COSAM News Articles 2020 March COSAM Hosts the Second Annual Research Opportunities Fair

COSAM Hosts the Second Annual Research Opportunities Fair

Published: 03/03/2020

Students who are interested and eager to engage in undergraduate research during their time at the university were able to broaden their horizons on the opportunities that are available to them at the second annual Research Opportunities Fair hosted by the College of Sciences and Mathematics (COSAM). This year, the fair featured 18 undergraduate research labs aiming to connect students to the lab that suits them best. Furthermore, students who attended the lab were asked to fill out a form that listed their credentials and their interests in the world of research. This turned an ordinary research fair into an engaging, match-making experience that fit into the fair’s playful theme. “Fall in Love with Research” was this year’s theme which correlated wonderfully with the “speed-dating” process of matching students with their favorite undergraduate research lab.

According to COSAM academic advisors and directors of the event, Anna Allen and Anna Traylor, one of the biggest reasons for hosting this research fair was to display the wide range of different research opportunities on campus that many students may not be aware existed. Helping students find the research field that they are passionate about is very important because while many students are required to put in at least two hours at the undergraduate research lab of their choice, some students extend well beyond this requirement and spend more time diving deeper into a field that truly interests them.

The organizers of the fair understand the importance of getting students involved as early on as their sophomore year. Doing this can offer students a more developed understanding of the research process, become devoted to a topic they’re passionate about, and overall be actively engaged on campus, explained advisor Anna Traylor.

She went on to say that, “COSAM does a really good job of encouraging students to get research, and I think part of that is students can get major credit.”

Although the opportunity fair is mostly advertised to COSAM students, advisors Anna Allen and Anna Traylor exclaimed that students outside of the college visited the fair with an interest in finding research opportunities. The various labs and participants of the fair loved that other students outside of COSAM were interested in finding research and are more than willing to connect these students with the research field that best suits them.

For students who weren’t able to make it to the Opportunity Fair, it is highly encouraged that you reach out to the Undergraduate Research Ambassadors located in Sciences Center Classrooms 239. They have office hours that are available to students to discuss future research opportunities. Their email is cosamugresearch@auburn.edu.