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Scholarly students

One of Sacramento State’s best kept secrets is the applied research work of its undergraduates.

“People tend not to think of Sacramento State as a place where student research is undertaken, particularly at the undergraduate level,” says Terry Manns, director of Research Administration. “But we are, and many students here have a chance to demonstrate the scholarly activities in which they are involved.”

The Office of Research Administration hosts the Student Research Competition every year, two months before the statewide competition. The winner receives a $200 award.

This year, nine students exhibited their research and scholarly pursuits in early March. Students represented many different disciplines including biology, chemistry, history and social work. Those students will go on to represent the University at the annual CSU Student Research Competition on May 4 and 5 at California State University, Dominguez Hills.

“It all started 20 years ago, when Fresno State was celebrating its 75th anniversary,” says Manns. “Officials there decided to commemorate the occasion by hosting a student research competition, open to all students, both undergraduate and graduate, in the California State University system.

“The competition went so well that the CSU decided to make it an annual event.” A different CSU campus hosts the event each year.

Sacramento State decided, in the Student Research Competition’s inaugural year, to give its students a leg up on the competition by hosting its own student research competition.

“It gives the students a chance to prepare,” says biology professor Ronald Coleman, faculty advisor to the presenting students. “They can really sharpen up their presentations and make them the best they can be.”

The students submit a five-page narrative and prepare a 10 minute oral presentation of their research. The students are judged based on the narrative, their presentation in front of an audience and a panel of faculty judges, and a three-minute question and answer session.

Coleman stresses that the process and preparation for the students is what’s of value. “Collecting the data, making the hypotheses, and exchanging ideas with others who have the same interests is a wonderful opportunity for these students and expands their horizons in an important way early in their academic career,” he says.

This year’s winner was Pang Moua, a Biological Sciences major who presented her research titled “The Effects of Datisica Glomerata on two Breast Cancer Cell Lines, MDA-MB 231 and BT-474.”

“Participation in this competition indicates a level of seriousness in one’s academic career,” says Coleman. “Students who enter this can think beyond the bachelor’s degree. It’s a launching pad of sorts.”