 Grand Prize Recipients

• Humanities, Social Science, and Communication Arts and Sciences Grand Prize:  Sydney Hawthorne, Finding Needles in a Haystack: an Empirical Analysis of a Case Selection on the U.S Supreme Court
  

• Science and Engineering Grand Prize: Derek Johnson, Aaron Miller, Rita Morse, and Sara Sobon, New Marketing Approach for Minimally Processed Onions

Approximately 535 students from 14 MSU colleges and 282 faculty mentors participated in the 2010 forum.  Forty-two first place awards and  two grand prize winners were awarded:

2010 UURAF Grand Prize winners

• Humanities, Social Sciences, & Communication Arts & Sciences: Andrew Keller, for Cooperation Among Women's Organizations: The Case of Turkey [Poster, Social Sciences-General] 
• Science, Mathematics & Engineering: I Rin, for Potential Involvement of Arabidopsis UPF2 In Regulations Of Flowering Timing [Poster, Cell Biology, Genetics & Genomics]

The program book and a complete list of award winners from 2010 can be found below.