HOSTED BY THE FACULTY OF MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE
Conference Info
2025 FMS Undergraduate Research Conference
July 31, from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m.
Pond Inlet, Brock University
Welcome to the annual FMS Undergraduate Research Symposium! This event serves as a vibrant forum for the next generation of scientists at Brock University to present their cutting-edge research, engage in thought-provoking discussions, and build valuable connections. Participants will gain insights into a wide array of scientific fields, promoting a broad understanding of the interconnectedness of scientific research. The goal of this event is to highlight the hard-work and dedication of our undergraduate researchers in the Faculty of Math and Science. Join us for this celebration of undergraduate research and creativity, as we foster a new generation of scientific thinkers ready to shape the future of research.
Sponsored by:
Registration is FREE.
Attendees: No registration is needed to attend the URS, just bring your curiosity and excitement! Coffee/tea and light snacks will be provided!
Presenters: Any current undergraduate researchers who performed research within the Faculty of Mathematics and Science are eligible to present.
Researchers that have graduated within the last year are also eligible to present their work. Presenters should consult with their research advisor before registering.
Registration is free of charge. Registration closes on July 18, 2025. You can register at the link above.
Poster Judges: We are actively looking for members of the campus community to help judge and provide feedback to the students on their posters. Poster judges may sign up to judge a single session or both sessions.
A rubric with space for comments will be provided. Any faculty/staff with a scientific background are encouraged to sign up to be a poster judge.
If you have any questions with regarding registration, please contact Assistant Professor Gavin Hester – [email protected]
Important dates:
Presenter registration closes July 18, 2025.
Poster judges will be accepted on an ongoing basis until a sufficient number has been reached to provide each student at least two poster judges.
Poster Printing Deadline: If the students want their poster printed by Brock’s Printing and Digital Services, it must be submitted by July 21, 2025.
Symposium Date: July 31, 2025 from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in the Pond Inlet.
Schedule:
2:30 to 3 pm: Poster setup time in Pond Inlet – Mackenzie Chown Complex
3 to 4 pm: Begin with brief remarks from FMS Dean, Peter Berg. Group A Presenters at Posters
4 to 5 pm: Group B Presenters at Posters
5 to 5:30 pm: Award deliberation. Poster overflow time
5:30 to 6 pm: Awards Ceremony
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- Opening Statement/Welcome
- Outstanding Poster Presentation Awards
- Closing Remarks and Thanks
Awards:
Outstanding Poster Presentation Awards
The Dean’s Office of the Faculty and Mathematics and Science has generously sponsored three outstanding poster presentation awards that will be given out at the event. These awards will be given to the students who have the best all around poster presentation, including the clarity of explanations, the quality of the poster, and how the student answers questions. The awards will be decided on by a group of judges from the Brock community.
- The three winners of the Outstanding Poster Presentation award will each receive a certificate and $150.
Please note: Students must be present at their poster during the designated time to be considered for an award.
- Posters should be mounted before 3 pm on the day of the event. Presenters will be placed into one of two sessions. Presenters should plan to be beside their paper for the duration of their session.
- Session A: 3 pm to 4 pm
- Session B: 4 pm to 5 pm
- The poster boards are 4 feet by 4 feet. The recommended poster size is 3 feet by 4 feet (landscape or portrait).
- Posters can be printed by Brock’s Printing and Digital Services. Students must have their poster submitted to Printing and Digital Services before July 21, 2025 to ensure it is printed in time for the symposium. The cost to print a poster is $66, generally paid for from the research advisor’s funding.
- Presenters are advised to prepare a 3-5 minute presentation introducing their poster to judges and audience.
- A simple, Brock-themed poster design is available here. Presenters are also welcome to design their own poster design or use a design from another source.
- The poster rubric used for judging the Outstanding Poster Presentation Award can be found here
Previous Conferences
- 2024 winners (all for outstanding poster presentations) were:
- Paige Au, Biological Sciences – “Examining the correlation between prepartum behaviours and embryo implantation in the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus).”
- Izaak Gagnon, Mathematics and Statistics – “Investigating Heuristic Measures of Integrated Information in Causal Networks.”
- Isabelle Marincic, Biophysics (U. Waterloo), “Quantitative Analysis of Dust Accumulation on Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover Hardware.”
- Link to the 2024 Brock news article:
2023 winners
Outstanding Poster Presentation Awards
First place: Rhea Alitawi, Neuroscience — “Developmental and Cognitive Outcomes of Ethanol Exposure during Invertebrate Embryogenesis”
Second place: Aws Al Jumaily, Computer Science — “Transformer-Based Multi-Objective Reinforcement Learning for Drug Design”
Third place: Eric He, Physics — “Bound States without Potentials: Localization at Singularities”
Outstanding Poster Design
George White, Earth Sciences — “Identifying Possible Wrinkle Ridge Exposures in the Walls of Valles Marineris, Mars”
Lisa Harris, Chemistry — “Utilizing Historical Data to Predict Water Quality Trends of the Wignell Drain in Port Colborne”
Link to the 2023 Brock News article:
FAQ
A: There is no single rule for what a research poster must include, however, a rough guideline of sections is below.
- Title
- List of authors and affiliations.
- Introduction
- Methods
- Results
- Conclusions
- References
Many more extensive guides for making posters are available online. A couple options are suggested below:
McMaster University USRA Poster Pointers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMnQhMj55MA
University of Texas – Austin Guide to Research Posters: https://ugs.utexas.edu/our/poster
A: I would refer to the online guides referenced in the question regarding how a poster should look, but a few common mistakes are:
- Image Quality and Format: Generally, a .png or .pdf are the best file types for scientific images. The .pdf is a vector image, so it should maintain quality no matter how closely you observe the image. The .png is a rasterized image, so you should ensure it is of sufficiently high resolution to scale nicely to a poster. If you made the image, something around 750 dpi is generally sufficient. The .png format is recommended over .jpg, as the .png format is much better at preserving the sharp lines and text generally seen in scientific plots.
- Background Color: If you choose to modify or make your own template, you should avoid using backgrounds with complex images or overly vibrant colors. This can make reading your poster incredibly difficult, particularly for those with issues color vision deficiencies.
- Text: Your poster should include text to describe your work, but too much text is not visually appealing to the viewer. Generally, your poster should be understandable without the presenter present, but can be greatly improved by the presenter narrating the “story” of the poster.
A: No! It is expected that many students will not have a complete research project done at the time of the Symposium. In fact, presenting work in progress can be a great way to develop new ideas for the next steps in a project and foster collaborations.