Kansas State University

MANHATTAN — The importance of undergraduate research, scholarly and creative activities, and discovery is being highlighted at Kansas State University during Undergraduate Research & Creative Inquiry Week, Sept. 22-26.

"K-State has long excelled at involving undergraduates in research. That no other state-supported university has more Goldwater Scholarship recipients is one especially high-profile testament to that fact," said Steven Dandaneau, vice provost for undergraduate studies. "As we further support and celebrate our faculty and students' accomplishments in this realm, we can expect K-State's national reputation as a research university that provides a distinctive high-quality undergraduate education to rise in accordance with our overarching strategic goal of becoming a Top 50 public research university by 2025."

To get even more undergraduates involved in research and creative inquiry, the university has opened the Office of Undergraduate Research & Creative Inquiry, which is directed by Anita Cortez.

"Research and creative inquiry go together. Imagination and curiosity are highly valued no matter one's field of study. It applies to the sciences as well as the arts, but with media emphasis on the scientific breakthroughs, the humanities and the arts can sometimes be overshadowed," Cortez said. "At K-State, we celebrate creative inquiry in all fields. We value intellectual curiosity and invite thinking outside the box — or outside the field of study. We think it is good to look at problems or questions or ideas from many perspectives."

Undergraduate Research & Creative Inquiry Week is designed to showcase some of the high-level research being conducted by undergraduates at Kansas State University and provide information on the many ways students can get involved in research and creative inquiry.

The week will kick off with a presentation by Karen Burg, the university vice president for research, who will present "Igniting the Passion for Learning Through Undergraduate Research" at 3 p.m. Monday, Sept. 22, in the Big 12 Room at the K-State Student Union. The presentation is free and the public is welcome. It also will be streamed live at http://www.k-state.edu/undergradresearch.

The week's activities, all free and open to the public, also include:

• Monday, Sept. 22 —Undergraduate research information table in the Union commons from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

• Tuesday, Sept. 23 — Undergraduate research information table in the Union commons from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; and a faculty panel discussion about "Research Ethics and the Undergraduate Researcher" from 3 to 4 p.m. in the Hemisphere Room at Hale Library. Panelists include Dirk Maier, professor and head of the grain science and industry department; Alisa Garni, assistant professor of sociology; and John Buckwalter, dean of the College of Human Ecology.

• Wednesday, Sept. 24 — The creative inquiry presentation "Art and Activism: Muralismo in Phoenix, Arizona" by April Bojorquez will be from 11 a.m. to noon in the Union courtyard. The faculty and student panel "Undergraduate Research: Who, How and Why?" will be from noon to 1 p.m. in the Union courtyard with Tanya Gonzalez, associate professor of English; Stefan Bossmann, professor of chemistry; Don Saucier, associate professor of psychological sciences; and two students. A second faculty and student panel, "Ecological Genomics Undergraduate Research Internships," will be from 1:15 to 2:30 p.m. and feature posters by students in the program.

Thursday, Sept. 25 — All of the university offices in the Wildcat Landing building, 1800 Claflin Road, Manhattan, will have an open house from 3-5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 25. The offices are: Office of Undergraduate Research & Creative Inquiry, Honor and Integrity System, Teaching and Learning Center and English Language Program International Technology Commons.

Friday, Sept. 26 — An undergraduate research information table will be in the Union commons from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. From noon to 1 p.m., find out more about the Undergraduate Research Ambassadors with Dandaneau and Cortez in the Union's Room 226.

For more information about undergraduate research at Kansas State University, visit http://www.k-state.edu/undergradresearch.